I use the term ``Philosophy in the Sanskrit cosmopolis'' (``Sanskrit philosophy" for short) in order to cover all philosophical texts produced in a world in which Sanskrit was a major intellectual player, even for authors who wrote in other languages. 1/6 #SanskritPhilosophy
The term ``Philosophy in the Sanskrit cosmopolis'' has been devised by me to avoid the shortcomings of ``Indian philosophy'' (about which see below) without taking recourse to ``South Asian philosophy''. In fact, the latter should be a purely neutral geographical label, but: 2/6
a) Can geography really be neutral? b) The term obfuscates the fact that there was more than just a geographical commonality shared by most of the authors writing in that area. This commonality can be synthetically evoked by speaking of the ``Sanskrit cosmopolis''. 3/6
The term is thus a parallel of ``Philosophy in the Islamicate" or ``Philosophy in the Islamic world" used as alternatives to ``Arabic philosophy'' (which would not include philosophy in other languages) and ``Islamic philosophy'' 4/6
In a nutshell, I am afraid that ``Indian'' induces the false equation with the present day Republic of India, which is not co-extensive with the entire geographical South Asia, nor with the extension of the Sanskrit cosmopolis. 6/6
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