| Periodical Title | APA Newsletter on Asian and Asian American Philosophers and Philosophies |
| Author(s) | Dan Flory |
| Abstract | This essay examines how Indian philosophy was excluded from the Western philosophical canon based on Enlightenment-era debates over the definition of philosophy and racist arguments about non-European capacities for abstract thought. It details how key figures like Kant, Hegel, and their intellectual successors deployed interlocking claims that only Europeans were racially equipped for philosophy, that Indian thought failed to meet narrow definitions of philosophy as strictly rational and argumentative, and that certain scholars offered authoritative basis for such judgments. Despite some acknowledging Indian philosophy, these dubious stances largely prevailed in shaping standard histories of Western philosophy that ignored or dismissed Indian contributions. The essay argues we must re-incorporate Indian philosophy by exposing the flawed assumptions behind its exclusion, which could open study of its potentially earlier origins and influences on Greek thought. This content was generated by artificial intelligence using the text of the original work. |
| Pages | 22-27 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Published Keywords | Indian philosophy, history of Western philosophy, Enlightenment philosophy, racism This content was generated by artificial intelligence using the text of the original work. |
| Date Published | Spring 2015 |
| URL | https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.apaonline.org/resource/collection/2EAF6689-4B0D-4CCB-9DC6-FB926D8FF530/AsianV14n2.pdf |
| Open Access? | Yes |
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