Barry Hallen is a Fellow of the W. E. B. DuBois Institute for Afro-American Research, Harvard University. J. Olubi Sodipo is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria.

'Analytic philosophers have invested enormous amoun ts of energy attempting to analyse various terms that play a central role in our everyday thinking about the epistemic and ethical dimensions of our lives. It is often supposed that the conceptions underlying these terms are universals of human culture. The fascinating thesis of this intriguing little book is that supposition is false.' Ethics

• Foreword W. V. O. Quine Preface Barry Hallen Foreword Dorothy Emmet Introduction 1. Indeterminacy and the translation of alien behaviour 2. An African epistemology: the knowledge-belief distinction and Yoruba discourse 3. The secrecy of the 'aje;' Conclusion Afterword Barry Hallen Appendix Bibliography Index.