Whose traditions? Which practices?

• Main Author: TAN, Sor-hoon
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2017
• Subjects: Asian political thought; Confucianism; democracy; genuine dialogue; parochialism; Ethics and Political Philosophy; Philosophy
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2725; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/3982/viewcontent/Whose_Traditions_Which_Practices_pv.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

My response to Tully’s article, “Deparochializing Political Theory and Beyond,” suggests that before introducing students in Asia to comparative political thought, including texts from Asian traditions in Political Theory or Philosophy courses, their education needs to first engage in the critical practice of questioning their own “background horizon of disclosure.” The background horizon of disclosure that needs questioning certainly is not simply constituted by Asian traditions; despite westernized education, it is also not entirely western, insofar as the society they live in continues to be Asian in various ways, and the adopted western institutions and modes of thought have been modified in practice and interaction with local traditions.