“Trauma and Healing”: a Philosophical Discourse in the Context of the Dialogue of Eastern and Western Cultures (On the 12th International Conference “East-West Philosophers’ Conference. Trauma and Healing”)

Abstract

East-West Philosophers’ Conference is an international event held every four years at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, USA. This year’s conference was the 12th, and its topic was Trauma and Healing. The authors of this article were participants of the conference. They present the most significant facts of this aca­demic event, interesting reports, ideas of philosophers from many countries of the world. Plenary sessions and concurrent sections with key figures are noted. The history of the conference and its practical results, such as establish­ment of the journal on comparative philosophy titled Philosophy East & West and the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii, are traced. It is noted that comparative philosophy was the main creative force behind the conference, al­lowing representatives from different countries and continents to show a focus on cross-cultural humanistic principles of being human, which make it possible to work together for mitigating personal and global trauma. The ideas of over­coming trauma from the position of Eastern (in its diversity), European and American philosophy are considered. In general, the dialogue of Eastern and Western philosophy at the conference was expressed in the formulation and translation of universal values that help people in healing from various types of trauma, violence and suffering. The views of T. Albertini, A. Mansour, K. New­mark, and participants from RUDN University are presented, based on their con­ference papers