ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to approach philosophies of trauma precisely from the perspective of the philosophical assumptions undergirding different ways of engaging with trauma. It analyses the philosophical underpinnings of dominant literary trauma theory particularly concerning the concepts of experience and narrative understanding. The chapter elucidates these points through a discussion of Hanya Yanagihara’s novel A Little Life. The notion of a philosophy of trauma can be used with reference to, first, explicit philosophies on which trauma theories are based and, second, implicit philosophies underlying theoretical approaches to trauma. Third, a philosophy of trauma can refer to the ways in which writers or other artists explicitly philosophize about traumatic experience. Fourth, a philosophy of trauma may refer to implicit philosophies of trauma within works of art that deal with traumatic experience. Philosophies of trauma lead to wildly divergent implications on the significance and potential of narrative in understanding and working through trauma.
