\u200b\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Living at a time when\u00a0positivism is becoming\u00a0the only paradigm used to perceive human life and to exert control over human lives is not easy. A strict and controlling policy that is only based on restructuring, readjusting and re- socialization has been applied during this time and even reaches into the discourse of our lives. Living and enjoying our own lives has, therefore, become\u00a0more complicated because we must conform to a process of rules, regulations, laws and a concept of a static culture.<\/p>\n
Under the unlimited\u00a0growth of capitalism and the concept of a democracy based on a nationalistic view of Thainess<\/em>, a new ethical system has emerged. This system does not recognize more traditional views of the importance of individual freedom and views of human rights. It does not appreciate the growing diversity of our lives within in the society and with respect to the important concepts of needs and rights. In this way, we are failing to identify important questions such as how much,\u00a0when and how sufficiently we are meeting human needs.\u00a0These are issues for any society that purports to be based on democracy and meeting human needs while respecting individual rights.<\/p>\n In\u00a0academic society, the lack of recognition and\/or the abuse of human rights, academic freedom and individual dignity are considered to be the big issues.\u00a0They are by definition, public issues and must be treated as such. It is important to provide public forums where these issues can be discussed and considered. Recently, there have been few public forums where the concepts of social rights,\u00a0public freedoms and social dignity have been discussed. But they have been few. Thus, there is little definition given to the ideas of public property and public space. It is important that more a use to discuss these issues are permitted; if not, people do not feel as if they belong to a society. At the present time, public space seems to belong to no one. People are becoming atomised and the idea of society is shrinking in such a situation, democracy cannot be achieved, Thainess<\/em> cannot be understood.<\/p>\n Indeed,\u00a0the social concept of freedom has long been a topic of discussion in the\u00a0social sciences.\u00a0In the Greek era,\u00a0Eleutheros\u00a0spoke of the idea of a\u00a0social ideology based on a strong belief in individual liberty. The ancient Athenians believed\u00a0that the State needed\u00a0to respect individual freedom. Therefore, the Good State must not obstruct, destroy or act\u00a0against individual right in terms of speech, writing, thinking and action<\/strong>.<\/strong> Put simply, it must be recognized that all individuals have power<\/strong>\u00a0(Hansen, 2010: 3).\u00a0 The rights of the individual are recognized and bolstered by the State.\u00a0Athenians had learned the value of freedom through wars, becoming\u00a0slaves and fighting against\u00a0intruders. Their loss of life, property and homeland led them to a strong sense of how much freedom is crucial for them to enjoy happiness. The necessity of being in control of their own lives was an important learning.<\/p>\n In the social sciences, the emergence of law and discipline within the Good State is often\u00a0mentioned by using the case of Athens. The term has becomes a symbol of good practice for achieving a society based on democracy and freedom.<\/p>\n The value of freedom comprises the concept of equity or fairness which is achieved by the law and maintained by the people (demos). \u00a0The ideal of equality, that all persons are equal under the law and within the society is achieved only when we have a situation where the State and people within the society respect the rights and freedoms of all people, that there is no abuse of one toward the other. \u00a0In short, all individuals have the right to receive security without discrimination and to live their lives\u00a0without\u00a0fear or abuse. Everybody should have rights to care for themselves, to belong to a society and to live their lives so as to achieve their own happiness (Gill 2006, Bell 2007, Wilson 2008).<\/p>\n However,\u00a0there are differences in the concept of freedom. In\u00a0the\u00a0Stoicism school, for instance,\u00a0the\u00a0ideology aimed to explain the law of nature. Therefore, the State\u2019s power should be kept under the rule of nature and the rule of law.\u00a0Moreover, the rule of\u00a0Logos\u00a0led to\u00a0Episteme, whereby law must be used within a system that is based on merit, ethics, honesty, justice, simplicity, self-discipline and the peaceful mind\u00a0(Pesin\u00a02010).<\/p>\n The ideas\u00a0of happiness and merit for those who followed Plato\u2019s school are quite different. They arise from the idea of self-control which is based on the concept of rational freedom. For Plato, freedom is\u00a0separated from duty. Freedom neither arises nor is it strengthened through a\u00a0model of control but by the ability of individuals to work and develop through the stage of professionalism. By this, individuals are able to create work that useful for both society and the majority.<\/p>\n Similarities\u00a0between these two schools of thoughts include\u00a0the concepts of happiness and merit based on a logic of learning from suffering, hard work and courage\u00a0(Mcmahon\u00a02004: 10).<\/p>\n Thus, the value of happiness, merit and freedom should be based on wisdom, logical thinking and acceptance of difference. To develop individual happiness\u00a0in an open society,\u00a0questions concerning liberal ideology, de-culturalization, and capitalism\u00a0might only\u00a0lead us to imagination. This might merely\u00a0create a\u00a0romantic picture of an individual\u2019s freedom. By doing this, the other side of human beings which contain unlimited demands can be neglected.<\/p>\n The\u00a0sole use of the\u00a0positivist\u00a0logical framework\u00a0which is rooted in capitalism is no longer useful to examine the Thai-ness policy. Critique must be carried out\u00a0without\u00a0investigation seen as just selfish and self-serving to meet the unlimited demands of individuals.<\/p>\n In 2016, the Faculty of Social Sciences, together with others two Faculties in the University, has moved to our new building. Having to confront the\u00a0limitations\u00a0of public space\u00a0and the seemingly unlimited space demands of the three Faculties, our\u00a0sense of\u00a0public consciousness concerning happiness, merits and freedom has been challenging.<\/p>\n In order to be happy,\u00a0together with our colleagues, in such a small\u00a0academic\u00a0society,\u00a0systematic thinking and acceptance of equality and human rights are crucial. Therefore, the ability to create\u00a0dignity and happiness, use wisdom, and retain a sense of\u00a0public consciousness\u00a0and respectful begin, here where we are.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Regards,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Assoc.Prof. Patcharin Sirasoonthorn, Ph.D<\/p>\n Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences<\/p>\n Naresuan University<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thai Edition<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u200b\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Living at a time when\u00a0positivism is becoming\u00a0the only paradigm used to perceive human life and to exert control over human lives is not easy. A strict and controlling policy that is only based on restructuring, readjusting and re- socialization has been applied during this time and even reaches into the discourse of our lives.… Read More »Dean’s Talk no. 10: Happiness, Merit and Freedom<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deantalk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.socsci.nu.ac.th\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.socsci.nu.ac.th\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.socsci.nu.ac.th\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.socsci.nu.ac.th\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.socsci.nu.ac.th\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.socsci.nu.ac.th\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.socsci.nu.ac.th\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.socsci.nu.ac.th\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.socsci.nu.ac.th\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.socsci.nu.ac.th\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}