So if something to qualify as a philosophy or theory you need to try to build from scratch?
Not necessarily, but that is certainly the currently fashionable approach. Also if you want to convince someone from a different culture, with a different set of assumptions, etc., this is the easiest way to go about doing it.
I am not very optimistic about that happening. I think should write an article about Michael Oakeshott. Basically Oakie was arguing that the cup you are pouring into is never empty. Whatever you tell people they will frame in their previous experiences. So the from-scratch philosophy, the very words, do not mean the same thing to people with different backgrounds. E.g. Hegel's "Geist" does not exactly mean what "spirit" means in English.
If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post (even in Discussion), then it goes here.
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