Basic Concepts
77 years have passed since the atomic bombings. With the A-bomb survivors aging and peace conscious fading among the young, communicating the A-bomb experience to future generations is an urgent task.
To logically analyze and organize the meaning of the A-bomb survivors’ desire for world peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons, we are promoting courses that address at least the following points:
- By scientifically communicating the facts of the A-bomb experiences of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the courses should impart to students accurate information about the power of nuclear weapons.
- Survivors of the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki endured an experience beyond our imaginations. How did they manage to retain the will to live as decent human beings? What impact has their experience had on human history, particularly on world views, views of nation states, scientific technology, military and nuclear policy, literature, and the arts? Such questions should be used to help clarify the meaning of the A-bomb experience. The courses should also review how the bombings have already been interpreted in various academic disciplines.
- The courses should stress the universal import of the A-bomb experience and the message of the hibakusha. In particular, students should come to perceive that this message has a direct bearing on the future of humankind and must be an integral part of any philosophy of human existence.
