Page 13 - The Ethics of ASEAN

Introduction by Dr Choltis
Dhirathiti, Executive Director of
the ASEAN University Network

This book is the result of a series of dialogues on ASEAN ethics co-organized by the ASEAN
Human Development Organisation (AHDO), the Foundation for International Human Rights
Reporting Standards (FIHRRST), and the ASEAN University Network (AUN) Secretariat. The
dialogues were conducted in the form of webinars known as the “ECAAR Dialogue Series”,
also referred to as the “Ethics Webinar Series”. ECAAR functioned as a cover brand for the
collaboration among AHDO, FIHRRST, and the AUN Secretariat, intended to represent a
loosely formed “Ethics Council and Advisory for the ASEAN Region”. The webinar series
comprised a total of eight webinars with different themes held from January 2021 to
January 2023. The combined duration of these eight webinars was 1,275 minutes, with a
total live audience or viewership of 8,017 counted, not including those who accessed the
content in “watch-later” mode. As AUN is the network of leading universities in the ASEAN
region, its Secretariat is delighted to offer support for both the ethics dialogues and the
publication of these discussions, for the benefit of the general public and in service to
the delivery of education within higher education institutions. After all, we firmly believe
that the university serves as the natural habitat for cultivating the values of diversity and
inclusiveness, including ethics.
Diversity and inclusiveness are practical principles that need to be cultivated if
we want them to become part of the core values and everyday practices in our society.
To achieve this, the correct standpoint is required, and it appears that the standpoint
of pluralism is compatible with contemporary values of diversity and inclusiveness, in
contrast to egoism, which is not. As human beings, we all make judgments in our everyday
lives. We make judgments about what the true facts are, what things we can call beautiful,
and what kinds of behavior towards other human beings we can deem right or righteous.
We disagree with, or even condemn, what we perceive as lies or untruths, the ugly, and
wrongdoing or immorality. Everyone has his/her own standards for judging the world
around us, whether it be the real, the beautiful, or the righteous. It is part of our existence
as humans, shaped and practiced throughout our lives. An egoistic person makes
judgments based on the belief that he/she has a better understanding, taste, or moral
superiority than others. A person with a pluralistic worldview or mindset sees the need to
explore different understandings of the facts, different aesthetic judgments, and different
ethical points of view; for the world is greater than what one thinks within one’s own mind.

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