Transforming The Concept of Educational Achievementinto One That Values The “Weakness” and “Pathos”of Human Beings

<p>　In recent years, we have seen a nearing of welfare and education, with growing</p><p>significance being attached to academic achievement as a key factor for</p><p>overcoming poverty. Underlying this trend is a destabilization of the previously</p><p>established order in which education and welfare were segregated in mutually</p><p>exclusive spheres under the jurisdictions of two major agents, school and family.</p><p>At the beginning of the 21st century, both agents are at risk of faltering rather</p><p>than supporting each other. What is needed under these circumstances is a</p><p>new welfare-education philosophy that places value on the weakness and pathos</p><p>of human beings and that can also serve as a foundation for a new concept</p><p>of educational achievement.</p><p>　From the viewpoint above, in this paper we first criticize the concept of</p><p>achievement used in previous sociology of education studies. Next, we turn to</p><p>the arguments of Erich Fromm and Giorgio Agamben for hints of new philosophy</p><p>that might serve as a foundation for transforming the concept of educational</p><p>achievement. In particular, Fromm’s concepts of potency as virtue and productiveness</p><p>and Agamben’s concept of impotentiality are useful ones that assume</p><p>the pathos of human beings and that also show the connectedness between the</p><p>formation and exercise of abilities and the pursuit of welfare and human ethics.</p>