African Philosophy: Emancipation and Practice

Caught between the history of exclusion and the reality of the world philosophies approach, this is an introduction to African philosophy unlike any other.
With distinctive insight Pascah Mungwini brings together African philosophy and the emancipative mission, introducing African thought as a practice defined by its own history and priority questions while always in dialogue with the world. He charts the controversies and contestations around the contemporary practice of philosophy as an academic enterprise in Africa, examining some of philosophy’s most serious mistakes, omissions, and failures.
Covering the history of African philosophy’s development and trajectory, Mungwini’s introduction focuses on the struggle for intellectual liberation. His compelling portrayal reveals that true liberation begins by understanding one’s own world, an essential point for anyone beginning to explore another philosophical tradition on its own terms.
Contemporary discourse on African philosophy is closely tied to the historical adversities of the past which account not only for its emergence but also for its tone, character and mandate. This history which is itself a bane was paradoxically reconstituted into a creative force and a prelude for the struggle. What we articulate in this book should therefore be seen as part of an ongoing dialogue with this history and a furtherance of the discourse on world philosophies. This book draws on the inherent emancipative mission that drives African philosophy within the context of recurrent challenges and the unfinished humanistic project of decolonization. It argues that true decolonization begins at the level of knowing oneself and for the African (philosopher) it is about self-(re)discovery. Philosophy progresses not just by celebrating its successes, but by paying attention to some of its most serious failures and omissions. The turn to world philosophies in the sense of multiple voices in dialogue is illustrative of this crucial fact. Special attention is also given to the Ubuntu tradition of thought and philosophy which has now distinguished itself as a subfield within the discourse of African philosophy with its own distinct approach and priority questions inspired ultimately by what it means to philosophize in an unjust world. Grounded in an ontology of be-ing while drawing from African experiences, from the concrete, and the ethical, and armed with a clear understanding of the ontological oneness of humanity, Ubuntu emancipative philosophy lays out a philosophical practice which can become a veritable instrument of change worldwide not only for human relations, but for our relationship with the environment. As a contribution to the discourse on world philosophies, this work identifies with growing efforts from around the world to restore to the philosophical practice its richness and diversity. Today, the great conversation among the world’s philosophical traditions inconceivable not so long ago is inching closer to being the new reality.