The analysis of pain, suffering, and discrimination requires a serious and comprehensive theoretical framework that takes into account their social, political, and cultural dimensions. While pain and suffering may be considered universal aspects of the human condition, discrimination is not equally present across societies, nor does it manifest uniformly toward all individuals. Rather, discrimination is socio-culturally and institutionally mediated, contingent upon specific structural inequalities that shape how these phenomena are recognized, experienced, and addressed.

From this perspective, theoretical reflection becomes indispensable: pain, suffering, and discrimination cannot be fully understood without situating them within the broader social and political contexts in which they arise. Although pain and suffering are widespread human experiences, their causes and consequences are not limited to biological or psychological factors. Structural inequalities—whether economic, racial, gender-based, sexual, or otherwise—play a decisive role in shaping how pain is perceived and whose suffering is acknowledged as legitimate and deserving of care.

Discrimination, as a social phenomenon, interconnects these experiences through systematic and institutionalized mechanisms of power and marginalization. While not every individual encounters discrimination directly, it remains a pervasive reality for particular social groups whose position—defined by gender, race, sexual orientation, social status, or other markers—conditions both their exposure to suffering and the forms this suffering takes.

This event seeks to open a research dialogue on the interrelations between the body, the mind, and the community, with the aim of examining how these experiences are embedded in everyday life and institutional responses, as well as in broader normative social practices. The conference invites reflection on the following questions:

• How do institutional frameworks, social norms, and political strategies shape the recognition, treatment, and legitimization of pain, suffering, and discrimination?
• To what extent do political and economic factors influence societal perceptions of these phenomena, and how are these factors enacted through legal systems, healthcare policies, and other institutional practices?
• Which mechanisms of power govern the processes through which pain, suffering, and discrimination become recognized as legitimate subjects of political and ethical concern?

By bringing together diverse theoretical perspectives, the conference seeks to explore how pain, suffering, and discrimination—understood both as subjective experiences and as objective social realities—are constituted through systemic inequalities and institutional power. The overarching goal is to foster critical discussion on how these phenomena shape individual lives and broader social processes, as well as how they become institutionalized and reproduced through legal frameworks, media discourse, and social institutions.

Participants:
Prof. Sunčana Roksandić (Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb)
Marijana Jurić (Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb)
Anđelija Tasić (Faculty of Law, University of Niš)
Monika Milosavljević (Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade)
Nenad Andrić (Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade)
Vukašin Milićević (Ljuba Davidović Foundation)
Aleksandra Bulatović (Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade)
Zona Zarić (Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade)

Moderators:
Predrag Krstić and Milica Sekulović (Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade)