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Method, Substance, and the Future of African Philosophy pp 335–353Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Shaping of the Future of African Philosophy

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Abstract

Talk of a future presupposes the existence of a past and a present. Anticipating the future may effectively be a search to break with either the past or the present or both. Alternatively, talk of the future may seek to affirm the veracity and efficacy of either the past or the present, or both. Through a brief and selective analysis of the development of philosophy thus far on this continent, I seek to offer reasons why we should not talk of the future of African philosophy. The legitimacy of the refusal to talk about the future of African philosophy will principally rest on rejecting an essentialist but subtle rendering of what is African; and what is philosophy prefixed by African. Positively, I wish to offer an outline of what I consider to be the task of any philosopher in any environment.

Keywords

  • Philosophy in Africa
  • Philosophy in place
  • Enlightenment
  • Future of African Philosophy

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  • DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-70226-1_17
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Notes

  1. 1.

    Eze (1998: 214–216).

  2. 2.

    Ramose (2001: 3).

  3. 3.

    Oguejiofor (2007: 32).

  4. 4.

    See Eze (1997).

  5. 5.

    Agbakoba (2004: 141).

  6. 6.

    Basu (1998: 205).

  7. 7.

    Masolo (2016: 7).

  8. 8.

    Muller (2005: 121).

  9. 9.

    Chimakonam (2015: 3).

  10. 10.

    Janz (2009: 6).

  11. 11.

    Agada (2015: 265–266).

  12. 12.

    See Ani (2012).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

    Bernard Matolino

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  1. Bernard Matolino
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Edwin E. Etieyibo

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Matolino, B. (2018). The Shaping of the Future of African Philosophy. In: Etieyibo, E. (eds) Method, Substance, and the Future of African Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70226-1_17

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