This paper is to review discussions that try to answer the question ‘what is physical education?’, especially the ones after WW Ⅱ. And this is to classify them from a certain point of view for pointing out a blind spot on that studies.
We can see many discussions concerned with the issue of the identity of physical education, which have defined it in various meanings. So, we refer to some frame works proposed in the past for surveying them, and extract assertions which justify their definition of physical education from one of discussions in each type. By fixing these assertions as a new frame work to classify, the all disscussion is categorized. Finally, we derive some difficulties of the study from the characteristic of discussions in each classes, and point out an incomplete part in common which the discussions in question have necessarily.
‘Physical education’ is used in various meanings according to histrical and social contexts. But in the discussions, a certain meaning being justified, the other meanings are considered inappropriate. Histories of physical education have typically described from this standpoint ; based on his meanings which had been defined previously. In these cases, it is difficult to see ‘physical education’ in another meaning. This is why, historical problems of individual facts, for example, how physical education was grasped in a certain age or society, have been failed to see. This is the blind spot on the philosophical study of physical education, which we wanted to point out.