Cultural fundamentals in philosophy obstacles in philosophical dialogues
pp. 167-181
in: Ioanna Kuuradi, Robert S. Cohen (eds), The concept of knowledge, Berlin, Springer, 1995Abstract
When persons from different cultural backgrounds meet to discuss philosophy, this raises, right from the outset, the issue of "cultural universals'. In this paper I reexamine the notion of cultural universals and then seek to identify what I wish to refer to as "cultural fundamentals' in philosophy and philosophical debate. Then, I assess the extent to which such fundamentals are obstacles not just to the fulfillment of a meaningful philosophical dialogue, but also to the "birth" of potential philosophers, however gifted.