http://www.asianpa.net
The Asian Philosophical Association (AsianPA) is established in 2004 by scholars from Korea, Japan and Turkey in order to promote the exchange of ideas among scholars coming from various disciplines, to encourage study of cultures, societies and scholarly activity among Asian philosophers. The association is established for scientific, educational and cultural purposes. It is also the purpose of the AsianPA to serve by means of these educational, scientific and cultural activities for peace. As such it is exclusively a non-profit organization which organizes the following activities in order to serve for its purposes:
1. The holding of regular meetings at which addresses, symposia, papers, and discussions of philosophical significance are presented;
2. The publication of the Proceedings and Addresses, the presidential addresses, and the membership list of the association, as well as such additional items as may serve the purpose of the association;
3. The association also publishes a biannual journal, which may be increased to a quarterly;
4. Any other activity that may serve the purpose of the association suggested by any member or officer of the board.
In our Introduction to the Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference of the Asian Philosophical Association (ICAPA) the very first statement was the following: “Human world needs peace and order.” We also stated thatthis just and good cause should be realized through also peaceful means. Our conference and regularly held congress are all devoted to this end. That is why the topics for each conference was chosen to explore this possibility from a different perspective. To summarize these topics from the first ICAPA till the present one which is the eighth we would like to reserve some space in this introduction. After the Sixth conference held at Mongolian National University, Ulaanbaatar, the members of the Asian Philosophical Association decided to hold its regular meetings after this conference and as a result changed the name of the conference to International Congress of the Asian Philosophical Association (ICAPA). Let us now list the topics of our each conference:
- The First ICAPA (2005, Istanbul, Turkey): The Vision of the Asian Community
- The Second ICAPA (2006, Busan, Korea): The Rise of Asian Community and the New Dialogue Between Past and Future of the World
- The Third ICAPA (2008, Almaty, Kazakhstan): Ideals of the Asian Community: Aspirations for a Harmonized World Order
- The Fourth ICAPA (2009, Jakarta, Indonesia): ThePath to Alliance of Civilizations through the Asian Community
- The Fifth ICAPA (2011, Fukuoka, Japan): Plurality and Self-Identity of the Asian Community in History
- The Sixth ICAPA (2012, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia): New Paradigms of Social Development in Asia
- The Seventh ICAPA (2014, New Delhi, India): Knowledge Based Sustainable Development and the Asian Communities
- The Eighth ICAPA (2014, Isparta, Turkey): World Cultures and Asian Reflections: Prospects for an Earthling Unity
Objective and the Scope of AsianPA conferences is expressed in the following words: World peace is not possible as long as there is territorial competition. The best way to get rid of territorial struggles is to avoid territorial borders keeping only administrative borders. Therefore, Asian Philosophical Association aims at “world unity” as a part of its mission. In order to achieve this there is the greatest duty which befalls upon the shoulders of scholars. They are the ones that can shape a world in which everyone lives in peace. In order to elucidate this point we would like to refer the reader to some of the most relevant papers presented in the conference. Here, in an introductory way we shall try to pinpoint the main philosophical and other relevant issues in our endeavor for a humanely world unity.
Of course the most significant point is human education. We need to educate next generations in all cultures and in this effort we need to benefit from the positive aspects of all cultures. Our participants already talked on this issue in our previous conferences. But this education should try to take into account human nature in which there may be tendencies for violence and try to introduce cure for these tendencies. We need psychologists to analyze this aspect of human beings in order to find solutions for these problems. The most dangerous aspect of our global age is the wide spread technology which makes us forget our spiritual aspect and pay attention to only the physical aspect. This causes many spiritual and psychological problems not only in the individual but in the whole society as well. Is it possible to infuse technology with some sort of spirituality so that we can solve this problem? We shall try to find solutions to such problems.
Another significant issue is today globalization, which may render a local evil global. This phenomenon also leaves many local cultures with the danger of annihilation. There are some concerned intellectuals and sensitive people who try to avert the loss of local cultures and detrimental consequences of globalization by stopping it. Undoubtedly, the purpose of these people is good and definitely desirable; but their approach is futile because globalization cannot be stopped in this way. In order to find out a more effective method to ward off the damaging effects of globalization we may need a more insightful analysis of this phenomenon based on the being who desires it. For, it is human beings who cause globalization; it is not something that is brought in from without. This requires a double analysis: an analysis of human nature with regard to globalization and an analysis of globalization based on the former one. Again the result is human education in accordance with these analyses. We should realize that globalization is like a very strong flood coming on us. We cannot stop it by building barriers in front of it because it is so strong that it will destroy all barriers. In that case we can open up many channels to divert the directioın of water to many different channels and in this way we also utilize the water for good purposes. This is waht we can do for globalizaiton in this age. But how? We try to find solutions for this kind of questions also.
We hope that this Asian initiative will continue in this manner to be a messenger of love and respect wrought with knowledge and wisdom. With this final words we would like to announce that The Ninth International Conference of the Asian Philosophical Association will take place in Malaysia and the tenth is scheduled for Vietnam with again the hope that these efforts will preserve global peace and lead to the rise of a new consciousness to unfold the Unity of a world civilization aspired by this organization.
Common Presidents
Prof. Dr. Woo-WonChoi, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea
Prof. Dr. Alparslan Açıkgenç, Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Munkhbat Orolmaa, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Prof. Dr. Gulnara Yeleukulova, Suleyman Demirel University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
