Philosophy Beyond Western Thought: Why It Matters and Where to Start

Philosophy is not only Western. For a long time, Anglophone and European curricula treated "philosophy" as if it began in Greece and spread through Europe and North America. But rigorous, systematic thought about knowledge, value, and how to live has existed—and still exists—everywhere: in African, Asian, Islamic, Indigenous, and Latin American traditions, to name a few. Centering philosophy beyond Western thought is not a gesture; it's a correction. It makes the discipline more honest and more interesting. This post explains why philosophy beyond the West matters, and how schrodingers.cat supports it—through learning paths that include postcolonial, decolonial, and global thinkers, an interactive philosophy map that shows thinkers across the world, and tools that let you read and argue with texts from many traditions.

Why "beyond Western" matters

When philosophy is taught as if it were only or mainly Western, three things happen. First, most of the world's intellectual history is erased. Thinkers in Baghdad, India, China, the Caribbean, and Africa are treated as optional or "other," instead of as central to the same questions—knowledge, justice, meaning, the good life—that animate Western syllabi. Second, the West is misrepresented. European philosophy did not develop in isolation; it was influenced by and in dialogue with Islamic, African, and other traditions. A history that ignores that dialogue is false. Third, students get a distorted picture. They leave thinking philosophy is a Western invention, when in fact it is a human practice with many centers. Centering philosophy beyond Western thought is a way to make the discipline more accurate and more inclusive—and to give everyone more to think with. For a visual sense of how philosophy has always been global, use the philosophy map and filter by tradition; you'll see thinkers across continents and centuries.

What "centering" looks like in practice

Centering global philosophy means including it in the core, not as a side unit. That can mean: learning paths on Fanon, on algorithmic colonialism and the Global South, on African philosophy, on Islamic philosophy, on Asian traditions; a philosophy map that shows thinkers across continents and traditions; and tools (like Explore a Text and Socratic dialogue) that let you engage with texts and questions from many traditions. It also means not treating "diversity" as a single box. African philosophy is not one thing; neither is "Asian" or "Latin American" philosophy. The goal is to represent a range of traditions and debates, so that "philosophy" on the site reflects the world's plurality of thought. When you take the path quiz, you can get recommendations that include global and decolonial paths; they're not segregated into a separate section but mixed in with the rest.

How schrodingers.cat supports global philosophy

We don't claim to cover everything, but we do center philosophy beyond Western thought in several ways. (1) Learning paths include postcolonial and decolonial thinkers (e.g. Fanon on colonialism and the psyche, algorithmic colonialism and the Global South) alongside Western figures—so you can do a path on Fanon or on Birhane and Benjamin in the same ecosystem where you do paths on Kant or Nietzsche. (2) The philosophy map places philosophers on a world map through time; you can filter by tradition and see thinkers across regions, not only Europe and North America. (3) Explore a Text and Socratic dialogue let you analyze passages and discuss ideas with a variety of philosopher "lenses," so your reading and dialogue aren't limited to one canon. (4) The forum and Argument Cartographer are open to mapping and debating arguments from any tradition. The idea is to make it normal to learn and argue with philosophy from all over the world—not as an add-on, but as part of how philosophy works here. For more on learning the history of philosophy with the map, see History of philosophy: how to learn it with a map.

Where to start

If you're new to philosophy beyond the West, start with a learning path that interests you—e.g. Fanon on colonialism and the psyche, or algorithmic colonialism and data power in the Global South—or browse the philosophy map and filter by tradition to see who appears where and when. Use Explore to run a passage through a philosopher's lens, or start a Socratic dialogue with a thinker from a tradition you want to learn. No single path is "the" introduction; pick one and go deep. The point is that the history of philosophy, the map, and the tools are built to support philosophy beyond Western thought as a default, not an afterthought. If you want a curated list of texts and paths by theme (including global traditions), see Philosophy reading list: where to start.

Summary. Philosophy is not only Western; centering global traditions makes the discipline more honest and richer. schrodingers.cat supports it through paths, map, Explore, and dialogue that include and connect traditions from around the world. Start with one path or the map, then use the tools to go deeper.

Browse learning paths → · Explore the philosophy map →

Key takeaway: Philosophy is not only Western. Centering global traditions makes the discipline more honest and richer. schrodingers.cat supports it through paths, map, Explore, and dialogue that include and connect traditions from around the world.