International Conference on Innovative Philosophy And Law (IPL 2022)

On December 14 and 15, 2022, the International Conference on Innovative Philosophy and Law (IPL2022) with the theme "Rethinking Life and Normative Order in a World of Conflicting Values: Transdisciplinary Perspectives from Asia" organized by the College of Economics, Law and Government (CELG) under the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) hosted the event with great success.

The IPL was organized with the goal of building an annual series of seminars on the field of social sciences and humanities under the brand name of IPL, hosted by the UEH College of Economics, Law and Government (CELG). The School of Law is primarily responsible for specializations. The conference aims to establish and develop a network of researchers in the field of social sciences and humanities in Vietnam and around the world. In its first year, under the theme “Rethinking Life and Normative Order in a World of Conflicting Values: Transdisciplinary Perspectives from Asia”, IPL 2022 presented philosophical and jurisprudential commentary from a postmodern, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspective for economic, political, legal, social, human and environmental issues.

Overview of the IPL 2022

December 14, 2022

On the first day of the conference, in addition to the keynote speakers and authors presenting at the conference, there was also the participation of hundreds of interested scholars, research fellows, postgraduate and undergraduate students interested in the conference topics.

Speaking at the opening of the IPL 2022, Prof. Dr. Su Dinh Thanh - President of UEH emphasized the importance of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research in UEH's development orientation and acknowledged the presence of scholars and researchers domestically and abroad. Besides, the Professor also thanked the contributions of sponsors and the efforts of the Organizing Committee in the process of preparing for the Conference.

Prof. Dr. Su Dinh Thanh - President of UEH delivered the opening speech of the International Conference IPL 2022

After the opening ceremony, Dr. Do Kien Trung - School of Political Theory delivered a keynote speech with the theme "Unity and Conflict in a World of Diverse Value Systems". The article reaffirms IPL 2022's theme of life and order in a conflicted world of values. These are also the contents presented by the main speakers in the plenary sessions.

Dr. Do Kien Trung delivered the keynote speech

During the first plenary session led by Dr. Dinh Cong Khai - Vice President of UEH as chair, Prof. Dr. Kazashi Nobuo - Kobe University, Japan delivered a presentation with the topic "On Technology and Governance: Social Contractarian Dilemmas in the Nuclear Age". Starting with the concepts of the state of nature, and the laws of nature in the thought of Hobbes and Locke, the presentation discussed the social contract and the role of the government. Prof. Dr. Nobuo also examined these concepts in relation to Eastern culture, which is deeply influenced by Confucianism. In the later part of the speech, the concepts that seemed to be very old were considered by the speaker in a new context with the change of technology and war, thereby giving reflections on the new social order as well as the role of international law.

Dr. Dinh Cong Khai (UEH Vice President) chaired the plenary discussion

Prof. Dr. Kazashi Nobuo (Japan) presented at the conference

After the lecture of Prof. Dr. Nobuo and the comment section of Dr. Dinh Khuong Duy - School of Law, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Karen Abalos Orendain (Philippines) presented the second plenary session with the theme “Beyond Language - Reassessing Deliberative Democracy Amid the Challenge of Immigration”.

Following the plenary session, on the morning of December 14, there were 4 parallel discussion sessions conducted including:

Session 1.1 in the field of philosophy, phenomenology, and political science moderated by Assoc.Prof.Dr. Liu Zheng (China);
Session 1.2 in the field of economy, environment and digital transformation moderated by Assoc. Dr. Vo Tat Thang;
Session 1.3 in the field of international relations and public policy moderated by Dr. Nguyen Thanh Trung;
Session 1.4 in the field of jurisprudence moderated by Assoc. Dr. Tran Van Nam.

In the afternoon of the same day, the second plenary session was held under the direction of Assoc.Prof.Dr. Pham Khanh Nam - Vice Head of CELG. The first presentation by Prof. Dr. Lee Jong Kwan (Korea) with the theme "Envisioning the Future through the Ontological Architectural Phenomenology in Current Existential Crisis". The presentation highlighted concerns about the future of the existential crisis. After the comment section of Dr. Fotios Rodis (Greece) and the speaker's response, Assoc. Dr. Liu Zheng (China) presented the second paper with the theme “Re-evaluating the ‘Exception’ (Reigai) Thought of Japan’s Postwar Intellectual Shuichi Kato”.

Professor, Dr. Lee Jong Kwan (Korea) presented

There were four parallel discussions to be conducted after the plenary session:

Session 2.1 in the field of philosophy, phenomenology, and political science moderated by Dr. Bui Phu Hung;
Sessions 2.2 and 2.3 in the field of economy, environment, and digital transformation moderated by Assoc. Dr. Vo Tat Thang and Dr. Fotios Rodis;
Session 2.4 in the field of jurisprudence moderated by Dr. Lu Lam Uyen (School of Law, CELG, UEH).

December 15, 2022

At the discussion session on December 15, Prof. James Morley from the United States gave a presentation on the topic “Phenomenology, Mindfulness and Intercultural Understanding”, discussing phenomenology, full consciousness, and intercultural awareness. He discussed the mechanical approach of natural science, which views man as an objective governed by social dynamics and natural selection, Prof. Morley reaffirms people's ability to create reality and change the world through the practice of empathy between people. According to him, positive empathy will arise when people find their original consciousness, and actively practice sympathetic and loving thinking, instead of approaching the machine, which is a cold and rational science, excluding unprovable states of mind. The phenomenological methodology is a tool to help us realize subjectivity and the importance of consciousness in creating and defining the world, and through that, Prof. Morley also recalled the profound conceptual achievements that the ancient easterners had long been enlightened with.

Professor, Dr. James Morley (USA) presenting

Following the plenary session, on the morning of December 15, the last discussion session on the field of jurisprudence was held with the chairperson being Dr. Nguyen Thi Anh - Vice Dean of School of Law, CELG. The speakers presented in turn include:

Speaker, PhD candidate Nguyen Thi To Vy presented an article on mental health differences among female cohorts “The disparities of mental wellbeing among female cohorts”;
Speaker Nguyen Thi Thu Uyen representing a research group from Hanoi University of Law gave a presentation at the end of the discussion session on the topic of e-Government in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic comparing Korea and Vietnam “E-government in the context of COVID-19 pandemic a comparative study of Korea and Vietnam”.

The discussions were lively and received a lot of academic input. Speaking at the closing of the conference, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Pham Khanh Nam affirmed: “This is the first time UEH and CELG have organized an interdisciplinary conference with topics covering many fields from philosophy and law to economics and public policy. This well reflects UEH's strategy of transitioning from a single major in economics and business to a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to education and research. In our transition to interdisciplinary, we need to open our minds, accept our differences, and move beyond our comfort zones in research, reflecting the University's investment in the social sciences, in general, to explore breaking new academic boundaries in different disciplines.”

On behalf of UEH, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Pham Khanh Nam sent his gratitude to the sponsors OCB, Takebox, and Partners for accompanying the University to organize a successful conference, and at the same time awarded two Best Paper awards to representatives of two groups of authors, Dr. Wang Xiaomei from Kobe University with the article “The Possibility of Evil and Stupidity in Postwar Japan Democracy: Insight from Takaaki Yoshimoto’s Thought of Mass” and Tran Van Nam with the article “International patent valuation framework from a comparative perspective and lessons for Vietnam”.

Dr. Pham Khanh Nam gave the closing speech and awarded two OCB Best Paper Awards to Dr. Wang Xiaomei (China) and the group of authors led by Assoc. Dr. Tran Van Nam (National Economics University, Hanoi)

Additional photos relating to the IPL 2022 International Conference: