Ralph Siu

Ralph Siu

Ralph Gun Hoy Siu (1917 – 1998) was a distinguished American author, scholar, military, and civil servant. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and died in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Siu obtained his Bachelors degree (1939) and Masters degree (1941) from the University of Hawaii, and Ph.D. degree (1943) in biochemistry from the California Institute of Technology. He then entered the United States Army Quartermaster Corps and headed a team of researchers that developed new "jungle type" fabrics, clothing and equipment. As the Quartermaster Corps’ Director of Laboratories and Chief Scientific and Technical Director for more than a decade (1948–62), Dr. Siu spearheaded numerous critical projects, including pioneer efforts on irradiated food – a key component of President Eisenhower’s Atoms-For-Peace program.

Around 1968, Dr. Siu was named civil servant of the year, and was thereafter appointed by President Johnson for directing the newly created National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice.

From 1957 to 1980, Dr. Siu produced several books, published by editors like MIT Press or John Wiley & Sons Inc. Most notable among them are The Tao of Science, and The Craft of Power.

In 1986, the Journal of Humanistic Psychology published an article by Ralph Siu entitled Panetics—The Study of the Infliction of Suffering. Here is the abstract:

After analyzing the unceasing mutual inflictions of suffering by practically everyone and the neglect of this pervasive and degenerating human deficiency by the academic community, I urge the immediate creation of a new and vigorous academic discipline, called panetics, to be devoted to the study of the infliction of suffering. The nature, scope, illustrative contents, and social value are outlined. The dukkha is proposed as a semiquantitative unit of suffering to assist in associated analytical operations.

In 1991, the International Society for Panetics was founded by Ralph Siu and some sixty scientists, physicians, business leaders, scholars, artists and writers from several countries, among which such notable people as Kenneth Boulding or Johan Galtung. The Society is dedicated to the study and development of ways to reduce the infliction of human suffering by individuals, corporations, governments, professions, social groups and other institutions. It issues a journal, Panetics, and it sponsors the annual Ralph G. H. Siu Memorial Lecture in Washington, D.C., featuring a prominent speaker on a subject of concern to Panetics. Past speakers have included Peter Caws, University Professor of Philosophy, Richard Shifter, former Assistant Secretary of State for Human rights and Humanitarian Affairs, and Joseph Rotblat, President of the Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs and a winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace. See also the Panetics Speakers Bureau.

In the words of Anthony Judge, who masterminded and was responsible for the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential, "Siu was an early pioneer in creating a bridge between Eastern and Western cultures", and "is an exemplar of lifelong dedication to complex issues having fundamental humanitarian implications."