作者在阅读西方哲学后，意识到自己对非西方哲学（如东亚、印度和伊斯兰）的了解十分有限。他缺乏对这些文化中哲学思想的了解，希望找到合适的入门途径。文章表达了作者对非西方哲学的兴趣，以及在信息来源缺乏鉴别能力的情况下，希望得到建议。作者提及自己曾接触过部分东亚和印度的哲学思想，但理解有限，并希望了解哪些非西方哲学家或思想值得优先关注，以便更好地理解这些文化中的哲学传统。

🤔**作者的现状：**作者对西方哲学有一定了解，但对非西方哲学（如东亚、印度和伊斯兰）的了解非常有限，缺乏对这些文化中哲学思想的了解，希望找到合适的入门途径。

📚**信息来源的局限：**作者对非西方哲学的了解来源有限，缺乏鉴别能力，难以判断哪些信息来源可靠，哪些思想有价值。

⚔️**作者的已有认知：**作者曾接触过宫本武藏、孔子等人物，但理解有限，并对印度和伊斯兰的医学和计算方面的成就有所耳闻，但缺乏具体的人物和思想的了解。

💡**寻求建议：**作者希望得到建议，了解哪些非西方哲学家或思想值得优先关注，以便更好地理解这些文化中的哲学传统，例如，有人推荐了墨子。

🌍**目标：**作者希望通过了解非西方哲学，扩展自己的视野，深入理解不同文化中的哲学思想。

Published on December 3, 2024 1:45 AM GMT

At some point I became decently widely read in "Western philosophy", of the tradition that goes from Athens through Italy and Germany and Britain to the U.S. [ forking off into Philosophy and Science only after the Industrial Revolution ]. But somehow, I never acquired any operational sense of any of the corresponding "shadow" networks of writings that were only discovered by 'Western' philosophers to be published in Greek, German, Latin, or English after industrialization. Centrally, I'm thinking of East Asian, Indian, and Islamic authors, although there could be more philosophically productive pre-industrial cultures of which I'm ignorant.

I know there are compendia out there, but starting as I am from a position of almost total helpless ignorance on the object level, I trust random sources almost not at all to be discriminating on the actual value of people's ideas.

My anemic existing context: I wouldn't be a LessWronger if I hadn't read Musashi, but as far as I know he just didn't write much and wasn't very much in dialog with the rest of "his" culture [like a Socrates who was never succeeded]. Years ago I tried to read Confucius and bounced, due to disagreeing with all of his opinions. I've heard that both pre-Industrial India and 11C-13C Islam were expert at medicine and [more in Islam's case] calculation, but I haven't retained any specific names [other than al-Khwarizmi, who didn't sound any more interestingly-idealist to read than, say, Blaise Pascal, though I could have misapprehended].

I've asked around and so far been recommended Mozi, who looks promising. If you care to humor a cultural monoglot's embarrassingly Knightian uncertainties: wrt wherever your locality of expertise is, where should I start? What should I know first?

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