How philosophical reflection can help bridge the East-West cultural divide

At times of geopolitical tension, economic concerns and humanitarian crises, turning to philosophy may seem like an evasion. It is my belief, however, that philosophical reflection helps leaders reframe difficult problems and helps the world bridge cultural gaps. This is why I am founding a US$1 million annual prize for philosophy. Economists can aspire to a Nobel Prize; innovative thinkers who contribute to bridging the cultural gap need a similar form of recognition.

Ideas have power. In his best-selling book, Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari argues that what distinguishes humankind from all other species is its ability for large-scale cooperation based on mental abstractions such as human rights, money or gods.

Throughout history, new conceptual frameworks have arisen in the imagination and taken hold in the physical world when circumstances of the human condition warrant: Confucianism; democracy; the Enlightenment; Marxism; existentialism; feminism; and so on.

But ideas move different people in different ways. Most philosophical traditions have aimed at a universal truth, but divergent views and values have often been prioritised in different historical traditions. Some differences may be intractable, some need to be tolerated, and some will allow for mutual learning.

One cannot fully make sense of politics without a good understanding of philosophical and religious traditions. Dissimilar views about politics in the US and China, for example, are partly rooted in different priorities given by each society to key values and aspirations, not simply in conflicting economic and military interests. Not recognising these distinctions and not engaging with different cultures today - more needed than ever in an increasingly multipolar world - expose us to geopolitical risk.