On Virtues, Happiness and Education

Muhammad Syafiq Borhannuddin

27 November 2015
UNITAR International University

What is this talk about?

What it is not:
Not an intellectual exercise; not a talk on history; not a series of quotations; not
an attempt to get higher KPI for promotion, higher salary etc.
What it is:
A solution to a fundamental problem via a coherent thinking framework that
can empower academicians and students to be part of the solution in their
respective paths.

Table of Content
1.Why is this important?
2.What do we mean by Virtues and Happiness?
3.Some Practical Implications
4.Some Strategies and Action Plan

Why is this important?

I venture to maintain that the greatest challenge that has surreptitiously arisen in
our age is the challenge of knowledge, indeed, not as against ignorance; but
knowledge as conceived and disseminated throughout the world by
Western civilization; knowledge whose nature has become problematic because it
has lost its true purpose due to being unjustly conceived, and has thus brought
about chaos in mans life instead of, and rather than, peace and justice
knowledge which has, for the first time in history, brought chaos to the Three
Kingdoms of Nature; the animal, vegetal and mineral.
Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Islam and Secularism, 1978.

We live in an age of stark contradictions. The world enjoys technologies of

unimaginable sophistication; yet has at least one billion people without
enough to eat each day. The world economy is propelled to soaring new heights
of productivity through ongoing technological and organizational advance; yet is
relentlessly destroying the natural environment in the process. Countries
achieve great progress in economic development as conventionally measured; yet
along the way succumb to new crises of obesity, smoking, diabetes,
depression, and other ills of modern life.
Jeffrey D. Sachs, World Happiness Report, The Earth Institute, Columbia University,
2012.

There is a crisis of being human.

Aziuddin Ahmad, author of Human Governance: A Paradigm Shift in Governing
Corporations, 2008
At present, how to be a real human being has become anurgent problem
for humanity.
Tu Weiming, foremost expert of Confucius tradition in contemporary world

What do we mean by Virtues and Happiness?

Re-affirming the Reality of Man

In the worldviews of the Asian people, we affirm a conception of man
that is beyond the modern biological, neuro-science conception
-- our forefathers knew what it means to be human:
Islam: body & soul; al-hayyawan al-natiq
Eastern tradition: implies a spiritual reality
Western: originally possessed a soul, gradually reduced to physical being.

On Cultivating
Virtues throughout the Ages
Virtues

Some parallels between Christianity,

From Latin virtus valour, moral perfection; Confucianism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism: by
learning, training of the intellect in
Defined as discernment of mind and good character
deliberate thinking and habituation
inculcation of adab (disciplining of mind, body
Christian Tradition: Cardinal Virtues
and soul).
Islamic Tradition: al-Fadilah
Ethics is the science of cultivating virtues (In
Hindu: Dharma
Islam: ilm akhlak or tasawwuf its a Fard Ayn)
There was no separation between cultivation of
Buddhism:
the intellect and virtues in the pre-modern
Confucius: de
education system = an educated person is a good
person.

The Purpose of Science of Virtues & Being Good: Happiness

Christianity: eudaimonia, felicitas
Islam: certainty of the ultimate truth (theory) and action in conformity
with that certainty (practice).
Confucianism: le
Hinduism: mokhsha (liberation), ananda, bhautika (physical), manasika
(mental), adhyatmika (spiritual)

Relevant Books

The task of education would be, first and foremost, the transmission of ideas of
value, of what to do with our lives At present there can be little doubt that the
whole of mankind is in mortal danger, not because we are short of scientific and
technological know-how, but because we tend to use it destructively, without
wisdom. More education can help us only of it produces more wisdom.
E.F Schumacher, Small is Beautiful

So what?
Some Practical Implications

Implication to Present-Day Education

Education must therefore pertain to this reality of man (i.e. with a
soul), involves cultivation of virtues - an educated person means his
intellect and character is cultivated (in Malay: ber-adab). A clever
person may not necessarily be educated.
Adab towards knowledge: Priorities in terms of knowledge imparted to
students; Different emphasis on assessments; Takes into consideration
the insights and wisdom of past luminaries: al-Ghazzali, Confucius, etc.

Implication to Economics & Business

Rethink business
Adab in business: The Triple Bottom Line
(Profit, People and Planet) principle;
Human Governance to supplement Corporate
Governance; localization as opposed to globalization, etc.
Recovery of the gift economy or wisdom of
economics from the past.
See for instance, E.F. Schumacher, Aziuddin Ahmad & Arfah Salleh,
Adi Setia.

Implication to Design & Architecture

Adab in architecture: In harmony with man and
Nature; sustainability; beauty.
Recovery of traditional wisdom of architecture.
See for instance, the works of Dr. Hassan Fathy,
Abdel Wahid el-Wakil, Dr. Sami Angawi and
al-Jazeeras Rebel Architects.

Implication to Culinary and Food

Adab in culinary and food: good, clean and fair; notion of tayyib
(wholesome) in Islam and other traditions.
Slow food movement (www.slowfood.com), see: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8QoCSDkJn0
Transition towards more sustainable
food system: www.sustainablefoodtrust.org

Implication to Tourism
Adab in tourism: Sustainable or
Responsible Tourism as opposed to
mass tourism.
Recovery of philosophy of travel or
rihlah.
See for instance: Slow Tourism, Centre
for Responsible Tourism, etc.

Adab towards Work

Traditional wisdom teaches that the function of work is at heart
threefold: (1) to give a person a chance to utilize and develop his
faculties; (2) to enable him to overcome his inborn egocentricity by
joining with other people in a common task; and (3) to bring forth the
goods and services needed by all of us for a decent existence.
E.F Schumacher, Good Work

Proposed Definition of Wholesome Graduates:

His whole being (mind,
body and soul) is educated; he
recognizes and acknowledges his place in relation to others, the
natural world and the Transcendent; he is just to himself and
othershe is clear about the meaning and purpose of his life; he
is not merely a good citizen, but more fundamentally he
strives to be a good human being (Malay: insan beradab).

Strategies and Action

Plan

Strategy 1: Introduce a Core Curriculum

First year is focused solely on humanities: science of ethics,
history of great leaders, great literatures of the world, mastery of
languages
OR
A set of common courses required of all undergraduates in every
semester irrespective their choice of major.

Strategy 2: Embed in all Programmes

As outlined in previous Practical Implications section.

Strategy 3: Create Like-Minded Alliances

Slow Movement: Slow Food, Slow Money, Slow City, World
Institute of Slowness.
Transition Movement, Thriving Cities, Thriving Resilient
Communities.
Fair Trade, International Alliance for Localization, DeGlobalization.
Rethinking Education, Rethinking Economics, etc.
Decolonization Movement, CASIS-UTM.

Strategy 4:
Organise an International Conference and series of build-up events
Possible Title: International Conference on Virtuous Ideas and the
Attainment of Happiness
Objective: To gather religious thinkers, philosophers, scientists, economist
from all disciplines and faiths to converge, cooperate and create alliances.
Sub-Themes: Religion, Ethics & Happiness, Education & Happiness,
Economics & Happiness, Architecture & Happiness, Food & Happiness,
Politics & Happiness, etc.

Conclusion
Guidance for our future must be sought from our own sources we need to
rediscover the insights from the luminaries of the past and present in light
of our current state of affairs.
A wholesome person = his whole being is educated = insan of adab = a
good man.
UNITAR can be the first university in Southeast Asia to undertake
this path and truly embody the tagline: Wisdom from the Past,
Inspires the Future.

Guidance from Our Own Sources Imperative

Since Malaysia is Asian and embraces within its geographical, cultural and social fold all the great
religions which sprang from Asia, such as Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and one might
add, Confucianism, it is imperative that guidance for our future must be sought from our
own sources. Not all the values of Western culture are desirable, but in order to be able to
distinguish these from the ones that are desirable, it is necessary that our educational system to be
geared to study in depth that histories and thoughts of the peoples of Asia and those of the West.
With knowledge of these only can one begin to exercise ones rational choice as to what
is good and bad for ones own life.
[Prof. Dr. Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Preliminary Notes on the National Philosophy and
Objectives of Education, 1970]

One of the most important facts to instil is the essential unity of the ethical
doctrines of the world religions represented in Malaysia. There is more
agreement in the ethical doctrines stated than there is in the ideological
doctrines of the West such as nationalism, capitalism, socialism, communism and
the like. If the ethical doctrines of the world religions are made the firm
foundation of our educational philosophy, then perhaps this will be the
first time in the history of mankind that such a great task has been ever
proposed. We must not shrink from the enormity of this great experiment, for in the
Malaysian context everything we will attempt and endeavor to achieve will be based
on experiment, since we must regard our situation as unique, not only in modern
times but in past history. The emphasis on the propagation of similar values in
the ethical doctrines of the world religions will serve to instil the sense of
unity.

Thank you for your attention.

Syafiq@unitar.my
0193488050

Recent Initiatives in the West

1. The Jubilee Centre for Character & Virtues, University of Birmingham (www.jubileecentre.ac.uk)
2. Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture (ethicscenter.nd.edu)
3. Standford Center for Ethics in Society (ethicsinsociety.standford.edu)
4. Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics (ethics.harvard.edu)
5. Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics (www.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk)
6. MITs The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics (thecenter.mit.edu)
7. University of Chicago (scienceofvirtues.org)