Research and teaching of philosophy in the context of integration.

The conference took place on December 3, 2008, with the participation of many students, postgraduate students, staff, lecturers, and philosophy researchers from various universities across the country. More than 30 papers were presented.

In her opening remarks before the conference, Dr. Nguyen Thuy Van, Head of the Philosophy Department at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, stated: Philosophy is one of the sciences that can provide humanity with concepts and methods for understanding the world. Therefore, in the past, present, and future, the role of philosophy in building a correct worldview and methodology for scientific understanding and practical activity is unchangeable. But that is a theoretical issue; is this true in practice? Is philosophy truly as important and necessary as people say? If so, does the current dissemination of philosophical knowledge meet the demands of society and practice, especially in the context of integration and development? This was also the main topic that delegates focused on discussing at this conference.

[img class="caption" src="images/stories/2008/12/04/img_7760.jpg" border="0" alt="Dr. Nguyen Thuy Van (right) - Head of the Philosophy Department" title="Dr. Nguyen Thuy Van (right) - Head of the Philosophy Department" width="240" height="161" align="right" ]

One of the issues raised by many delegates was the need to correctly define the role and significance of this science in the current context, as well as how to develop, supplement, and apply Marxist philosophy to real life and university teaching. Dr. Nguyen Vu Hao (Faculty of Philosophy) argued that it is necessary to correctly define the relationship between philosophy and politics, avoiding extreme politicization of philosophy. Philosophy must maintain its necessary relative independence as a science and not be equated with politics. Furthermore, it is necessary to create genuine intellectual motivation, encourage freedom of thought and debate as a prerequisite for philosophical innovation. According to Dr. Nguyen Vu Hao, it is regrettable that Vietnam is currently one of the few countries without a Philosophy Society – an important criterion for assessing the level of development of philosophy and philosophy education in a nation, and also an obstacle to integration with the global philosophical community.

[img class="caption" src="images/stories/2008/12/04/img_7784.jpg" border="0" alt="Dr. Nguyen Vu Hao - Vice Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy" title="Dr. Nguyen Vu Hao - Vice Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy" width="240" height="161" align="left" ]

Following the Ministry of Education and Training's decision to merge three science subjects—Philosophy, Scientific Socialism, and Political Economy—into a single subject titled "Principles of Marxism," many delegates expressed concerns. They noted that while this overall structure makes the subject much more concise and addresses the overlapping content between the old subjects, the implementation of this reform program, without careful planning and preparation, could lead to a simplification of the body of knowledge on Marxism-Leninism. Furthermore, until now, the study and teaching of Marxism-Leninism have been conducted through three independent disciplines, meaning most lecturers typically specialize in only one area: either Marxist-Leninist Philosophy, Marxist-Leninist Political Economy, or Scientific Socialism. According to the new program, each person will be responsible for teaching all three subjects, but without careful preparation, the teacher themselves can easily become confused about the parts they haven't taught, leading to students not fully grasping the knowledge.

[img class="caption" src="images/stories/2008/12/04/img_7754.jpg" border="0" alt="Prof. Dr. To Duy Hop (Institute of Sociology)" title="Prof. Dr. To Duy Hop (Institute of Sociology)" width="240" height="161" align="left" ]

The issue of innovation in current philosophy research and teaching was one of the most frequently discussed topics among delegates. Many presentations pointed out limitations such as: while research on Marxist-Leninist philosophy has developed in recent years, it has not made groundbreaking contributions or brought about significant changes; philosophical research is lacking in the ability to apply the principles of Marxist-Leninist philosophy to the analysis and verification of the Party's policies and guidelines; theoretical research is extensive but lacks technical research to test theoretical issues in practice; the approach is linear – failing to integrate with modern knowledge and instead relying heavily on prescriptive teaching and excessive citations. On the student side, students lack foundational knowledge and many other necessary skills to study philosophy. On the teacher side, teaching lacks creativity and the application of knowledge to practice, making philosophy a difficult and overly abstract subject for students. The current curriculum for this subject is a common curriculum used by many training institutions, without taking into account the specific objectives of philosophy training in each major and field, which have their own unique characteristics...

It can be said that the discussions at the conference reached a consensus on solutions to improve the quality of research and teaching in philosophy today, incorporating individual opinions, counterarguments, and debates. It also demonstrated the genuine concerns and persistent anxieties of many teachers who have dedicated many years of their lives to researching and disseminating philosophical knowledge. By raising many issues, the conference also hopes to bring about significant changes in the thinking and actions of both those teaching and studying philosophy today.