In:Language, Culture and Identity – Signs of Life:
Edited by Vera da Silva Sinha, Ana Moreno-Núñez and Zhen Tian
[Cognitive Linguistic Studies in Cultural Contexts 13] 2020
► pp. 7–22
Chapter 1Philosophy and philosophical practice
Eurocentrism as an epistemology of ignorance
Published online: 30 April 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/clscc.13.01alc
https://doi.org/10.1075/clscc.13.01alc
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.
Keywords: Eurocentrism, epistemology, philosophy, ignorance, contextualism
Article outline
- Introduction
- The geography of epistemology
- Conclusion
Acknowledgements Notes References
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