Mixing up the medicine: Garcia de Orta on the problems with Eurocentric philosophy

De Souza, S (2025) 'Mixing up the medicine: Garcia de Orta on the problems with Eurocentric philosophy.' British Journal for the History of Philosophy. doi: 10.1080/09608788.2025.2557310

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Abstract

Garcia de Orta (1501–1568) is largely remembered in academic circles as a minor figure in the history of medicine. The son of converts from Judaism to Catholicism, he fled escalating persecution in Portugal and settled in Goa, where he practised medicine and wrote Colóquios dos simples e drogas da Índia, a dialogue that is generally viewed as nothing more than an unorthodox manual of tropical materia medica. However, here, I cast light on an important philosophical contribution that de Orta makes through this dialogue. I argue that he points to several epistemological failings made by most European natural philosophers in Europe. For de Orta, I argue, the tendency towards four forms of Eurocentrism is a significant cause of these errors. However, de Orta is prone to two of the very sorts of Eurocentrism to which he objects. He is therefore guilty of some of the same failings. Consequently, he makes for a complex opponent of Eurocentrism in the history of philosophy: whilst he provides a nuanced philosophical critique of Eurocentrism, he shows signs of struggling to entirely escape Eurocentrism himself.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Garcia de Orta, eurocentrism, bias, history of medicine, epistemology
Divisions:	School of Writing, Publishing and the Humanities
Date Deposited:	11 Feb 2026 11:46
Last Modified:	11 Feb 2026 11:46
ISSN:	0960-8788
URN:	https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/17426

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