In a broad sense, philosophy is an activity people undertake when they seek to understand fundamental truths about themselves, the world in which they live, and their relationships to the world and to each other.

Living in the Javanese society himself, the profound Javanese philosophy has inspired Prof. Dr. Sutrisna Wibawa, M.Pd. to contribute his idea for improving education through applying Javanese philosophy in character education. Through his unearthing study of values influenced by Javanese philosophy, he found that two essential points of the philosophy, that is ngelmu kasampurnan (the science of perfection) and ngelmu sangkan paraning dumadi (the science of origins) are applicable and relevant to the implementation of moral education.

In his inauguration lecture entitled ‘Javanese Philosophy as the Underlying value of Moral Education” (9/12/2014), Prof. Dr. Sutrisna Wibawa, M.Pd., who specializes in Javanese philosophy, argued that Javanese philosophy acknowledges the absolute recognition of God. The relationship between human and God, human and nature as well as among human  metaphysically reflect the phenomenon.“The enrichment of values in Javanese philosophy is in line with moral values, namely religion, obedience, honesty, tolerance, discipline, friendliness, concern for nature and sincerity,” he said.

He also refers to the Wedhatama book, a Javanese literature which is influenced by Islamic values, categorizes four levels of  sembah (worship) in moral education  namely sembah raga (worship by physical conduct), sembah cipta (worship by controlled conduct) sembah jiwa (spiritual worship to God) and sembah rasa (worship beyond rituals), as a means of implementing moral Education.

Sutrisna Wibawa’s inauguration lecture has marked his academic journey as the 124th professor at YSU. (Febi)