January 24th, 2020 
MAIN POST
Discussion 3,
Similarly to last weeks discussion about the Wests relationship to the East regarding ideologies and practices of psychology, what has been the Wests relationship to Caribbean, African or Indigenous traditions related to categories such as person, suffering, health, and the good life? How have other-than-Western traditions been silenced on these topics?
CLARAS RESPOND TO MAIN POST
Clara Discussion Entry
It seems one could look at the Wests relationship to Caribbean, African or Indigenous traditions related to categories such as person, suffering, health, and the good life by examining various points of reference, importantly, in view of cultural distinctions. From the assigned reading for this week, Larsson (2017) describes aspects of Eastern and Western society that indicate relative values held over time in relation to, for example, social life.
For example, the conception of time and personal existence (Larsson, 2017, p. 67) I would argue has contributed to the proliferation and stratification of economies and industries dominated by Western linear conceptions; which may include categories of person, suffering, health, and the good life. This distinction of conception, Larsson (2017), describes in relation to East and West, where Eastern conceptions of time and personal existence, philosophically, differ with regard to the conception of the life cycle from birth to death (e.g., considered in view of Hindu and Buddhist conception of reality). It seems in relation to Caribbean, and African traditions the conception of time and personal existence are important to examine in relation to Western philosophy, and where harmonious relationships may be mostly difficult to find, historically (e.g., in view of colonial rule).
The distinction in our conceptions of philosophical questions seems an important area to explore when examining the Wests relationship to, Caribbean, African or Indigenous traditions/ silencing on issues. Where additionally, values of social life (Larsson, 2017) may have also determined the extent to which the West has adopted healing traditions, and when traditions have been silenced on such topics.
However, despite the implications of relative values held by societies, it seems important to suggest the implications of transmission of healing practices, inter-culturally. Where Larsson (2017) argues that the movement and interaction of people (e.g., tourism or immigration) may encourage us to adapt at the inter-cultural level, which would seem to involve the transmission of practices to varying extents.
Reference
Larsson, P. (2017). Psychological healing: Historical and philosophical foundations of professional psychology. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock.
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