Post-Western Rationality

The recognition that the Western model of rationality—with its emphasis on universal logic, formal proof, and objective truth—is not the only model, and that alternative rationalities exist and are valid. Post-Western Rationality doesn't reject reason; it pluralizes it. It argues that different cultures, different traditions, different contexts have developed different ways of reasoning, different standards of validity, different conceptions of truth. These are not failed attempts at Western rationality; they are different rationalities altogether. Post-Western Rationality is the philosophy of cognitive diversity, of the recognition that reason is not one thing but many.

Example: "He'd been taught that Western logic was just logic—the only way to reason properly. Post-Western Rationality showed him otherwise: other cultures had other logics, other ways of knowing, other standards of validity. These weren't primitive; they were different. He stopped judging other rationalities by Western standards and started learning to think in new ways."

by Abzugal February 21, 2026

Theory of Post-Western Rationality

The systematic elaboration of post-Western rationality as a framework for understanding cognitive diversity. The Theory of Post-Western Rationality argues that the dominance of Western rationality is a historical accident, not a logical necessity—a product of colonialism, not cognitive superiority. It traces the development of alternative rationalities in different cultures, shows how they work on their own terms, and argues for their legitimacy. It doesn't claim that all rationalities are equally good for all purposes; it claims that they are different tools for different tasks, and that we need all of them. The Theory of Post-Western Rationality is the foundation of cognitive decolonization, of the recognition that reason has many homes.

Example: "He'd assumed that Western science was simply the best way to know things. The Theory of Post-Western Rationality showed him otherwise: Indigenous knowledge systems, Eastern philosophies, African epistemologies—all were rationalities, all were valid, all had things to teach. He stopped treating other ways of knowing as inferior and started learning from them."

by Abzugal February 21, 2026

Post-Classical Logic

A broad term for logical systems that fundamentally break with the Classical tradition, often inspired by developments in quantum mechanics, continental philosophy, or computer science. Post-Classical Logic questions the very foundations: maybe the excluded middle isn't always excluded; maybe contradictions can be productive; maybe truth isn't the only thing logic should track. These systems embrace paradox, explore paraconsistency (allowing contradictions without exploding), and treat logic less as a mirror of reality and more as a tool among tools. It's logic that has accepted its own contingency.

"Quantum mechanics requires a Post-Classical Logic where particles can be in two states at once. Your relationship status might also require Post-Classical Logic if you're in that 'it's complicated' phase where classical true/false just doesn't capture the situation."

by Dumu The Void February 23, 2026

Scientific Post-structuralism

The application of post-structuralist thought to science: questioning binary oppositions (nature/culture, objective/subjective, fact/value), deconstructing scientific categories, exposing the instability of scientific concepts, and revealing how scientific knowledge is produced through discursive practices rather than simply discovered. Post-structuralism doesn't deny that science works—it denies that science works the way it says it works. It's science forced to confront its own textuality, its own rhetoric, its own constructedness.

"You keep appealing to 'nature' as if it's a stable foundation. Scientific Post-structuralism says: 'nature' is a concept with a history, produced through discourse, serving particular interests. It's not a ground—it's an effect. Your science is text, not truth. Deal with it."

by Abzugal February 23, 2026

Epistemological Post-structuralism

The theory that knowledge is produced through discursive practices, power relations, and historical contingencies rather than discovered through neutral observation. There are no foundations, no stable truths, no final vocabularies—only ongoing processes of meaning-making within systems that are themselves unstable. Post-structuralist epistemology doesn't despair at this but explores it: tracing how knowledge is made, how it circulates, how it changes. It's epistemology that has given up on foundations and learned to live with flux.

"You want solid ground for knowledge? Epistemological Post-structuralism says: there is none. There never was. There are only discourses, practices, and power relations. The search for foundations was the mistake. Build without them or don't build at all."

by Abzugal February 23, 2026