Social Withdrawal and Mental Disorders in Post-Pandemic Times

Social Withdrawal and Mental Disorders in Post-Pandemic Times conference is held as a part of Japan-Czech Republic Research Cooperative Program between Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and Czech Academy of sciences.

Funded by Czech Academy of Sciences and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Co-organized by University of Tokyo Center for Philsophy.

PROGRAMME
Monday 24. 6. 2024 10:00-17:00
Venue: Room 4, Kasumigaseki Campus (9th floor, Hirakawa-cho Mori Tower), Teikyo University

10:00-10:15
Opening remarks

10:15-11:15
Joff P. N. Bradley (Teikyo University)
"What has happened to radical philosophy and psychiatry?"

11:15-12:15
Petr Kouba (Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences)
"Gender and gender dysphoria in post-pandemic times"

Lunch break

13:30-14:30
Akihiro Miyata (The University of Tokyo)
"Rethinking Watsuji’s Rinrigaku (Ethics) in regard to hikikomori"

14:30-15:30
Martin Nitsche (Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences)
"Topology of solitude: multisensory immersion and mental diving"

15:30-16:30 Panel discussion

16:30-17:00 Closing

Tuesday 25. 6. 2024 12:30-16:00
Venue: Bldg. 18 Hall, Komaba Campus, UTokyo

12:30-13:00 Opening remarks

13:00-14:00 Petr Prášek (Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences)
"Isn't social withdrawal of hikikimori's patients an effort to save themselves? Maldiney's interpretation of Bin Kimura's aida as an original space of common presence in contrast to the depressing sociality of the everyday"

14:00-15:00 Koichiro Kokubun (The University of Tokyo)
"Middle Voice and Time: On Bin Kimura’s concept of Koto and Mono"

15:00-16:00 Toshiya Ueno (Wako University)
"Ontological withdrawal in philo-fiction and speculative-fiction ofGuattari, Laruelle and Flusser"

Closing remarks

Description of the research program

This project addresses post-pandemic rise in social withdrawals (labeled as hikikomori in Japan) and mental disorders inside and outside Japan. We make the case for cross-cultural research to understand hikikomori's complex symptoms and societal implications. The pandemic-induced social deprivation has disproportionately affected children and adolescents, leading to a significant increase in mental health problems. Picking up on the insights of the developmental psychology and considering the unique challenges faced by younger generations, we propose a phenomenological approach influenced by authors such as Husserl, Heidegger, Patočka, Bin Kimura, etc. to understand the impact of social withdrawal on mental health. We would also like to introduce Tojisha Kenkyu, a self-directed research model from Japan, as a potential method to address the current crisis in psychiatric and psychotherapeutic systems in the Czech Republic. We aim to combine Tojisha Kenkyu with phenomenological insights to offer a destigmatizing and nonnormative approach to mental health issues. Our project seeks to uncover the underlying causes and conditions contributing to the increased mental health problems, while proposing a unique technique of self-help and self-support research.

The University of Tokyo Center for Philosophy website