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Indigenous (African) Knowledge Systems, Science, and Technology

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Abstract

The motivation for a focus on indigenous (African) knowledge, science, and technology is fairly easy to explain, especially when one considers the denigration, suppression, and exploitation of traditional knowledge systems during and even after colonialism. Like “indigenous” or “African knowledge,” the emphasis on “indigenous science and technology” is a recent phenomenon. Horsthemke, in this chapter, addresses the question of whether the ideas of indigenous knowledge, science, and technology make any sense. A central problem Horsthemke engages is what appears to be the lack of clarity about the meaning or understanding of “knowledge.” As a challenge to IKS apologists, this chapter addresses the problem of relativism (about both knowledge and truth) and of the implications of taking epistemological relativism seriously. The chapter also interrogates the question of the basis, if there is one, for distinguishing between knowledge and superstition within indigenous African worldviews and belief systems.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Eichstätt, Germany

    Kai Horsthemke

Authors
  1. Kai Horsthemke
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

    Adeshina Afolayan

  2. The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA

    Toyin Falola

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Horsthemke, K. (2017). Indigenous (African) Knowledge Systems, Science, and Technology. 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_38

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