Fair philosophical comparison requires correlating historical epochs, not mixing eras

Evidence

What Tempels missed is an insight that is found in Kwasi Wiredu’s caution regarding how unproductive it is to compare modern Western philosophy with traditional African thought. Wiredu (1980: 37–50) advises that if one wants to come to a productive comparison between African philosophy and Western philosophy, it is fair that such a comparison must be carried out between epochs that correlate. Thus, in Wiredu’s view, a comparison of traditional African philosophy with traditional Western philosophy will reveal that both these societies and their philosophies are not radically different. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 440

Categorization

• DEFINE: Wiredu’s epoch-correlation principle is a methodological rule worth internalizing for any comparative philosophy.
• XREF: Echoes the general historiographical problem of anachronism in intellectual history—comparable to evaluating medieval thought by modern standards in Western philosophy itself. — connects to: The science-philosophy split reflects differing historical projects, not progress — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 680; Understanding thought-becoming-epoch requires more than intellectual history — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 22; Tricontinental literatures resist unified theoretical generalization due to divergent histories — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures, 1088
• SEED: Angle: Wiredu’s epoch-correlation rule as a universal corrective—shows comparative philosophy only works when both sides are compared at matching developmental stages.