Volume 47, Issue 3, September 2024
Special Issue: Methodological Reflections and Practical Advice for Teaching Comparative Philosophies
Aaron B. Creller
Pages 365-373
https://doi.org/10.5840/teachphil2024722204
Cross-Cultural Logic and the Limits of Comparative Pedagogy
A Case Study Considering (Why Not to Include) Jain Logic as Part of an Introduction to Logic Course
There is a tension between the pedagogical aim of comparative and cross-cultural inclusion and teaching an introductory-level deductive logic course. On the one hand, those who are interested in including non-¡°Western¡± sources are doing so in order to expand the philosophical content under consideration in their courses. On the other, it seems that the student learning objectives for deductive logic classes aimed at novices are narrow and specific for the purpose of developing a particular skill. This paper highlights the challenge of teaching logic cross-culturally by arguing that it is inadvisable to do so. Using Jain logic as a case study, it illustrates that even though there is depth available in the content, the contextual support needed to compare logics without being reductive would interfere with the amount of time needed to develop deductive logic skills in students in the first place.