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Léopold Sédar Senghor, African Philosophy and the Challenge of Interculturalism

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African Philosophy in an Intercultural Perspective

Part of the book series: Reihe Interkulturelle Philosophie ((RIPH))

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Abstract

Departing from the conviction that philosophy is at best hermeneutics, this essay argues that philosophy in our rapidly globalizing world should be intercultural. It briefly reviews contemporary African philosophy and concludes that while it is not lacking in interculturalism, African philosophy is deficient in balance between its openness to other cultures and its inevitable bias towards its specific context. Arguing that, hermeneutically, this imbalance is traceable to Africa’s colonial past and bespeaks a prevalent colonial mentality, the paper concludes by suggesting Léopold Sédar Senghor’s Négritude and his Theory of the Civilization of the Universal as models for all of contemporary African philosophy.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See Mall (2000a, 2016); Sweet (2014); Wallner (2010); Fornet-Betancourt (2009).

  2. 2.

    The translation is mine. Original: ‘Partager le polyphonie irréductible des cultures de l’humanité et, par consequence, pour reorganizer àpartir d’une perspective plurielle l’ideal d’une veritable communauté des peuple.’.

  3. 3.

    Many new philosophy programmes in Africa do no better. Madonna University’s (Okija) programme, approved in 2018, has only three courses in African philosophy. When they revised their programmes in 2016, Benue State University and Kogi State University each approved just three courses in African philosophy. African philosophy is still marginalized in most African philosophy programmes.

  4. 4.

    Laissez·moi penser à mes morts!

    C'était hier la Toussaint, l'anniversaire solennel du Soleil.

    Et nul souvenir dans aucun cimetière.

    (Senghor: In memoriam. In Chants d’ombre. Paris: Seuil 1945).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, Director, School of General Studies, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria

    J. Obi Oguejiofor

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  1. J. Obi Oguejiofor
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Correspondence to J. Obi Oguejiofor .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Philosophie, Universität Hildesheim, Hildesheim, Germany

    Anke Graneß

  2. Philosophy, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Edwin Etieyibo

  3. Zentrum Theologie Interkulturell und Studium der Religionen, Universität Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

    Franz Gmainer-Pranzl

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Obi Oguejiofor, J. (2022). Léopold Sédar Senghor, African Philosophy and the Challenge of Interculturalism. In: Graneß, A., Etieyibo, E., Gmainer-Pranzl, F. (eds) African Philosophy in an Intercultural Perspective. Reihe Interkulturelle Philosophie. J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-476-05832-4_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-476-05832-4_1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-476-05831-7

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