During the 14th Dialectical Symposium of 2023, the World Philosophical Forum introduced Nikola Tesla to Socrates. Tesla then looked towards an improving future. Now the Forum hopes to help save it. The World Philosophical Forum also called for a ceasefire wherever war rages, the protection of civilians everywhere, the release of all hostages taken in conflict and prisoners unjustly held in prisons by states, everywhere, and a renewal of respect for man’s environment. The design of an oversight platform for AI based on Hellenic philosophy as a guard against its misappropriation and the engineering of Eurasian Bridges for Peace were both revisited. The latter is a rare tool for stuies in Terrorism. As for Socrates, he was heard to say wisdom still goes unheard and hubris is the legal tender of the day. Give me the hemlock; I’ll not stay.

The World Philosophical Forum has, among its other sent letters and appeals, proposed that the Greek authorities convene a group of independent thinkers to assess the symptoms and causes of the world’s collective condition, which I refer to as "social dementia." While we clearly recognise significant positive efforts and achievements in 2023, it is wise to understand that after a storm, perfect or not, the recovery of economic systems compared to human ones occur faster. Man dies, systems fail.

Philosophy is beneficial in reducing chaos and for the nurturing of a more resilient society. Once again, the World Philosophical Forum in Athens, Greece, raises its small voice in grave concern that the world is on a fast track to extinction. Currently, several billion people can’t afford what they could three years ago. Three years from now the number of people in the same predicament will more than double. Progress in any sphere of human activity depends on autonomously functioning educational and research institutions, competence acquisition and an ingrained sense of civic education as well as the responsibility taken by all actors. When bridges failed, examinations to improve knowhow entered and professionalism developed and when the English language looked around for an impressive way to express stupidity it turned to a Greek word for private and came up with idiot.

Keep in mind that this year 2024, may be more difficult than the previous one but maybe considerably easier than the next. The incessant production, use, and colossal profits made from weapons make peace promotion almost impossible. No international organisation committed to improving the state of the world has yet succeeded in turning it around. HADES is now on high alert. The gateway to Tartarus is closed. Ice in Davos is less cold, while in Delphi, the huffing and puffing of the gods is warming up the atmosphere. In both locations a 1.5 degree rise in temperature may be here.

In this brand new year of 2024, greetings to the impressive periphery of Davos where the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum unfolds (15–19 January) from Delphi, the centre of the world, Had I been able to drop in my pick from the rich Forum menu, it would have been Overcoming Unfair Beginnings and The Battle for Your Brain. I am sure the Σομελιέ will ensure the correct temperature of wine.

2024 is underway here and there as well as down below, and the World Philosophical Forum in Athens wishes peace, progress, and prosperity for Greece, for Europe, and for the rest of the world; peace in the Swiss Alps; and peace on Mount Olympus. Perhaps later in the year, some in Davos now will join our philosophical pilgrimage to Delphi, where at least security is guaranteed by Hercules, free of charge. His new Labour will be to ensure safe access to all sacred sites and deal with any harassment that may befall peacekeepers and scholars en route to Delphi. If your approach is through Athens, you will be escorted along the Sacred Way to Eleusina where the secrets of the Eleusinian mysteries, which revolved around the belief that there was hope for life after death, will be revealed. This is a part of a constantly promoted package and developing proposal of the World Philosophical Forum, which we do not tyre of repeating, namely, to negotiate a symbolic peace in the sacred place of Delphi with an agreed-upon Ecumenical Peace Treaty which would be signed in the Old Greek Parliament of Modern Greece. Symbolism is an influential agent!

At the outset, let me say that all models, resets, or approaches to restore, save, or change the world for the better are failing. If anyone can argue differently, let him say so now or in Delphi or hold his peace. Failing because they have not called upon classical philosophy to help peruse their models or scrutinise their train of thought. Of course, one might ask why should they listen to the voice of philosophy. Even in the international community, philosophy is forgotten. It is an abandoned instrument, abandoned and before being tried. It is the only existing, untried instrument.

For 4000 years, war has tried to bring peace, while in the present era, dreadful technologies are becoming the first choice of weaponry. The appetite for the acquisition of nuclear weapons is astounding, and every day it’s a miracle that one country doesn’t snap and start a nuclear war.

Our world does need sustainable development and many more global citizens, especially as it is being despoiled and sold out. Unfortunately, without a major change, none of the Sustainable Development Goals will be met. It is in need of an entirely different mind-set and with more minds with rare competence of know-how which if applied, can make life less like hell and more harmonious. One first step would be a return to the agenda of the United Nations and the ideas of Ban Ki-Moon in his Education First initiative, with the added incentives for global citizenship and the revitalization of UNESCO’s programme for the widespread use and study of philosophy, which is mandatory. After all, all instruments tried so far have fallen flat, unable to bring harmony and as man undergoes neural displacement that has precipitated social dementia.

We cannot afford to let the world cheer for Hitler, who did not have the atomic bomb, or any other dictator or autocratic leaders today who do or want one! Without a decisive political turnaround in global affairs registered within each country’s home office as well as in the corridors of power of the international community, we should fear the spread of increasing violence, the precipitation of illegal and more frequent wars and a coroner’s pending death certificate for humanity. As yet It is difficult to see that the outcome of any election this year will improve harmony.

Dear Mr. Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece,

The World Philosophical Forum is on record of stating that Greece remains an inexhaustible historical source of knowledge with a flame that still inspires, while philosophy remains a peaceful and spiritual ally of man. The Hellenic narrative reaches far back in time and has been carried forward by a language that is 4000 years old and through an inspired mythology, as well as the wisdom of philosophical thinking. To save what we can, we need to adopt, here and now, a revolutionary change in mentality. If Greece does not make better use of its past, it will walk towards a future somewhere between a weakened Europe and a war-torn East. Keep in mind that next year, 2024, may be more difficult than 2023, but perhaps easier than the year 2025.

Of the many evils that befell 2023 one found the transaction of the 14th Dialectical Symposium of the World Philosophical Forum but should be recorded rather as a misfortune when an appropriate place could not be found for its conduct. So I desperately suggested, but at the same time mockingly, that it be held in the National Gardens. I also suggested that participants be fully dressed in philosophical clothing but also in a "mosquito net" in case someone is infected with malaria or dengue fever returns. The misfortune, ran its course when the Municipality of Athens gave it space and we say a big "thank you." The focus of the programme was Nikola Tesla. The proceedings of the conference were "brought to life by the waves of electromagnetism" and by "imaginary discussions" between Tesla and Socrates, which were accompanied by references to the Enlightenment as well as to artificial intelligence. At the session dedicated to Tesla and supported by the Serbian MFA it was agreed to promote the creation of an international body and an international Nikola Tesla Award. It is worth noting that three participants in the conference, one Russian and two Greek, have been declared "Tesla Ambassadors" by the Serbian authorities.

The interface—the union between Tesla and the World Philosophical Forum—is philosophy. Tesla has looked far into the distant future to improve it, and the Forum celebrated his role and showcased his legacy. It has further interests in harnessing Tesla's imagination and philosophical feeling, which is indeed amazing when you consider that even then he was thinking about renewable energy sources. The hopeful conclusion for us is this: yes, we can, as long as we like Tesla can grasp the earth and shake it—of course in a philosophical mood.

As Honorary President of the World Philosophical Forum, I spoke in my opening speech about ancient tears, modern fears, and philosophical wisdom. From the corridors of the 14th Dialectical Symposium, we called for a ceasefire, wherever war is raging on earth, and to ensure the protection of civilians everywhere, the release of all hostages captured in war, but also of all prisoners unjustly detained in prisons, in all states without exception. We also made calls for the formal reinstatement of a Universal Declaration on the Illegality of Wars on Earth, which the World Philosophical Forum in Athens first proposed in 2016 and from Delphi.

Already, the next 15th Dialectical Symposium of the World Philosophical Forum is planned with proposed themes, always in a philosophical light: the positive and negative aspects of public versus private university education, the examination of vaccine science, the second coming of Tesla, and a philosophical pilgrimage to Delphi. We are even preparing to "host" Socrates and Newton. I hope that you will join us and support us. The way this will be done is your choice. Don’t forget the philosophical pilgrimage.

Dear Klaus Schwab, President, World Economic Forum,

While the World Economic Forum commits itself to improving the state of the world by engaging the foremost political, business, cultural, and other leaders of society with enormous knowledge to shape global, regional, and industrial agendas, it has never invested a shred in philosophy. We do stand in the shadow of existential issues, and doing nothing is not an option. The focus of the World Philosophical Forum in Athens is practical classical philosophy. Greater efforts must be made to reshape the future and to palliate the rapidly growing sense of concern, telling us that there is little or no time left to look back. Our state of civilization is in jeopardy.

The world and Davos run on, short of the concentrated wisdom of philosophy, which can provide new perspective, modify mindsets on short or long timeframes (time constants). As the danger of a nuclear detonation rises, so does the need for peace that passes all understanding as well as an improved ability to reason in the light of experience. With a growing risk of surpassing 1.5 degrees Celsius and the disabling of biological homeostasis as a result of climate change, disruptions, insecurity in the field of education and with AI not knowing what it will make of our future—devolving or evolving or who we are or who AI says we are—free or shackled? Whatever it means to have a post-Shakespearian mindset—to be who we are or to be whom we are encoded to be.

At the outset, I have to say, and in the Year of Nikola Tesla, as recently presented in the 14th Dialectical Symposium of the World Philosophical Forum (WPF), Athens, I don’t have a smidgen of expectation of being read, not only because my only worldly possession is a well-maintained car, a Peugeot circa 1980. It is highly unlikely that I will ever have a Tesla. I do not have a portable telephone nor wear a watch, and I have little use for a wallet, but I know I am free, and I think I am happy. I am, of course, fortunate to have a warm and caring family from which I draw strength to maintain resilience. Nikos Kazantzakis, a very spiritual philosopher and writer, said he hoped for nothing, was not afraid of anything, and was free. The so-labelled anti-Christian Kazantzakis advised the dolts and deniers of all worlds and of all religions to ask the almond tree, what is God? And the almond tree will bloom! Tomorrow, in Gaza and in the Ukraine, trees may not exist.

The voice of this year’s Nobel Laureate for Peace, who has lingered for eight years in a dreadful Iranian prison, an organised slaughterhouse, is being heard around the world. So there is hope! Can anyone deny that organised slaughter is not taking place in Europe or the Middle East? Martin Luther King said injustice in health is the most shocking and inhumane form of inequality, while targeting health facilities is barbaric. James Baldwin said that sometimes our best efforts at peace are betrayed. People tend to think of failed states as being solely run by authoritarian strongmen. But today’s autocrats are often careful not to disavow democracy. Instead, they undermine its framework, including elections, the judiciary, and state institutions.

I do believe that our world needs sustainable development and many more global citizens, especially as it is being despoiled and sold out. Unfortunately, without a major change, none of the Sustainable Development Goals will be met. Making use of Tesla’s imagination and philosophical sentiment, who was thinking even then about renewable energy, let’s grasp the earth and shake it up. If ever my one possession becomes the world, I am not sure to whom I should bequeath the steering wheel. As COP28 wound down it was important to applaud achieved consensus and to boo the breach of 1.5 degrees Celsius. An interesting tit for tat: Mary Robinson - we are in an absolute crisis... You, as President of COP28, could say with urgency and much credibility that we must phase out fossil fuels to Sultan Al Jaber who responded there is no science behind what you ask me to do; you are lying about it and want me to lie about it on your behalf. This is one incredible cover up and of climate denial.

Let me also tell you that on the way to the 14th Dialectical Symposium in 2023, funny things happened, including finding accommodation (no room at the inn) for it. It was so difficult that it prompted me to propose its enactment in the National Gardens of Athens with its participants dressed in philosophical robes. As I started to understand the bureaucratic and security issues involved and the potential media bonanza, I dropped it. It might mean the apprehension of elderly people disturbing the peace or philosophy searching for peace destroys it. Philosophy has become homeless and a creeping cultural disaster. While of outstanding universal value, it must be preserved at all costs as a bulwark of humanity and a tool in society within education and in decision-making.

The United Nations Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Gutierrez, has indicted the moral status of our world, while at the beginning of COP28, he said humanity has opened the gates of hell, a phrase in keeping with Dag Hammarskjold’s phrase that the United Nations was created to save humanity from hell, which today comes closer, in the Ukraine and in Gaza, with the support of 50 or so other on-going conflicts. Warfare has many footprints. Members of the elite are extremely vocal when they should be sotto voce and have little or no voice at all for the most important issues, including the death of practical classical philosophy. One prevailing concept is that phasing out coal, oil, and gas will take mankind back into caves. Mine is that we may be there sooner. Wafting safety blankets over the ashes to send out smoke signals can kindle flames that warm a few, but they will never receive congratulations from Prometheus. No matter, never mind, and certainly not much philosophy. With our minds, we can home in on the truth of matters and come closer if only helped by philosophy. Know thyself-know others/know what-know how/left brain-right brain functions are required, as are morally good-but-not-morally-bad functions.

One repeat proposal of the World Philosophical Forum and once again is that a symbolic peace be negotiated in the sacred place of Delphi, Greece, and an agreement and a Universal Peace Treaty be signed in the Old Hellenic Parliament, Athens, of modern Greece. One reason for me not proposing Geneva is that my worldly car will make it to Delphi but not Davos. Note that Heracles will take on the role of maintaining access to all shrines and dealing with any harassment by peacekeepers and scholars en route to Delphi. Think of it with Heracles in our corner; security is ensured. It will give the elite a chance to tune in to the gods and reduce the footprint of hubris.

Dear Mi. Mitsotakis, Greece is center-field to numerous challenges and promising opportunities for change and development. One challenge is that of strengthening geo-economic diplomacy in the extraction reservoirs of energy in the Eastern Mediterranean others include better preparedness to face an awful menu of more frequent disasters, strengthen the forces of integration within Greek society and to revitalize practical classical philosophy. Social dementia is the shame of the civilized world and Greece in classical philosophy holds an antidote. It means a better understanding of man’s neo-cortex and a different neuro-physiological approach to the business model.

Dear President Klaus Schwab, in the absence of philosophically enhanced civic education the brain can be melded in more destructive ways and social dementia will continue to grow. An abandonment of the principle of the preservation of life with a refusal to utilize the wisdom of classical philosophy will undermine the Motto of the World Economic Forum: Rebuilding Trust 2024. Trust and transparency go together. It is my considered opinion that as wealth’s glitter on the melting snow slopes of Davos, dazzles, faith in its motto is fading and a new mind-set is urgently needed. Can you help resurrect classical philosophy? Does anyone listen? Does anyone really care? While I maintain my optimism, the likelihood of success seems remote.