Real treasure of peace publications will continue the work
Dr. Miguel Angel Cano Jiménez died peacefully in his home in Torremolinos, West of Malaga on the Mediterranen coast, on 29th June 2023. He was a Spanish philosopher and thinker, PhD from 2003 in philosophy and educational sciences, and author who left a real treasure of books on peace. At the same time, he was the first person in Spain to join the Family Federation, then called the Unification Church, in 1971 and remained a faithful member all his life.
He was born in Madrid in 1950, got married in a large Family Federation wedding in London in 1978 to Françoise Ansoult from France, and led the Family Federation of Spain from 1990 to 1993.
In order to understand the teachings and their origin more deeply, Miguel Cano spent two years (1993-1995) in South Korea, where he studied Korean language and culture, as well as the Family Federation’s teachings in depth in their original language. He was struck, and deeply moved, by how clear, logical and deep the insights were, which he gained during that time. It was then that he got the inspiration to study philosophy at a university, obtain a PhD and devote himself to teaching.
He received his doctorate in 2003 from National University of Distance Learning (UNED). His thesis received the highest possible rating “Summa Cum Laude” and was awarded the PhD Extraordinary Award, given to the three most relevant PhD thesis of the academic year.
Cano said that he got the idea for the structure of the thesis quite early during his doctorate courses. The inspiration for the content came from Unification Thought, published by Dr. Sang-hun Lee, an early disciple of Sun Myung Moon. Javier Muguerza (1936-2019), one of the most prestigious authorities in Moral Philosophy in Spain, read Cano’s draft carefully and told him that his writings were organized as a Hegelian philosophical system that was intended to cover all fields of knowledge.
Later that year, it got published in three volumes by Hergué Editorial, a company specializing in the publication of academic books. The series was called Foundations of Peace Education. Volume 1 was Science and Values, volume 2 Global Ethical Consensus, volume 3 Ethics and Peace.
Cano’s mentor José Maria Quintana Cabanas (1930-2013), senior professor of the Department of Social Pedagogy of the Education Faculty at the UNED, wrote a review of the books in Spanish Journal of Education. The books were acquired by many Spanish universities.
From 2006 to 2016, Miguel Cano worked as a professor of philosophy in public schools in Malaga, Spain.
In January 2018, he published an 8-volume series “Universal Principles to Build A Culture of Peace” in Spanish and English.
They were released on CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, a popular self-publishing service owned by Amazon. The titles were
- The Principles of Nature and Their Ethical Implications
- Values and Norms: The Search for Happiness
- Religion and Ethics: The Search for Absolute Values
- Towards A Global Ethics
- Great Challenges for World Peace
- Human Rights and their deficiencies
- Universal Ethical Principles
- Ethics Education for Peace
In October 2019, Cano published independently another real treasure – a new trilogy, titled “Universal values and principles to create a culture of the heart”. The volumes were,
- Original Human Nature: Sacred, Unique, Eternal and Cosmic Value
- Problem of Evil and Restoration of the Original Nature
- Building a Culture of Heart: Universal Values, Interdependence, and Mutual Prosperity
Besides the writing and publishing, Cano organized meetings with teachers and educators in Spain to teach them the contents of his books.
In the Spring of 2023, Cano was diagnosed with cancer. He was hospitalized, but his situation did not improve. He is survived by his wife Francoise, two sons and daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren.
Featured image above: Miguel Angel Cano Jiménez (1950-2023), taken about 2005. Photo: Miguel A. Cano Jiménez
“Peace Philosopher Leaves Real Treasure” – text: Knut Holdhus
