African Philosophy, Second Edition (English, Paulin J. Hountondji)

Product description Review "Hountondji ... writes not as an 'African' philosopher but as a philosopher on Africa... Hountondji's deep understanding of any civilization as necessarily pluralistic, and often even self-contradicting as it evolves, is simply magisterial... This is a precious gem of a book for anyone who wishes to reflect on civilization and culture." Choice From the Back Cover In this seminal exploration of the nature and future of African philosophy, Paulin J. Hountondji attacks a myth popularized by ethnophilosophers such as Placide Temples and Alexis Kagame that there is an indigenous, collective African philosophy, separate and distinct from the Western philosophical tradition. Hountondji contends that ideological manifestations of this view that stress the uniqueness of the African experience are protonationalist reactions against colonialism conducted, paradoxically, in the terms of colonialist discourse. About the Author Paulin J. Hountondji is Professor of Philosophy at the National University of Benin, Cotonou. He is editor of and contributor to Philosophical Research in Africa: A Bibliographic Survey and Endogenous Knowledge: Research Trails. Hountondji is former Minister of Culture and Communication and Special Advisor to the Head of State of Benin.Paulin J. Hountondji is Professor of Philosophy at the National University of Benin, Cotonou. He is editor of and contributor to Philosophical Research in Africa: A Bibliographic Survey and Endogenous Knowledge: Research Trails. Hountondji is former Minister of Culture and Communication and Special Advisor to the Head of State of Benin. Read more