African Philosophy, Second Edition: Myth and Reality

"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

In this incisive, original
exploration of the nature and future of African philosophy, Paulin J. Hountondji
attacks a myth popularized by ethnophilosophers such as Placide Tempels 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. Hountondji argues that a
genuine African philosophy must assimilate and transcend the theoretical heritage of
Western philosophy and must reflect a rigorous process of independent scientific
inquiry. This edition is updated with a new preface in which Hountondji responds to
his critics and clarifies misunderstandings about the book's conceptual
framework.