Sobre a inquestionável filosoficidade do pensamento indiano

On the unquestionable philosophical nature of Indian thought

Abstract

In a recent essay from Fi’s Thought and Reality collection, Professor Marco Aurélio Werle of the University of São Paulo’s Faculty of Philosophy reintroduces the old orientalist stereotype that philosophy does not exist outside the West. This thesis is anachronistic and has already been widely refuted, yet it remains prevalent and deeply rooted in the academic environment of ‘Western’ philosophy, particularly in Brazil. Therefore, despite the total inconsistency of the arguments Werle uses to
support his position, we believe that his essay deserves a response. It is an emblematic text that clearly shows the thesis of the nonexistence of non-Western philosophies can only be sustained today on the basis of preconceptions — concepts formed prior to and in the absence of actual contact or engagement with the vast primary and secondary literature in which the existence of non-Western philosophies is evident and undeniable. As well as exposing the untenability of the Orientalist thesis
defended by Werle, this article argues for the importance of recognising non-Western philosophical traditions, not only for their theoretical and historical-philosophical value, but also for their political significance in the present day. Due to limitations
of space and my own expertise, the arguments that follow will be developed from an Indological and Buddhological perspective. if necessary, others my respond to Werle from the standpoint of other non-Western philosophical traditions.

Keywords: Orientalism, Philosophy.