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INTERNATIONAL PHILOSOPHERSFOR PEACE
International Philosophers for Peace (IPPNO)is an interdisciplinary organization of concerned thinkers who work together to achieve enduring peace through scholarly reflection, peace education and activist commitment.
IPPNO's Vision We promote the elimination of nuclear and other threats to global existence as well as the transformation of values and attitudes. IPPNO has world-wide interests and encourages membership from all countries, all disciplines and all walks of life. We believe that a recourse to war, or the threat of war, in age of chemical, biological, nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction places the continuing existence of the human project at risk and that war itself is rapidly becoming obsolete as a rational instrument of national policy. Consequently the world must ultimately be demilitarized or be ever further degraded by hate, fear, violence, instability, and destruction. With Plato, we further believe that there can be no enduring peace without justice, and in the present case this means equal social, economic and political opportunity for all persons, nations and peoples. We equally hold that the violence against man and nature endemic in western civilization, and thereby in contemporary society, must be channeled and the associated attitudes, institutions and values -- that have contributed to the making of this bloodiest of centuries -- must be transformed. To do otherwise is to invite brutal and possibly cataclysmic consequences. With this perspective IPPNO is committed to eliminate militarism, environmental degradation, and unsustainable development in all their aspects. And in their stead to create an enduring world peace based upon social, economic and political justice within and between nations, and to replace a reliance upon violent solutions--and the institutions and attitudes that embody this--with a global society and way of life tempered by a respect for others and for nature.
History of IPPNOIPPNO, a member of the International Federation of Philosophy (FISP), was founded in 1983 by John Somerville and other concerned thinkers as: "International Philosophers for the Prevention of Nuclear Omnicide." For its achievements in this field, IPPNO was awarded Peace Messenger status by the United Nations and IPPNO's founder received the Gandhi-King award. A member of the International Peace Bureau (IPB), IPPNO to develop worldwide support for the World Court Project, a project which resulted in a July 1996 International Court of Justice ruling that the use and threat of use of nuclear weapons, in all but the most exceptional case, is without question contrary to international law and thereby illegal. We also participated in IPB's successful campaign to curb French nuclear tests, in the Abolition 2000 Caucus for the total abolition of nuclear weapons, and in the 1996 Provisional World Parliament in Barcelona, Spain. In 1997, IPPNO assisted in the development of a model convention for the elimination of nuclear weapons--a document which helped pass the UN resolution that a treaty be prepared banning all aspects of the research, development, use and stockpiling of nuclear weapons. IPPNO has held world conferences on peace and peace-related environmental issues in St. Louis (USA), Brighton (England), Moscow (Russia), San Jose (Costa Rica) and Boston (USA). Our Sixth World Congress, "Paths to Peace in a Violent World" was held in Calcutta (India) in December-January, 2000-2001. We also hold regional and national meetings and actively network with like minded individuals and organizations. We regularly publish the IPPNO Newsletter, an alternative voice for peace, and in are now preparing an interdisciplinary volume: Ways to Peace in a Violent World. We have developed the IPPNO Document on World Peace as a general statement on the way to survival, peace, and justice for all humankind. We welcome your ideas and papers on these subjects. In 1994 the IPPNO Constitution was amended to enlarge the organization’s goals to embody a holistic approach to world peace, thereby expanding IPPNO’s concerns to include all threats to global existence as well as to creating positive social, economic and political conditions for enduring peace. To become a member: All concerned persons are welcome to join IPPNO and to participate in its activities. To join, please send the information below with a check or money order in US dollars to: Ms Shireen Parsons, IPPNO Treasurer, 306 Miller Street, Christiansburg, Virginia, 24073, USA. Email: horizon@swva.net Your membership information: Name, address, city, state/province, country, zip, affiliation (institution or organization), phone, email, fax and best times to call. Special interests: writing, editing, research, videowork, networking, other. IPPNO dues: $30 / year US currency. ($10 / year for students or for members from developing countries.) In the case of hardship or special circumstances, please contact the Treasurer. (IPPNO is a 501-c3 non- profit organization. Contributions and dues are tax-deductible under US law.) For further information contact IPPNO Executive Director: Prof. Howard Friedman, 124 Clay Street, Thomaston CT 06787, USA. E-Mail: HRFRIEDMAN@aol.com IPPNO President: Dr. Glen T. Martin, Radford University, Radford VA, 24142, USA. E-Mail: gmartin@radford.edu
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