Day 3. Rev Dr Professor Upolu Vaai, Manu Folau (Vice Chancellor) of Pasifika Communities University in his 2 sessions this morning during the 3rd day of the Philosophical competency course spoke about the many decades of development across the Pasifika region guided and underpinned by Western philosophical traditions. He spoke about the difference between Western philosophies and Pasifika philosophies, and why it is important for Pasifika people to understand their philosophies if the goal is to move beyond the Western philosophical principles that continue to shape public policies. Principles such as one truth, competition, linearity, deduction, and so forth. He then moved on to articulate the 5 principles of Pasifika philosophies, and how they are reflected in the many aspects of every day life including rituals, ceremonies, allusion, etc. He emphasized the idea that we cannot be eliminative in our story. It has to be holistic.
