Peace Proposal 2024

Contribution of Liberal Arts Education to Restoring Human Connections

Preface

1. About SMCP club

Student Movement for the Culture of Peace (SMCP) is an undergraduate initiative founded by students at Soka University of America (SUA) in September 2017, propelled by a desire to translate SUA’s values of peace, human rights, and the sanctity of life into concrete actions. The club was founded based on inspiration from SUA’s founder Daisaku Ikeda’s peace proposal in 2006, where he called for action on “building a student-centered network to support the UN.”[1] As his successors, this club creates networks of global citizens who strive to actualize the UN’s pillars of the culture of peace. Our activities actualize the mission statement of SUA, “fostering a steady stream of global citizens committed to living a contributive life” by focusing on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Nuclear Disarmament in the local community and worldwide.[2]

 

[1] Daisaku Ikeda, “A New Era of the People,” Daisaku Ikeda Official Website, 2006, https://www.daisakuikeda.org/sub/resources/works/props/pp2006.html.

[2] Soka University of America, “Mission and Values,” accessed July 17, 2024, https://www.soka.edu/about/suas-heritage/mission-and-values.

2. Purpose of the proposal

Today, as conflicts and wars continue and hatred among people spreads, the need to promote the idea of a culture of peace arises. As part of this effort, SMCP released our inaugural peace proposal last year. The founder of SUA, Daisaku Ikeda, published peace proposals to address diverse global challenges by suggesting practical solutions to achieve peace and human security from the perspective of Buddhist philosophy for 40 years since 1983. The SMCP peace proposals inherit his spirit to actualize the culture of peace through the solidarity of global citizens, including students, faculty, and staff at SUA and those outside the SUA community.

3. Definition of the Culture of Peace

Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.[1]

—UNESCO

According to the United Nations General Assembly, a culture of peace is a “set of values, attitudes, modes of behavior and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation among individuals groups and nations.”[2] Wars originate in the human heart. Therefore, building a culture of peace in each person’s mind is essential to prevent wars.

The situations in the world can be daunting. Students may doubt their power as individuals to confront violence. However, SMCP members believe that consistent everyday actions of individuals can create a culture of peace. In other words, regardless of their position, each individual can contribute to peace.

This year, we organized a dialogue event and an annual symposium to discuss how liberal arts education contributes to the culture of peace.

 

[1] United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, “Constitution,” UNESCO, November 22, 2023, https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/constitution.

[2] International Day of Peace, “Culture Of Peace,” accessed July 17, 2024, https://internationaldayofpeace.org/culture-of-peace/.

4. How Liberal Arts Education is Implemented in SUA and Its Significance

Soka University of America (SUA) was established as a liberal arts college in Aliso Viejo, California, in 2001. The mission statement of the university, “To foster the steady stream of global citizens committed to living a contributive life,” illustrates the university’s founder, Daisaku Ikeda’s hope for students to lead the world to peace.[1] The education offered at SUA is built upon the value of wisdom, courage, and compassion, which Ikeda suggested as the essential qualities for global citizens in his speech at Columbia University in 1996.

• The wisdom to perceive the interconnectedness of all life.
• The courage not to fear or deny difference but to respect and strive to understand people of different cultures and to grow from encounters with them.
• The compassion to maintain an imaginative empathy that reaches beyond one’s immediate surroundings and extends to those suffering in distant places.[2]

The uniqueness of liberal arts education, which enables students to find the interconnectedness of academic fields and global issues, helps them acquire global citizenship.

The educational practice at SUA also inherits the pedagogy of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Josei Toda, Ikeda’s mentors. They considered children’s happiness as a primary goal of education at a time when Japanese nationalism and imperialism were spreading. Makiguchi was an elementary school teacher and emphasized co-learning between students and teachers. Toda highlighted the importance of the educational environment, especially faculty, which is the core of education. At SUA, professors are assigned to teach general education courses, such as Pacific Basin, Core, and Modes of Inquiry, that might not be their academic specialty. The opportunity for faculty to explore subjects outside their specialty creates a co-learning environment for faculty and students.

Such uniqueness of liberal arts education helps students develop their essential academic skills and humanistic philosophy to grow as well-rounded individuals and contribute to world peace through human interactions.

 

[1] Daisaku Ikeda, “Thoughts on Education for Global Citizenship,” Daisaku Ikeda Official Website, June 13, 1996, https://www.daisakuikeda.org/sub/resources/works/lect/lect-08.html.

[2] Soka University of America, “Mission and Values.”

5. Summary of Symposium

On March 27th, 2024, SMCP hosted a symposium, “Contribution of Liberal Arts Education for Peace,” inviting Professor Jacqueline Mills and Professor Phat Vu as panelists. In the panel discussion, both professors shared their understanding of the purpose of liberal arts education and its connection to peace. Professor Mills talked about how different fields of study connect to peace based on her diverse educational background, including International Studies at SUA, global policy, and medicine. She emphasized that liberal arts education enables students to think critically across disciplines, be humble by exploring unknown fields, and live more humanely in a complex society. Another key message from her was that liberal arts education itself is not equal to peace, and therefore, we need to have strong determination and actively fight for peace. As a physicist, Professor Vu discussed liberal arts education from a different perspective. He explained his view of value creation (sōka) as making connections between a wide range of experiences, knowledge, and points of view, which leads to peace. He concluded that liberal arts education liberates people from being socially programmed robots that follow social norms without consideration and allows them to make their own choices for peace and happiness.

6. Current Issue

One of the most severe issues in the world today is social disconnection. Social disconnection is defined as a “lack of social, emotional, and physical engagement with other people, which covers structural and functional measurements such as social isolation and loneliness.”[1] This concept manifests itself in diverse ways, including the sense of loneliness, division among people, and challenges to the loss of humanistic philosophy.

First, more and more people feel lonely even though the modes of communication, such as social media, have significantly developed. A poll shows that 30% of American adults feel loneliness at least once a week.[2] Even though people have easier access to information and communication digitally today, it does not satisfy the human need to have physical connections and a sense of interconnectedness with others.

Second, as people isolate themselves from others, division among them intensifies. Current protests regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict on college campuses exemplify such division. Even if students organize protests with a sincere will to support people suffering in war zones, the results of their actions could lead to further conflicts and hatred against other parties if they forget to make an effort to communicate with and understand people with different opinions. Also, social media algorithms selectively show information similar to what one usually perceives, making people more blind to opposite views.

Third, challenges against the humanistic view are arising. As people become more dependent on science and technology, society moves faster than ever. Although they made people’s lives more convenient and efficient, the tendency to judge the values of people’s behaviors and decisions only on efficiency grows. If such a trend continues, people may see less value in personal connections. As a consequence, members of society lose tolerance and understanding among each other.

 

[1] HealthDay, “Loneliness Is Plaguing Americans in 2024: Poll,” US News & World Report, February 1, 2024, //www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-02-01/loneliness-is-plaguing-americans-in-2024-poll.

[2] Jon Barrenetxea et al., “Social Disconnection and Living Arrangements among Older Adults: The Singapore Chinese Health Study,” Gerontology 68, no. 3 (June 16, 2021): 330–38, https://doi.org/10.1159/000516626.

7. Contribution of Liberal Arts Education to Solutions

Liberal arts education plays a central role in restoring human connection and solving the social disconnect.

Dialogical learning in liberal arts education, for example, deepens the connection among students. The class size in most liberal arts colleges is relatively small, which enables students and professors to share their opinions and learn from each other through discussions. Through these human conversations, the students appreciate the value of co-learning. Such learning opportunities fortify human and social connections in a world where many people face the reality of isolation caused by a lack of communication. As the students practice this dialogical learning through active interaction with people outside their campus, the sense of connection in society will gradually spread.

Also, the interdisciplinarity of the liberal arts curriculum, which requires students to enroll in courses outside their academic interests, enables students to perceive the interconnectedness of different academic fields and opinions. By analyzing global issues from various perspectives and learning their significance, the students deeply appreciate other points of view. These continuous practices foster mutual understanding and ease their division.

Furthermore, critical thinking skills nurtured through liberal arts education enable people to critically analyze and judge the trends of the world. As technology and science rapidly develop, people can be swayed by a pursuit of convenience and efficiency. Critical thinking skills empower students to question such human tendencies and reconsider the value of human connection.

8. Action Plans

Reflecting on the key elements of liberal arts education and their effectiveness in fortifying human connection in society, SMCP proposes practical action plans in three pillars.

The first pillar is making connections with others. Having more opportunities for interaction enables people to see their interconnectedness with others and mitigate isolation.

1. Learn a new language.
   • Speaking a new language opens up a chance to get to know more people.
   • Learning a language deepens people’s understanding of different cultures.
2. Join an event in the community and get to know neighbors.
   • Having face-to-face conversations establishes stronger interconnections.
   • Engaging in an activity together enhances a sense of responsibility and belonging to the community.

The second pillar is expanding critical thinking skills. Judging the outcomes of technological development depending on whether it contributes to human happiness enables people to live a more humanistic and fulfilling life.

3. Come up with one idea before searching for something on the Internet.

1. • Questioning the accuracy of the information on the Internet improves independent judgment.
   • Examining the discrepancy between personal ideas and what is portrayed on websites helps to understand the origin of opinions and broaden the possibilities of accepting other ideas.

4. Read a book or an article with an opposing view and imagine the source of the perspectives.

1. • Being open to changing existing opinions liberates people from stagnation.
   • Learning from differing opinions increases tolerance.

The final pillar is cultivating creativity. Creative work can communicate feelings, inspire others, and connect people. Creative ideas can open a new path for resolving conflicts and problems without denying the value of other opinions.

5. Engage with unfamiliar forms of art (paintings, music, poems, etc.) and try to appreciate its value.

1. • Gaining new inspiration from other people’s works breaks through stereotypes.
   • Making an effort to appreciate and respect unfamiliar objects cultivates a sense of connection with them.

6. Think about a new way to express your feelings and opinions to others
   • Using various forms of communication, including body language, writing, and arts, expands the possibility of effectively conveying thoughts.

Incorporating non-verbal communication as a way of expression connects people transcending language barriers.

9. Conclusion

In a world where the division among people and isolation intensifies, and the value of warm human interactions is easily neglected, reviving human connection is essential. To this end, the underlying philosophy and pedagogy of liberal arts education can provide hope for restoring social connection and harmony. Through SMCP’s proposal for the six action plans, anyone can exercise the essence of liberal arts education to construct a culture of peace wherever they are.