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Chapter 1. Philosophy and philosophical practice

Eurocentrism as an epistemology of ignorance

Abstract

In this paper I argue that avoiding and denying the contextual influences on philosophical systems and trends is the work of an epistemology of ignorance. Further, transcendental illusions about the creation of philosophical ideas and the progression of philosophical debates must be consciously cultivated and protected in order to justify restricted curricular requirements. Given the intellectual wealth of the world, an exclusive focus on the European tradition requires an intentionality and some manner of justification. Primarily, Eurocentrism is justified on the basis of what I call the transcendentalist delusion: a belief that thought can be separated from its specific, embodied, and geo-historical source.

Abstract

In this paper I argue that avoiding and denying the contextual influences on philosophical systems and trends is the work of an epistemology of ignorance. Further, transcendental illusions about the creation of philosophical ideas and the progression of philosophical debates must be consciously cultivated and protected in order to justify restricted curricular requirements. Given the intellectual wealth of the world, an exclusive focus on the European tradition requires an intentionality and some manner of justification. Primarily, Eurocentrism is justified on the basis of what I call the transcendentalist delusion: a belief that thought can be separated from its specific, embodied, and geo-historical source.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Foreword vii
  4. Introduction. Language, culture and identity 1
  5. Chapter 1. Philosophy and philosophical practice 7
  6. Chapter 2. Translation and transnationality in the Himalaya 23
  7. Chapter 3. North-South relations in linguistic science 43
  8. Chapter 4. My journey as an indigenous Xinguan teacher and researcher 63
  9. Chapter 5. The representation-cohesion-stance hypothesis 75
  10. Chapter 6. A framing-based account of critical cultural awareness 111
  11. Chapter 7. Cultural “Signs of life” in politics 141
  12. Chapter 8. Construing the self in discourse 157
  13. Chapter 9. Embodiment, personification, identity 181
  14. Chapter 10. Mid hefigum byrþenum 203
  15. Chapter 11. Cultural and cognitive aspects of narrative 227
  16. Chapter 12. How can I persuade you without making self-assertions? 249
  17. Chapter 13. “Keeping up with the times” 275
  18. Chapter 14. A study of Chinese non-basic color terms from the perspective of cognitive semantics 295
  19. Index 317
Language, Culture and Identity – Signs of Life
This chapter is in the book Language, Culture and Identity – Signs of Life
https://doi.org/10.1075/clscc.13.01alc

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Foreword vii
  4. Introduction. Language, culture and identity 1
  5. Chapter 1. Philosophy and philosophical practice 7
  6. Chapter 2. Translation and transnationality in the Himalaya 23
  7. Chapter 3. North-South relations in linguistic science 43
  8. Chapter 4. My journey as an indigenous Xinguan teacher and researcher 63
  9. Chapter 5. The representation-cohesion-stance hypothesis 75
  10. Chapter 6. A framing-based account of critical cultural awareness 111
  11. Chapter 7. Cultural “Signs of life” in politics 141
  12. Chapter 8. Construing the self in discourse 157
  13. Chapter 9. Embodiment, personification, identity 181
  14. Chapter 10. Mid hefigum byrþenum 203
  15. Chapter 11. Cultural and cognitive aspects of narrative 227
  16. Chapter 12. How can I persuade you without making self-assertions? 249
  17. Chapter 13. “Keeping up with the times” 275
  18. Chapter 14. A study of Chinese non-basic color terms from the perspective of cognitive semantics 295
  19. Index 317
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