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The main aim of this book is to discuss fundamental developments on the question of being in Western and African philosophy using analytic metaphysics as a framework. It starts with the two orthodox responses to the question of being, namely, the subject-verb-object language view and the rheomodic language view. In the first view, being is conceived through the analysis of language structure, where it is represented by subjects (particulars), objects, and relations (often universals). In the second view, there are different variations; however, the common idea is that the world's structure is revealed in the root verb of terms. This suggests a holistic and dynamic conception of being, where everything is in a continuous process of action. The book builds on analytic philosophy and explores metaphysical concepts such as space-time, modality, causation, indeterminism versus determinism, and mind and body. The book shows that in both Western and African thought, (i) similarities in different studies confirm that philosophy is a universal activity, (ii) differences within a context and beyond confirm the perspectival nature of human knowledge as individuals attempt to interpret reality, and (iii) language influences the conceptualization of being in a particular area. One of the novel aspects is the development of visual and mathematical African models of space and time.
The book examines the meaning of justice in African political philosophy, building on the use-theoretical approach. Currently, most of the philosophical works in this context advocate for a communal interpretation of the meaning of justice, such as the 'relational theory of justice' and 'Ubuntu justice as fairness.' The author argues that this foundation of justice in the community undermines the self, which is a major problem with these theories. As an attempt to go beyond communitarianism in African thought, the book recognizes other philosophical frameworks for elaborating the meaning of justice in ordinary people's experience, such as vitalism, theism, ubuntuism, and semantic framework. The author opts for a reconstructed ubuntu-based theory of the meaning of justice that reflects the traditional African experience and recuperates 'valuing self-existence' and 'valuing other-existence' as its foundations. The book further identifies the centrality of rights in defining justice in traditional African communities.
This book focuses on African metaphysics and epistemology, and is an exercise in decoloniality. The authors describe their approach to "decoloniality" as an intellectual repudiation of coloniality, using the method of conversational thinking grounded in Ezumezu logic. Focusing specifically on both African metaphysics and African epistemology, the authors put forward theories formulated to stimulate fresh debates and extend the frontiers of learning in the field. They emphasize that this book is not a project in comparative philosophy, nor is it geared towards making Africa/ns the object/subjects of philosophy. Rather, the book highlights and discusses philosophical insights that have been produced from the African perspective, which the authors argue must be further developed in order to achieve decoloniality in the field of philosophy more broadly.
Driven by an intercultural vision and comparative research, this is the first volume to bring together African and Western philosophical approaches to current issues in language, logic, metaphysics and ethics. Featuring contributions from an international line up of scholars across four continents including leading contemporary African philosophers, and new work from Saul Kripke in collaboration with Romina Padro, these chapters cover a wide range of topics. They advance our understanding of the linguistic, logical, metaphysical and ethical contributions of African philosophical thought in comparison with Western traditions, fostering discussion about how they relate, and are distinct, from one another. Reinvigorating the debate in cross-cultural and global philosophy, this is a groundbreaking resource for any scholar or student of each sub-discipline.
This is the first book to focus on the problem of performance-enhancing substances and methods - also known as doping - in sports from African perspectives. Placing traditional African thinking and indigenous knowledge systems at the centre of the analysis, the book shines new light on the distinctive characteristics of African sporting cultures, doping practices, the management of anti-doping, and new methods for preventing doping in sports that take into account African value systems. The book draws on multi-disciplinary work from philosophy, ethics, sociology, history and political science, and presents real world case studies of doping and anti-doping from across the African continent. It explores key themes and sites in African sport, culture and society, including African art, traditional medicine, attitudes towards doping in Africa, sport policy, education systems, media and communications, and the problem of privacy in African sports. The book also considers the uniquely African challenges in anti-doping against the background of WADA policy and practice, and wider international anti-doping efforts. This book is fascinating reading for students and researchers with an interest in sport studies, African studies, crime and deviance or public policy, and for sports administrators, sports policy makers or practitioners working in international, national or regional sports organisations.
The Question of the Rationality of African Traditional Thought provides an introductory analysis of the primary concerns of the debate on the rationality of African traditional thought viewed through science's conceptual lenses. It shows that there is a fundamental problem with the manner in which the discussion on the rationality issue has ensued in the last six decades or so. Among other things, there is the fundamentally wrong assumption that the Western model is strictly scientific and the African model paranormal. Elvis Imafidon shows, however, that both Western and African societies are permeated with both the scientific and transcendental models. The difference however, lies in the fact that a particular model gains more ground than the other in a place, often to the detriment of the other model. In the West, the scientific model gains more grounds to the detriment of the transcendental model. This accounts for scientific and technological advancements in the West more than in Africa but radical depreciation in value systems, moral, cultural, religious and the like. On the other hand, in Africa, the transcendental model is more popular than the scientific model resulting in a completely opposite effect from that of the West.
This book is a reaction against young Levy Bruhl's position that the world's (African) thought is pre- logical. Systematically therefore it exposes first the influence of positivism and two valued Logic on Bruhl which made him to be anti- spiritualism and second interpreted African thought from two- valued logic point of view. This wrong interpretational tool resulted to his ''onslaught on African thought'' which is the subject of the book's reaction. This book 's position is that every interpretation stems from a particular logic and this logic needs to evolve from the same ontological context with the phenomenon that is to be interpreted. The implication of this is that, there is a bio conditional structural relationship between every logic and its cultural ontology. The book investigates this assertion using prevalent (2vl) of the West and the prevalent ontology of the the same culture. The investigation proved positive. On the above discovery the book developed the theory of structural analogy and logical functionalism (SAALF) as a justification for the derivation of a prevalent trinitarian logic from African trinitarian prevalent ontology. From this theoretical standpoint, the book in agreement with some twentieth century analytic logicians defines logic as a science of relation between realities from which principles of argumentation and reasoning can be developed. This book goes ahead to use this logic to explain some African phenomena such as the concept of African healing oath-taking and education. For the benefit of doubt the book differentiates between Harmonious monism and Hermeneutics as an answer to some questions of the critics.
It is not far-fetched to say that much of what is termed “African metaphysics” remains a traditional affair, without the sort of critical analysis that sheds away the burden of myths and ethnocentric rigidity. African ideas about the nature of being, God, causality, death, etc., have largely remained the same and unchallenged, mainly due to the hesitancy of some African scholars to question these suppositions or build beyond them. In this book, Aribiah David Attoe presents a unified African metaphysics that first interrogates important notions held by many traditional African thinkers, and then builds upon them to propose a largely materialistic account of African metaphysics. The book re-imagines and reconstructs the idea of God, being, causality and death in African metaphysics, tackling some of the problems associated with these concepts in African thought. It also opens up new vistas of thought, while engaging and encouraging African metaphysicians to explore a previously ignored perspective.
"Wiredu's discussion of culturally defined values and concepts, as well as his attention to such timely issues as human rights, makes this book invaluable interdisciplinary reading." —D. A. Masolo Ghanaian philosopher Kwasi Wiredu confronts the paradox that while Western cultures recoil from claims of universality, previously colonized peoples, seeking to redefine their identities, insist on cultural particularities. Wiredu asserts that universals, rightly conceived on the basis of our common biological identity, are not incompatible with cultural particularities and, in fact, are what make intercultural communication possible. Drawing on aspects of Akan thought that appear to diverge from Western conceptions in the areas of ethics and metaphysics, Wiredu calls for a just reappraisal of these disparities, free of thought patterns corrupted by a colonial mentality. Wiredu's exposition of the principles of African traditional philosophy is not purely theoretical; he shows how certain aspects of African political thought may be applied to the practical resolution of some of Africa's most pressing problems.
This groundbreaking book in African philosophy goes beyond the post-colonial enthno-philosophies and describes a genuine philosophy grounded in the African experience that illuminates the universal quest for happiness, meaning, and knowledge. Consolation philosophy is meant as the culmination of loose developments in African thought that stretch back to ancient Egypt, and which are found particularly in the thought of Senghor and the work of the contemporary Nigerian philosopher Asouzu (who is taken as offering a prolegomena to any future African philosophy).