The study of philosophy dates back to the sixth century BCE, commonly credited to the Ancient Greeks. While their contributions to the ideologies and concepts in philosophy are irreplaceable, we often ignore the fact that other societies conceptualized similar ideas, and Western philosophy doesn’t define the entire field. For a wider breadth of study, UT’s philosophy department should integrate more non-Western philosophy into the curriculum.
It’s not uncommon for philosophy to feel West-centric, so it is important to take steps to mitigate that. Students can benefit from the expansion in curriculum, as increased representation can expose students to new concepts not otherwise found in the general argumentation and questioning style of the West. Ideas worth studying come from a variety of places, such as the Buddhist perspective on essentialism and morality.
Stephen Phillips, professor emeritus of philosophy and Asian studies, taught classical Indian philosophy at the University for 38 years. He discusses the importance of studying philosophy within a global context.
“One great takeaway from studying Confucius or Nyāya, and so on, is how we’re all human beings,” Phillips said. “We have much (of) the same concerns. … You might think that every culture is so ethnocentric that we can’t understand one another, or we can’t really benefit but that’s not true at all. … By actually studying Chinese and Indian philosophy, you get that sense (of) ‘Ah, this relates to me.’”
With information comes understanding. Being able to access these nuanced views and talk to experts permits open conversation and a sense of belonging. Since Phillips’ retirement, no one has replaced his content on Indian philosophy and the practice of yoga.
Today, the offerings of non-Western philosophy courses and units are limited.
“One area of philosophy I’m really into is philosophy of mind,” philosophy senior Haley Linscott said. “I feel like our department offers a good number of opportunities and has a good number of courses to learn about philosophy of mind. But what could be better is if, in those courses, we were taught a larger variety of philosophies, like Eastern philosophy and their approach to philosophy of mind, as opposed to just the regular Cartesian kind of approaches.”
However, integrating a wider range of philosophy into the department has its challenges as well. Kathleen Higgins, a professor of philosophy with interest areas in non-Western philosophy, discusses some of the issues the department faces when attempting to diversify the curriculum.
“The main conflict is just that there’s a limited amount of time in the semester,” Higgins said. “So how do you create a balance? … Or if you’ve got professors devoted to teaching courses that aren’t taught often, who’s going to cover the ones that we absolutely need to offer?”
With a limited amount of resources and vast amounts of content to cover, questions arise on what to include and what to sacrifice. Hiring professors who specialize in non-Western philosophies could potentially take resources away from the mandatory curriculum for the degree.
While it can be a difficult task to increase the coverage of such a widespread study, making small, simple changes like adding a unit or hiring just one professor with unique expertise could be a step in the right direction and benefit students immensely.
Philosophy is a study with a long history, prone to becoming rigid with its structure simply because it has been taught for so many years. The gradual expansion into non-Western ideologies is happening with time, and UT’s philosophy department should take steps to do the same.
Tanya Narwekar is a philosophy and economics junior from Coppell, Texas.
