In this first issue of the new version of Synergeia-the faculty journal of the University of Asia and the Pacific-the eight articles featured are all -examples of the multidisciplinary approach that is a hallmark of the education imparted in the three-year undergraduate education at UA&P.
As the reader can gl~an from the abstracts, each author-although specialized in a concrete field of human learning-straddles at least two disciplines in dealing with his or her topic. The multidisciplinary approach all the authors follow obliges them to minimize the use of technical jargon that is understandable only to their fellow specialists. There is the conscious effort to communicate to the lay reader.
At UA&P, members of the faculty, whether at the College of Arts and Sciences or at the specialized graduate schools (economics, management, information technology, integrated marketing communications, education, and humanities), are expected to hone their skills in multidisciplinary thinking and interdisciplinary research. For example, an industrial economist such as Mr. -Winston Padojinog, author of the article on the Internet, does not limit his studies of the information technology industry to exclusively economic dimensions. Like all faculty members of the university, he is constantly deepening his understanding of theology, philosophy, and other sciences in a never-ending professional formation program. He can thus intelligently discuss the moral dimensions of consumer protection in the Internet as he delves into the supply and demand conditions of the industry.
To cite another example, a patently interdisciplinary approach is taken by professional educator, Dr. Esrher Joos-Esteban. She borrows heavily from studies of theologians, philosophers, psychologiscs, and anthropologists in describing the profound effects of parental verbal abuse on child development.
The multidisciplinary treatment of topics that will be the distinctive feature of this faculty journal stems from the University’s commitment to a holistic education of the person in its liberal arts program, the req uired foundation of all the professional courses offered in the graduate schools.
A liberal arts educator must be multidisciplinary in his or her search for the truth. Only by knowing how to synthesize the findings of different disciplines can the liberal arts educator impart ro students the wisdom, the spirit of solidarity, and the professional competence that are the three pillars of a UA&P education.
I hope that this maiden issue of Synergeia will stimulate greater interest among the UA&P faculty and other readers in multidisciplinary studies and interdisciplinary research. The intellectual environment arising from interdisciplinary dialogue is the necessary antidote to excessive specialization in today’s knowledge-intensive world which may tend to produce uncultured geniuses. These geniuses have no room in an educational institution like UA&P.
Bernardo M. Villegas, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief