Promoting academic literacy on non-Western traditions of philosophy, Philosophy East and West has for over half a century published the highest-quality scholarship that locates these cultures in their relationship to Anglo-American philosophy. Philosophy defined in its relationship to cultural traditions broadly integrates the professional discipline with literature, science, and social practices. Each issue includes debates on issues of contemporary concern and critical reviews of the most recent publications. Philosophy East and West was founded at the University of Hawai'i in 1951 as an extension of a series of conferences on Asian and comparative philosophy inaugurated in 1939. The Ninth East-West Philosophers' Conference was held in Honolulu in 2005.

Since its establishment in 1947, University of Hawai'i Press has published over 2,000 books and over 900 journal issues. Within the worldwide scholarly community, University of Hawai'i Press is recognized as a leading publisher of books and journals in Asian, Asian American, and Pacific studies. Disciplines covered include the arts, history, language, literature, natural science, philosophy, religion, and the social sciences. The University of Hawai'i Press also serves as a distributor for more than 140 scholarly publishers in North America, Asia, the Pacific, and elsewhere.