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Introduction: Rethinking African Philosophy in the Age of Globalization

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The Palgrave Handbook of African Philosophy

Abstract

In this Introduction, Afolayan and Falola interrogate the progress of African philosophy beyond its evolutionary progression since its inauguration in the 1970s. The Introduction argues that the disciplinary progression in African philosophy could transcend a mere evolutionary development if African philosophers are more concerned with what John Keke refers to as the problem of life rather than the problems of reflection. While the latter speaks to specific disciplinary subject matters that define the academic pursuit of philosophy, the former actively engages the predicament on the African continent. What Wiredu calls the enlargement of African philosophy translates into a legitimate reflection on the ways by which the enterprise of philosophy can become, outside of its abstract cogitations, significant for the development of Africa.

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Afolayan, A., Falola, T. (2017). Introduction: Rethinking African Philosophy in the Age of Globalization. In: Afolayan, A., Falola, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of African Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59291-0_1

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