Rethinking the History of Philosophy

Diogenes 56 (2-3):138-150 (2009)
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Abstract

Basing herself on Indian and Chinese traditions, the author provides arguments in favour of revising the customary understanding of philosophy per se. The nonexistence of uniformity in the methods of cognition cannot be taken as evidence for the phenomenon of ‘philosophy’ missing outside the Western world. In the East, one can witness fidelity to the broad interpretation of ‘philosophy’, etymologically much nearer to this concept, presuming, along with rationality, the authority of other sources of knowledge. Philosophy came into the world not once but a number of times and in various places. From the outset it bore out, along with common generic traits, its specific ‘patrimonial’ characteristics; in other words, those revealing its own culture. In its turn, each culture is built up around a certain ‘frame’ made up of universal conceptual constituents. The history of philosophy would remain incomplete and one-sided (with a ‘Western bias’) until it ignores the fundamental universals of other cultures. Even the universals and values recognized as common to all mankind are frequently imbued with basically different substance depending on a context of relevant culture. The reappraisal of the history of philosophy should make the teaching system of philosophy multicultural

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Citations of this work

Odera Oruka on Culture Philosophy and its role in the S.M. Otieno Burial Trial.Gail Presbey - 2018 - In Reginald M. J. Oduor, Oriare Nyarwath & Francis E. A. Owakah (eds.), Odera Oruka in the Twenty-first Century. Washington, DC, USA: The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy. pp. 99-118.

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References found in this work

The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy.H. D. Griswold & F. Max Muller - 1900 - Philosophical Review 9 (4):432.
A short history of philosophy.Robert C. Solomon - 1996 - New York: Oxford University Press. Edited by Kathleen Marie Higgins.

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