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WORLD PHILOSOPHY DAY – 15 November 2007
Food
for Thought – Thought for Action
Join
us for a discussion on practical philosophy, and discover how it provides
practical, powerful tools that shed light onto everyday life, with its
challenges, conflicts, doubts, relationships, etc.
DATE:
November 15 2007 @ 7:30pm
LOCATION: Chicago Public Library, Bucktown /
Wicker Park Branch
1701 N Milwaukee, Chicago, 60647, 312.744.6022
By inscribing Philosophy Day in the calendar of annual events,
UNESCO
hopes to encourage as many partners as possible in as many countries as
possible, to organize on one and the same day, activities and debates on
philosophical issues.
With the celebration of this Day in schools, universities and institutions
in more than eighty Member States, the previous Philosophy Days have been great
very successful.
Message
from the Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of Philosophy Day at
UNESCO (2002) : (excerpts)
Many people ask: why
philosophy at UNESCO? My reply is: how could UNESCO, as the intellectual and
ethical arm of the United Nations, function without promoting philosophical
reflection as the basis for democracy, human rights and a just society?
In other words, how else can one foster an
authentic foundation for peaceful co-existence?
Philosophy, as the term
signifies, is the love of wisdom.
Regardless of its specific terminology in various cultures all over the
world, tetsugaku in Japanese, indicating the discipline of wisdom, or in
Arabic, falsafa, meaning science of wisdom, this act of thinking about
thinking turns by definition around the fundamental concepts and ideas that
lie at the heart of existence, both individual and collective.
It is this act of
philosophizing that is the lifeblood of philosophy. And it is precisely this
act of reflection, of analysis, of questioning – whether of concepts that
are taken for granted, ideas dulled by time, or long-established paradigms
that I wish to support and promote through the launching of this first
Philosophy Day at UNESCO, which is being celebrated by over 50 countries,
through conferences, debates and related activities …
More
than ever, mutual knowledge and understanding of all traditions of thought
in the world is crucial for dialogue and respect amongst people. Let us take
the time today to celebrate the universality of philosophy. The love of
wisdom is inherent in all cultures, and stands as an intangible heritage of
humankind. Through the celebration of Philosophy Day at UNESCO, I should
like to highlight the importance of philosophy and the contribution of
philosophy to society.
Let us take this day to reflect upon what we do; how is it that we do it;
and why is it that we do not do otherwise. Let us question our daily
practices, take a critical look at the men and women we have become. Let us
cast light on the darkened corners of our understanding of the ‘Other’.
It is the day to ponder on the ethical consequences of our actions, or the
unintended outcomes of our decisions. Let us encourage youth to be creative
in searching for new answers to the challenges of our societies, and to look
for gaps in the current structures set up to serve equity and justice. I
encourage you all to philosophize today. In this world where action does not
necessarily spring from thought, let us take this day to think, question and
search, beneath and beyond the confines of what we think we know.
TO NEW
ACROPOLIS ALL OVER THE WORLD, EVERY DAY IS PHILOSOPHY DAY!
www.acropolis.org
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