Introduction to Philosophy: Global Perspectives (E(d)udaimonia Textbooks)

Readers who are familiar with philosophy as it is traditionally taught in the West will find in this book a familiar structure and some familiar vocabulary. We will examine familiar subcategories of philosophy, such as metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, etc. Ideas explored in this book will be experienced as arguments. That is to say that philosophers and philosophical traditions will be presenting perspectives on a variety of topics, and will offer reasons in support of those perspectives. None of this is different from virtually any textbook on philosophy that you might read. Where this textbook will be different from the majority of textbooks used to explore philosophy, particularly in introductory courses in philosophy, is that all of the voices consulted in the “great conversation” that is philosophy will be voices coming from historically underrepresented communities (except for rare exceptions made for the sake of comparison or contrast). Textbooks providing and examining the ideas of Great Western philosophers such as Plato, Descartes, and Hume exist already in abundance. Nothing in this book is intended to somehow diminish the significance of such philosophers or their ideas, but it is long past due that other voices are heard as well. Voices from the African diaspora. Voices from Indigenous communities. Voices from Asia. Voices from Latin America. Voices from women. Voices from LGBTQ+ philosophers. Together, we will discover that wise people have been found in every community and in every age in which there have been persons. Philosophers and philosophical traditions are by no means confined to the ancient Mediterranean, or to contemporary English-speaking countries, or to the particular educational traditions informed by those sources. Expanding what we consider to be sources of philosophical insight and wisdom enriches the conversation by adding more and different voices, bringing with them different and long neglected perspectives, and all the while taking place in a conversational context that places a shared emphasis on reason and argument.