Abstract
Paulin Hountondji became famous for his rigorous critique of ethnophilosophy. This chapter presents the historical context of the emergence of ethnophilosophy, portrays the most important writings of this genre and discusses Hountondji’s methodological objections to the ethnophilosophical approach. In his account, Hountondji defends a strict notion of what philosophy should consists of in distinction to other disciplines, spells out what African philosophy must aim at and how it should be set in opposition to mythological thinking. Based on these standards, he critically assesses both Négritude and African socialism as influential intellectual currents on the African continent. By way of conclusion, the chapter illustrates Hountondji’s notion of African philosophy by presenting the oeuvre of the eighteens century philosopher of African descent, Anton Wilhelm Amo, and Hountondji’s reception thereof.
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Notes
- 1.
A term used for designating the “evolved” or “civilized” subjects in the colonies, who had received a European education , adapted to the metropole’s customs, and formed the new elite of the native population, often employed in skilled professions.
- 2.
Cf. also Eboussi-Boulaga, who makes a similar argument in his article “Le Bantou problématique” (1968, p. 23).
- 3.
Tempels still might have responded that he distinguishes between the thought of the Bantu, who have an “authentic” African mindset, and the évolués , who are alienated, and who diverged from the cultural framework of the Bantu world-view. The objection would, of course, come from the latter (cf. Tempels 1969, pp. 27ff.).
- 4.
In contrast to Hountondji and Diagne , Mudimbe stresses the “universalist dimension in Kagame’s philosophy” (Mudimbe 1988, p. 151). He sets Kagame’s Bantu philosophy apart from Tempels’s position: Although the former stresses the cultural linguistic roots of Bantu philosophy , it must not be understood as an absolute alterity. Rather, Kagame underscores that formal logics are shared by all human fellows and that reasoning makes philosophy a universal discipline (ibid.).
- 5.
Hountondji cites the following passage by Césaire : “[t]hen I turned towards paradises lost to him and his kin, calmer than the face of a women who lies” (Césaire 1995, p. 73).
- 6.
The circumstances and date of Amo’s death are unknown. He returned to Ghana in 1747. There is little evidence concerning his life back in Africa.
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Dübgen, F., Skupien, S. (2019). Hountondji’s Critique of Ethnophilosophy and His Notion of African Philosophy. In: Paulin Hountondji. Global Political Thinkers. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01995-2_2
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