In one of our first public “deeds”, the International Association of Academics for Peace has identified no less than three main branches of our work toward firming up the foundations of a good world in the academic arena, which we elaborate in following.
Corresponding to the three major types of missions comprising the vision of “Academia”, we see these areas of pursuit as the Academic Movement, Movement of Thought, and Education Movement.
Academics is theoretical in nature. Our website includes articles, discussions, videos, and conference proceedings in different areas: science, humanities, the arts, environment, theology, and philosophy. Science has diversified into numerous branches, some merging with the humanities, forming a continuum that may well be called “Knowledge About Our World.” The Academic Movement is an “encyclopedic movement” with the vision of uniting the sciences and humanities in one general quest. Then are we seeking? The original encyclopedic movement was born in the humanistic spirit of the Enlightenment, along with serious effort to be factual and objective in all fields. With the dawn of a new era and new paradigm science, we return to once more reaffirm classical metaphysics and a God-centered worldview, allowing transcendental reality to be considered in discussions of phenomena and essence, cause and effect. The Academic Movement elevates the defunct “Unity of Science” movement, reinstating it to its erstwhile purpose and bringing it to bloom on a wholly new level with a revitalized vision, expanded to a higher dimension and empowered with much-needed purpose.
Thinking produces thought; thought is akin to idea, and idea becomes ideology. Thus a “Movement of Thought” engenders political thought and is ultimately a social movement. It is no wonder that scientific and technical progress brings with it social change. Therefore what we call “ideology” becomes an important issue, and comes along with excess baggage. Politics manages all the things of our life, directly or indirectly – even our God-given right to life upon this earth! Now there’s the problem: Ideologies that do not grant human rights, ride roughshod over the lives of constituents, deprive us of freedom and opportunities of all sorts. We need a set of criteria to evaluate and judge what amounts to acceptable and unacceptable social and political ideologies. Here is where the Unification Movement has stepped up to bat with clear, God-centered values affirming God as the vertical, internal, essential core pillar of our lives, human rights, dignity and also responsibility deriving from the first, and the extension of that responsibility to the global society including the natural environment. The organizations of VOC (Victory Over Communism), CAUSA, and Unification Thought International have been waging a successful ideological battle for decades with God-denying forces around the world.
Education must first and foremost uphold conscience, morality, and ethical norms before even entertaining to undertake “technical acquisition of knowledge and skills” – which habitually occurs by default in a value-neutral educational system where the lack of consensus has resulted in NO moral or values education. Schools and teachers are entrusted by society as the proxies and representatives for the parents. Education is not so much an issue of pioneer research but rather of methodology, philosophy, and above all Heart.
These remain as separate legal entities, and our website is being classified according to these three branches in order to facilitate access to and communication among them, as we ultimately share many common purposes.
