Abstract

“The history of philosophy” in the academe typically refers only to a history of Western philosophy with a Western-centric periodization. Kant laid the theoretical foundation for this practice by introducing a concept of history that imposed strict a priori constraints on constructing a historiography of philosophy and by articulating a racist-cum-orientalist worldview that disqualified non-whites and non-Westerners from the claim to true philosophy. Historians of (Western) philosophy today must go beyond a superficial Western-centric project of canon fixing and initiate radical structural changes in the academe to engender a more equitable, inclusive, and pluralistic treatment of various philosophical traditions.