University of Virginia Library

Germino Invites International Scholars
To Discuss Aspects Of 'Open Society'

By FEN MONTAIGNE

Nearly everyone is concerned with
the enhancement of the quality of life,
and their concern leads directly to the
theme of our conference."

Dante Germino, political theory
professor, made this statement in
reference to a political theory conference
which he has organized.

The conference will be in session this
summer, from June 28 to July 4.
political philosophers from all over the
world will attend the meeting, which will
be held in Bellagio, Italy. The theme of
the conference is 'the open society'.

Mr. Germino defines the open society
as one in which the defenses that
needlessly separate people are broken
down. As long as defenses such as group
hatred exist, then a society must be
considered somewhat closed.

Mr. Germino said he realizes that it
will be difficult to break down the
"walls". Even though the open society
may be difficult to achieve, Mr. Germino
stresses the fact that men must not
abandon the idea of attaining such a
society. The open society is therefore a
goal, an ideal.

The open society, Mr. Germino points
out, can only be realized if the individuals
in society become more open with one
another. Mr. Germino defines an open
individual as one who possesses a
"freedom of spirit" a realization that
"mankind is one."

Henri Bergson, the French philosopher
who first used the term "the open
society", depicted an open individual as
one who has "the strength to love
mankind."

Mr. Germino feels that a worldwide,
nonviolent, cultural revolution must
occur before any sort of open society can
be established. This revolution will start
with a 'change of consciousness' in each
individual, he believes.

Once the individuals in a society have
changed, the their culture will change.
Once their culture has changed and
become more open, then the political
system of the society will also become
more open.

Such an open political system, Mr.
Germino feels, would not be as
acquisitive, selfish, or imperialistic as
many political systems are today. In
other words, an open political system
would be a system dedicated to peace,
not war.

His ideas on the open society and the
open personality differ from the ideas of
many other political philosophers. The
purpose of the conference is to bring
these different philosophers and ideas
together, and hopefully these men will be
able to further refine the idea of the open
society.

Twenty political philosophers from
ten nations will attend the meeting. The
theorists will come from a wide range of
countries such as Great Britain, Uganda,
Israel, Italy, Japan and Australia.

Perhaps two of the best known
scholars attending the meeting are
Alexander Passerin d'Entreves of Italy
and Bernard Crick of Great Britain.
American scholars from such universities
as Hawaii, Amherst, California and Duke
will also participate in the conference.

The conference is being funded by a
grant which the University has received
from the Rockefeller Foundation. It is
paying for the transportation for all
scholars to and from Italy. They will be
working in a villa which is owned by the
Foundation on the shore of Lake Como.

Professor Germino hopes that the
conference will resolve many important
questions concerning the open society.
Some of the questions to be discussed
are: How realistic is the idea of the open
society? How much openness can a
society tolerate? What forces threaten to
close-society?

"Hopefully," said Mr. Germino, "this
conference will bring us closer to
attaining an open society."