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This essay advances the concept of transversality by drawing philosophical insights from Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Calvin O. Schrag, and the Martinicuan francophone Edouard Glissant. By so doing, it begins with a critique of the notion of universality in modern Western philosophy. It targets Hegel—the modernist incarnate—in particular, who had a dark view of the non-Western world. His overarching Eurocentric universality is founded on the fallacious premise that what is particular in the West is universalized or universalizable, whereas what is particular in the non-West remains particular forever. As Glissant puts it succinctly, however, thinking about “One” is not thinking about “All” or “Many.” Eurocentric universality is outmoded and thus has no place in the globalization of the multicultural world. It simply ignores the reality of interlacing of multiple life-worlds. The concept of transversality, which is symbolized in the Maitreyan Middle Way, is proposed to replace universality, which tends to be nothing but the philosophical expression of a particular socio-cultural life-world. It not only reduces ethnocentric ignorance but also fosters a hybridity that in fact dissolves the binary opposition between particularism and universalism. In short, transversality is conceived of as a new paradigm in philosophical conceptualization or world philosophy. What is traditionally called “comparative philosophy” is not just a neglected branch of philosophy, but it is poised to transform radically the very conception of philosophy itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reflects on the place of philosophy within a globalized world and reconsiders its status as a phenomenon that is potentially linked to a local culture. A sketch of an approach the author believed to be appropriate for the development of philosophy in times of globalization is presented. Comparative philosophy is similar with ethnophilosophy in that it takes the ethno part of any philosophy seriously and is even ready to establish it as a starting point for comparisons.