Oriental Studies and the Polycentricity of the Modern World

Abstract

The article notes the need to discuss not only and not so much the East-West dichotomy as the concepts oforientalism and occidentalism, since the task of finding ways and means of perceiving the East by the Westand vice versa should be at the forefront. Oriental studies should develop taking into account the followingfundamental aspects. Firstly, the former scientific paradigm within the framework of the traditional East-West, Europe-Asia dichotomy has already ceased to meet the changed social reality. It is necessary to under-stand the scientific and humanitarian unity of the world, its global and planetary integrity. Secondly, the cul-tural diversity of the planet, which should be based on an understanding of the equivalence and equal im-portance of all cultures and faiths of the world, also determines that Oriental studies should be not only “Eu-ropean, Western”, but also “Asian, Eastern”, and world science. It is important not only that “The West thinksabout the East”, but also that “the East thinks about itself”. Thirdly, modern Oriental studies should take intoaccount the paradigm of the post-non-classical worldview, where a person is not opposed to the world, but isinscribed into it and included in it. It is important here not to distance oneself from the object of research inorder to obtain objective scientific knowledge, but, on the contrary, the researcher should be immersed, in-volved in the material under study. The formulation and research of this large-scale problem will expand theproblematic and subject space of philosophical Oriental studies, form new scientific directions of philosophi-cal comparative studies, based on the rich heritage of philosophical thought of the East, understanding thepolycentricity of the world and the polycentricity of philosophy itself