The 2nd World Humanities Forum
‘Humanities and Healing’
Busan, Republic of Korea
1-3 November 2012
www.worldhumanitiesforum.org

Draft Proposal

The changes that will shape the future will not simply “happen”. Nor will they merely be deliberately engineered. They will also be imagined, interpreted and created. The humanities therefore have a major role in shaping social transformations.

The World Humanities Forum (WHF) provides a place for human scientists, thinkers, writers, artists, activists, policy-makers to explore new visions for the 21st century using the range of perspectives offered by the humanities. The WHF is designed to foster (i) understanding of the pressing challenges facing human beings today from a humanities perspective; (ii) examining the current situation of the humanities and defining their role in responding to the challenges; and (iii) seeking for solutions to the challenges and a humanities-oriented vision for the future.

Each WHF combines detailed discussion of one specific theme with broader exchange about the situation of the humanities and current trends in humanistic thinking.

In November 2011, the first WHF was held in Busan, Republic of Korea, under the general theme of ”Universalism in a Multicultural World”, dealing with such issues as identities in an era of globalization, conflicts among civilizations, and global ethics and dialogue of cultures. During their closing session, the participants of the first WHF adopted the Busan Declaration, which reaffirms that the world needs a renewed humanism which can be developed through rigorous analysis and dialogue between humanities scholars, artists, and thinkers from a wide range of backgrounds to address the challenges of the 21st century. In this spirit, the second WHF will seek an enhanced role of the humanities in understanding the nature of the human suffering that stems from conflicts and confrontations in modern civilization and in imagining the modes of healing that might respond to it. The Forum will also consider another dimension of the Busan Declaration: the need to strengthen humanities institutions in order to ensure that the world has the intellectual and creative capacities it needs to cope with the challenges it faces.

More generally, literature, history, philosophy, art and religion have long tried to reveal the scars and pains of human beings – to understand, describe and depict fears, desires, solitude and agony in human depths, to make sense of them and thereby to transform them. It is through imagination, and not simply through dispassionate empirical study, that we can engage with delicate psychological conflicts, complex human relationships emanating from the paradoxes and dilemmas of life, and oppression and tension in societies. The humanities have often offered hope and consolation to humans suffering from anxiety and worry, and at the same time, they have invited humans to face rather than to avoid such pains and wounds by asking fundamental questions about life and the world. Suffering, in other words, is not a merely physiological or psychological condition – it is a social, historical and cultural attribute.

While popular and culturally powerful, the tradition of art, philosophy and literature as reassuring consolation – as “healing” – is however problematic. If it is passive and ultimately non-reflexive, it risks shutting down thought as being itself a source of suffering. Contemporary dynamics in the humanities go precisely in the opposite direction – encouraging critical thinking, even if it hurts, so as to raise consciousness. In a rapidly changing world, making sense of change is of great importance.

Furthermore, the kinds of suffering that humanistic thinking needs to engage with are not only about individuals and their passions. They are socially constructed, and require social reflection, and well as collective and not simply personal forms of reconciliation. In the post-Cold War era, individuals and societies have been deeply hurt by tension, conflict, war and violence between ethnic groups, religions and cultures. Social protest and anger in Europe and North America since the global financial crisis shows that inequality within and between states is of deep concern to citizens. Climate change, the deterioration of the environment, and the resulting problems such as lack of safe water and food are threatening sustainable livelihoods for people throughout the world. In 2011, the tsunami that swept over northeast Japan and the disaster of Fukushima reminded everyone of the limits of human knowledge and radically shook some people’s faith in science.

There is a need therefore both to build on and to go beyond the tradition of wisdom as consolation – this is precisely what a new approach to the humanities can do.

With this in mind, 2nd WHF will aim:

• To reflect on what “suffering” and “healing” might mean, when the human condition is considered in its social setting;
• To understand the suffering of individuals, groups, communities, and civilizations today from a humanities perspective;
• To consider the role of the humanities in healing human pains and wounds, to share experience of how that role can be performed, and to reflect on how it can be promoted.

While the idea that the humanities have a role to play in healing – understood broadly to include consolation, reconciliation, therapy and other processes – current challenges call for new reflection. The sufferings of the weak and the vulnerable are in many cases increasing, while the gap between rich and poor, within and between countries, shows no sign of decrease. Furthermore, suffering is not simply a material issue. There are universal sufferings and pains that everyone experiences as a human being and non-humans also suffer. The humanities need to reflect both on the specific questions, which relate to distributive justice both between humans and between humans and non-humans, and on the general questions, which relate to humanity as such.

In order to clarify these issues, more detailed reflection is needed on the categories of suffering and healing. Differences and connections need to be clarified between the role of the humanities and that of psychotherapeutic approaches, which may well use the language and techniques of the humanities, e.g. through the visual arts, theatre or music. In addition, the various roles and traditions of the humanities require study, both in historical perspective and with respect to their current and possible future development.

Three keynote presentations from international scholars and writers of high repute will address various aspects of these questions. It is envisaged that at least one of the keynote presentations focus specifically on the historical traditions of humanities as healing, and another on the challenges and possible futures

Healing through the humanities starts from understanding sufferings and conflicts from a humanities perspective. Both suffering and conflict operate at very different levels and relate to different kinds of settings, such as nature, civilization, and science and technology. War, violence, disasters, forced and voluntary migration, prejudice and misunderstanding, hostility and hatred, poverty and discrimination may cause suffering of different kinds and in different ways. What they all have in common is that they impede the free life of individuals and the harmony and prosperity of communities – but neither the problems nor the responses are the same.

In order to explore these issues from a humanities perspective and to explore how the healing role of the humanities might be enhanced, four invited presentations will address such issues as:

• Historical Trauma and Healing, considering historical contexts in connection with such processes as sublimation, recognition, and sympathy, which can offer positive pathways out of conflict.
• Moving towards Mutual Respect and Dialogue: Overcoming Prejudice and Misunderstanding, looking at the potential of the humanities to understand and heal the wounds and pain caused by conflicts between religions and civilizations, discrimination against minorities, and confrontation within and between communities, which stem from differences in values and lifestyle.
• Internal Social Conflicts and Healing, with reference to conflicts not just between different communities but also within each community.
• Interaction between different cognitive frameworks and values, as mediators of the relations between individuals, groups, communities and civilizations.

3) Plenary 2 – Nature and Civilization, Science and Technology

Environmental degradation, climate change, food crises, depletion of resources, and natural disasters, are currently major causes of suffering and conflict. They reflect a tendency to regard nature as an object of exploitation and development and raise fundamental questions about our ways of life and values. Modern civilization is premised upon the belief that science and technology can solve the problems they create. However, systemic pressures, such as climate change, and accidents, such as the one that affected the Fukushima nuclear power plant, call into question the regulatory role of science and technology.

What requires discussion in humanistic terms is the meaning of a more tentative and prudent conception of science and technology – and ultimately the values and the worldview that might express it. The suffering caused by modern civilization requires resolution within modern civilization – but not on its historically constituted terms.

In order to explore these issues and the contribution of the humanities to interpreting and addressing them, four invited presentations will address such issues as:

• New Forms of Harmony between Human and Nature, based on and integrating the human capacity to cause harm, with a view to imagining paths towards sustainability.
• Reflection on Needs, Desires and Competition, which shape individuals and society, but which wisdom also calls upon us to master and to direct.
• Dialogue between Science and Technology and the Humanities, with a view to reflecting on an ethical framework for science and technology in the service of human needs and social well-being.
• Diseases, Health, and Death, in light of new life technologies, of the venerable philosophical traditions that make death a primary object of thought, but also of the alternative view of philosophy as a “kind of sickness” against which life needs to be affirmed.

4) Parallel Sessions: Perspectives, Approaches, and Practices

There can be different views or approaches on the healing role of the humanities, as well as criticism of the attempt to connect the humanities to “healing” in the first place. For instance, feminists might underscore women’s perspectives; ecologists might reject anthropocentrism, while radicals might criticize the healing humanities as serving to maintain the existing system. Others might suggest a more balanced approach whereby positive aspects of modern civilization are acknowledged and narrow criticism is avoided. In addition, perspectives on racism and post-colonialism are relevant as paying attention to specific geopolitical patterns of suffering and frustration. Along with such theoretical discussions, space will also be made in the parallel session for discussion of concrete practices.

Subject to further discussion and to the outcome of the call for papers, preliminary themes for the parallel sessions could be as follows.

• Healing Humanities: Criticism and Defense (parallel 1-1)
  Issues and challenges surrounding the humanities and healing will be clearly identified through comparison between criticisms from feminism, ecologism, and radicalism and defenses of a balanced approach.
• Who Should Be Listened To? (parallel 1-2)
  Approaches such as post-colonialism and trans-nationalism will be examined, along with questions on priorities and justice – whose sufferings matter more, and how can pain be shared?
• Healing Practices in the Humanities (parallel 1-3)
  Good practices using the humanities for healing purposes will be introduced to help understand the present circumstances and challenges. The practices may include oral history projects which give voices to those who are not able to fully express their pains.

In order to promote the humanities and strengthen their role in healing modern societies and individuals, both governmental support and civil creativity are important. As the depth and breadth of the challenges and their impacts on human beings increase, there is growing need for global collaboration and institutional capacities in the humanities. A bridge is also required between academic discussions and policy-making to address the problems effectively. Creative ideas bubbling up from free initiatives within civil societies, without restrictions or preconceptions, will provide the WHF with a fresh and enthusiastic atmosphere.

• Supporting the Humanities: Institutional Round Table(Plenary 3)
  Representatives of public and private institutions supporting teaching and research in the humanities will be invited to present their experience and discuss potential action to address identified areas of weakness.
• Call for Papers (parallel 2-1, 2-2, 2-3)
  Papers will be presented covering various aspects of the humanities and healing, with particular attention to creative initiatives and practices of civil societies in the field.