African Philosophy: New and Traditional Perspectives / Edition 1

by Lee M. Brown

Overview

In the last two decades the idea of African Philosophy has undergone significant change and scrutiny. Some critics have maintained that the idea of a system of philosophical thought tied to African traditions is incoherent. In African Philosophy Lee Brown has collected new essays by top scholars in the field that in various ways respond to these criticisms and defend the notion of African Philosophy.

The essays address both epistemological and metaphysical issues that are specific to the traditional conceptual languages of sub-Saharan Africa. The primary focus of the collection is on traditional African conceptions of topics like mind, person, personal identity, truth, knowledge, understanding, objectivity, destiny, free will, causation, and reality. The contributors—who include Leke Adeofe, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Lee Brown, Segun Gbadegesin, D.A. Masolo, Albert Mosley, Ifeanyi Menkiti, and Kwasi Wiredu—incorporate concerns from various African philosophical traditions, including Akan, Azande, Bokis, Igno, Luo, and Yoruba.

African Philosophy ultimately tries to bring a more rigorous conception of African philosophy into fruitful contact with Western philosophical concerns, specifically in the philosophies of psychology, mind, science, and language, as well as in metaphysics and epistemology. It will appeal to both scholars and students.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195114416
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/15/2004
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 5.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

K. Lee Brown was formerly Associate Professor of Philosophy, Howard University and is currently a priest at Daihonzan Chozen-ji International Zen Dojo in Honolulu, Hawaii and Resident Priest at Gensho-ji International Zen Dojo in Washington, DC.

Table of Contents

Contributors1. Introduction: Seeing through the Conceptual Languages of Others2. Akan and Euro-American Concepts of the Person, K. Anthony Appiah3. Truth and an African Language, Kwasi Wiredu4. An Outline of a Theory of Destiny, Segun Gbadegesin5. Personal Identity in African Metaphysics, Leke Adeofe6. The Concept of the Person in Luo Modes of Thought, D. A. Masolo7. Physical and Metaphysical Understanding: Nature, Agency, and Causation in African Traditional Thought, I. A. Menkiti8. Witchcraft, Science, and the Paranormal in Contemporary African Philosophy, Albert Mosley9. Understanding and Ontology in Traditional African Thought, Lee M. BrownSelected Bibliography of Epistemological and Metaphysical Perspectives in African Philosophical ThoughtIndex of NamesIndex of Subjects

Editorial Reviews

"This anthology is one of a kind in the growing literature in African philosophy: it is a breath of fresh air."—African American Review

From the Publisher