Taking back philosophy : a multicultural manifesto

Bibliographic Information

Taking back philosophy : a multicultural manifesto

Bryan W. Van Norden

Columbia University Press, c2017

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Note

Includes bibliographical references and index

"Foreword by Jay L. Garfield"--Cover

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Are American colleges and universities failing their students by refusing to teach the philosophical traditions of China, India, Africa, and other non-Western cultures? This biting and provocative critique of American higher education says yes. Even though we live in an increasingly multicultural world, most philosophy departments stubbornly insist that only Western philosophy is real philosophy and denigrate everything outside the European canon. In Taking Back Philosophy, Bryan W. Van Norden lambastes academic philosophy for its Eurocentrism, insularity, and complicity with nationalism and issues a ringing call to make our educational institutions live up to their cosmopolitan ideals. In a cheeky, agenda-setting, and controversial style, Van Norden, an expert in Chinese philosophy, proposes an inclusive, multicultural approach to philosophical inquiry. He showcases several accessible examples of how Western and Asian thinkers can be brought into productive dialogue, demonstrating that philosophy only becomes deeper as it becomes increasingly diverse and pluralistic. Taking Back Philosophy is at once a manifesto for multicultural education, an accessible introduction to Confucian and Buddhist philosophy, a critique of the ethnocentrism and anti-intellectualism characteristic of much contemporary American politics, a defense of the value of philosophy and a liberal arts education, and a call to return to the search for the good life that defined philosophy for Confucius, Socrates, and the Buddha. Building on a popular New York Times opinion piece that suggested any philosophy department that fails to teach non-Western philosophy should be renamed a "Department of European and American Philosophy," this book will challenge any student or scholar of philosophy to reconsider what constitutes the love of wisdom.

Table of Contents

Foreword, by Jay L. Garfield Preface 1. A Manifesto for Multicultural Philosophy 2. Traditions in Dialogue 3. Trump's Philosophers 4. Welders and Philosophers 5. The Way of Confucius and Socrates Notes Index

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Details

  • NCID
    BB25322267
  • ISBN
    • 9780231184366
  • LCCN
    2017031091
  • Country Code
    us
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    New York
  • Pages/Volumes
    xxvi, 216 p.
  • Size
    23 cm
  • Classification
  • Subject Headings
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