Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Bucknell University. His teaching and research interests
are in critical social theory, modern European philosophy, and Africana philosophy. His publications include Postcolonial
African Philosophy: A Critical Reader (1997), and Race and the Enlightenment (1996), both with Blackwell Publishers.
Review
"This powerful and wide ranging anthology is ideal for classroom use. The issues discussed are central:
the selections are engaging; and the contributors are of the highest order. It will help bring about a long overdue
change in the philosophical canon."
--Robert Bernasconi, University of Memphis
"We are indeed blessed to have Eze's wide-ranging and magnificent anthology. It brings together some of the
most stimulating texts of African, African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Black European philosophy. Its ambitious
effort will serve well all those interested in African studies and students and specialists of philosophy in general."
--V. Y. Mudimbe, Stanford University
Blackwell Publisher's Web Site, May, 2000
Summary
Bringing together canonical philosophical texts from African, African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Black European
thinkers, this major new anthology is designed to serve both as a textbook and as the authoritative reference volume
in Africana philosophical and cultural studies.
The texts collected here also have enormous historical range: from traditional to modern, pre-colonial through
colonial to post-colonial; and from the slave period through emancipation and the Civil Rights movements to the
postmodern. In so doing, they represent a variety of cultural and ideological viewpoints, including secular, feminist,
Christian, Islamic, and animist perspectives.
The volume will be useful for all those in gender and race theory as well as cultural, post-colonial, and black
studies.
Table of Contents
Preface.
Acknowledgements.
Part I: What is Africana Philosophy?
1. African Philosophy: Yesterday and Today: J. I. Omoregbe (University of Lagos).
2. Philosophy and Post-Colonial Africa: Tseney Serequeberhan (Simmons College).
3. African, African-American, Africana Philosophy: Lucius Outlaw (Haverford College).
4. The AFrican Foundations of Greek Philosophy: Henry Olela.
5. Contemporary Moslem Philosophy in North Africa: M. Wahba.
Part II: Human Nature: Mind, Body, and Self-Identity
6. Relation of Okra (Soul) and Honam (Body): An Akan Conception: Kwame Gyekye (University of Ghana).
7. 'Chi' in Igbo Cosmology: Chinua Achebe (Bard College).
8. The Sociality of Self: Okot p'Bitek.
Part III: Philosophy, Politics, and Society
9. Leaders Must Not be Masters: Julius Nyerere.
10. Consciencism: Kwame Nkrumah.
11. Two Traditions in African American Political Philosophy: Bernard Boxill (University of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill).
12. Universal Dimensions of Black Struggle I: The Revolution.
Universal Dimensions of Black Struggle II: Human versus Civil Rights: Malcolm X.
13. Philosophy, Politics and Power: An Afro-American Perspective: Cornel West (Harvard University).
Part IV: Ethics
14. 'Mutumin Kirki:' The Concept of the Good Man in Hausa: Anthony H. M. Kirk-Greene.
15. Yoruba Philosophy: Individuality, Community and the Moral Order: Segun Gbadegesin (Harvard University).
16. Concerning Violence: Frantz Fanon.
17. Morals and the Value of Human Life: M. M. Agrawal.
18. Moral Reasoning versus Racial Reasoning: Cornel West (Harvard University).
Part V: On Knowledge and Science
19. Elements of Physics in Yoruba Culrture I.
Elements of Physics in Yoruba Culture II: Supo Ogunbunmi and Henry M. Olaitan.
20. 'Divination': A Way of Knowing?: Philip M. Peek (Drew University).
21. The Problem of Knowledge in "Divination": The Example of Ifa: Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze (Bucknell University).
22. The Concept of Truth in Akan Language: Kwasi Wiredu (University of South Florida).
23. African Traditional Thought and Western Science: Robin Horton (University of Port Harcourt).
24. How not to Compare Western Science and African Thought: Kwasi Wiredu (University of South Florida).
25. Literacy, Criticism, and the Growth of Knowledge: Jack Goody (University of Cambridge).
Part VI: Philosophy and Colonial Encounter
26. Modern Western Philosophy and African Colonialism: Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze (Bucknell University).
27. Discourse on Colonialism: Aime Cesaire.
28. The Wretched of the Earth: Frantz Fanon.
29. Colonialism and the Colonized: Tsenay Serequeberhan (Simmons College).
30. Cultural Nationalism in the Colonial Period: R. L. Okonkwo (University of Nigeria, Nsukka).
31. National Liberation and Culture (Return to the Source): Amilcar Cabral.
Part VII: Philosophy and Race
32. The Conservation of Races: W. E. B. Du Bois.
33. The Illusion of Race: Kwame Anthony Appiah (Harvard University).
34. Du Bois on the Invention of Race: Tommy Lott.
35. Racism and Culture: Frantz Fanon.
36. Racism and Feminism: bell hooks (Yale University).
Part VIII: Philosophy and Gender
37. The Woman Question: African and Western Perspectives: Marie Pauline Eboh (University of Port Harcourt).
38. Black Women: Shaping Feminist Theory: bell hook (Yale University).
39. Black Feminist Thought: Patricia Hill Collins (University of Cincinnati).
40. The Erasure of Black Women: Elizabeth Spellman (Smith College).
41. The Curious Coincidence Between Feminine and African Moralities: Sandra Harding (University of California,
Los Angeles).
Part IX: Philosophy and Trans-Atlantic African Slavery
42. The Nature of Slavery: Frederick Douglas.
43. The Concept of Slavery: Winthrop D. Jordan.
44. The Origin of Negro Slavery: Eric Williams.
45. 'The Interesting Narrative': Olaudah Equiano.
46. Thoughts on the Evil of Slavery: Ottobah Cugoano, a native of Africa.
47. Autobiographical Acts and the Voice of the Southern Slave: Houston A. Baker, Jr.(University of Pennsylvania).
Part X: Ontology and the Nature of Art
48. Breath: Bira Diop.
49. Bantu Ontology: Placide Tempels.
50. The Igbo World and Its Art: Chinua Achebe (Bard College).
51. The Fourth Stage: Wole Soyinka (Harvard University).
52. The Duke's Blues: Stanley Crouch.
Part XI: Philosophy of Religion
53. God, Faith and the Nature of Knowledge: Zera Yecob.
54. Must God Remain Greek?: Robert E. Hood (Union Theological Seminary).
55. The Problem of Evil: An Akan Perspective: Kwame Gykye (University of Ghana).
56. Black Women and Men: Partnership in the 1990s: bell hooks and Cornel West (Yale University, Harvard University).