Archive · 10 Aug 2026
IIM Indore Study Urges Decolonising Philosophy, Not Just Broadening Canon
Some smart people at a management institute in India wrote a paper about how philosophy is taught in schools and universities.
They noticed that most of the philosophy we study comes from Europe.
A long time ago, countries with colonies pushed aside or destroyed ideas from other parts of the world.
Because of that, people started to think European ideas were the only right ones.
The study says it is not enough to just add a few thinkers from other countries to the reading list.
We also need to change the rules about what counts as real knowledge.
The paper borrows ideas from two famous thinkers, Frantz Fanon and Sylvia Wynter.
It also introduces a new framework called the 'ignorance-epistemicide cycle' to explain how old unfair systems keep going.
Teachers, editors, reviewers and university leaders all have a job to do to make philosophy fairer for everyone.
A new Indian Institute of Management Indore study published in the journal Philosophy Compass argues that decolonising philosophy requires more than expanding the canon.
The study, co-authored by Prof Swati Arora, says philosophy's Eurocentric foundations stem from centuries of colonial knowledge destruction and delegitimisation, described as epistemicide.
Researchers introduce an 'ignorance-epistemicide cycle' framework, arguing that erased knowledge systems make absences appear normal to later generations.
The paper introduces the concept of the 'colonial intellectual'—scholars who may unintentionally reproduce inherited Eurocentric assumptions in daily academic practice.
The authors conclude that responsibility for decolonisation extends across the entire academic ecosystem, including educators, editors, reviewers, supervisors and institutional leaders.
- Who
- Researchers at the Indian Institute of Management Indore, including co-author Prof Swati Arora
- What
- A study published in Philosophy Compass calling for philosophy to be decolonised through deep restructuring of knowledge systems instead of merely expanding the canon
- When
- Not specified in the article
- Where
- Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India, where the Indian Institute of Management Indore is located; the study appeared in the journal Philosophy Compass
- Why
- To address philosophy's Eurocentric foundations rooted in what scholars describe as epistemicide, colonial knowledge destruction, and to challenge the structures determining whose knowledge counts
- Institution
- Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore
- Journal
- Philosophy Compass
- Co-author
- Prof Swati Arora
- Location
- Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
- Key framework
- Ignorance-epistemicide cycle
- New concept
- Colonial intellectual
- Theoretical influences
- Frantz Fanon and Sylvia Wynter
- Core argument
- Representation alone is insufficient; epistemic restructuring is required