Atuolu Omalu

Some Unanswered Questions in Contemporary African Philosophy

Edited by Jonathan O. Chimakonam

Publication date:

15 December 2014

Length of book:

334 pages

Publisher

University Press of America

Dimensions:

231x152mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780761864547

The story of African philosophy is surrounded by controversy. Decades after the “great debate” over its mere existence, many vital questions have been left unanswered. From examining the origins of African philosophy to addressing fundamental issues in ontology, epistemology, ethics, and political thought, this collection of essays brings fresh insight to questions both old and new. First time readers and seasoned scholars alike will find this book to be an essential resource in African thought. Atụọlụ Ọmalụ gives shape and direction to a hitherto formless discipline and heralds an exciting future for African philosophy.

Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Dating and Periodization Questions in African Philosophy
Jonathan O. Chimakonam
Chapter 2: The Question of Being in African Philosophy: A Case for Ibuanyidanda Ontology
Innocent I. Asouzu
Chapter 3: The Question of Moral Paradigm in African Philosophy: A Case for Communocentric Ethics
Mulumba I. Obiajulu
Chapter 4: The Knowledge Question in African Philosophy: A Case for Cogno-Normative (Complementary) Epistemology
Jonathan O. Chimakonam
Chapter 5: The Logic Question in African Philosophy: Between the Horns of Irredentism and Jingoism
Uduma O. Uduma
Chapter 6: The Criteria Question in African Philosophy
Jonathan O. Chimakonam
Chapter 7: The Ideology Question in African Philosophy: A Case for Tradition and the Quest for Democracy in Africa
Olusegun Oladipo
Chapter 8: African Philosophy: Some Basic Questions
Bruce B. Janz
Chapter 9: The Question of Cultural Imperialism in African Philosophy
Edwin Etieyibo
Chapter 10: The Transliteration Question in African Philosophy
Godfrey O. Ozumba
Chapter 11: The Question of Culture of Philosophy in Africa
Adebayo A. Aina and Olatunji A. Oyeshile
Chapter 12: The Question of Conceptual Decolonization in African Philosophy and the Problem of the Language of African Philosophy: A Critique of Kwasi Wiredu and a Proposal for Conceptual Mandelanization in the Africa We Know
Mesembe I. Edet
Chapter 13: The Question of the West and the Rest of Us in African Philosophy
Joseph N. Agbo
Chapter 14: The Future Question in African Philosophy
Ada Agada
Selected Bibliography
List of Contributors

The publication of philosophy from African scholars is always welcome, and this volume, edited by Chimakonam, is no exception. The title of this collection, which is derived from part of an Igbo proverb, might be loosely translated as 'explicating to the wise.' This volume features 14 essays—all but 3 published here for the first time—by 13 scholars representing the approach of the emerging Calabar School of Philosophy (http://africanphilcongress.com/), which focuses on a 'dialogical engagement' between tradition and modernity, universalism and particularism, and Western and African culture. The essays cover a wide range of topics, from logic to hermeneutics and ethics to transliteration. Many of the traditional themes of African philosophy appear, but usually with a new twist emphasizing the role of contemporary sociopolitical realities and seeking a functional synthesis of the 'useful'—both characteristic of the Calabar approach . . . The collection is nevertheless a very good introduction to a new generation of African philosophers.