Contemporary Debates in African and Western Philosophy

Monique Whitaker is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.Jonathan O. Chimakonam is Senior Lecturer of Philosophy at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and Research Fellow in the Center for Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Philosophy at Eberhard Karls University of Tubingen, Germany.

Rich in thematic engagement and rigorous in scholarship, this excellent book announces the progress made by African philosophy in the last three decades and opens up new spaces for a West-Africa philosophical dialogue. Contemporary Debates in African and Western Philosophy: Analytic and Intercultural Approaches is a timely book that enriches our appreciation of the global dimension of philosophy with its cross-cultural and comparative focus. The book will prove invaluable to academics, researchers, and students active in the fields of African philosophy and Western analytic philosophy.

• List of Contributors Preface Introduction Monique Whitaker and Jonathan O. ChimakonamPART I: Language1 The need to go beyond linguistic rebellion in African scholarship: A case for dis-structuring Joseph N. Agbo and Jonathan O. Chimakonam2 Revisiting the language question in African philosophy: Why conversationalism is a viable alternative Chukwueloka S. Uduagwu3 Alterity in African and Levinasian ethics: A comparative analysis Pius M. Mosima and Mbih Jerome Tosam4 The social nature of the human being: A metaphysical foundation for Akan ethics and the primacy of duty in Akan ethics and Chinese Confucian philosophy Robert Elliott Allinson5 Searching for a plausible intercultural philosophy in Africa Dennis MasakaPART II: Logic6 Wiredu contra Lewis on the right modal logic David B. Martens7 On the system of three-valued logic: An African contribution Jonathan O. Chimakonam8 Contradiction is the rule of truth Elena Ficaraviii CONTENTS9 Formal language and philosophy Ryan M. Nefdt10 Why the logic of the natural language conditional needs a ceteris paribus clause Monique WhitakerPART III: Metaphysics11 What is the essence of an essence? Comparing Afro-relational and Western-individualist ontologies Thaddeus Metz12 Becoming and balance: The metaphysical doctrines of the Anlo and process philosophy Roseline Elorm Adzogble13 Embracing nature: The survival of mythological narratives based on naturalistic experiences at Yorùbá communities in Brazil Andreza Bispo dos Anjos Santos and Frederik Moreira dos Santos14 The embodiment of moral philosophy in ancient Africa Rob Baum15 The African understanding of the principle of cause: A case of free will or determinism? Joyline Gwara16 Revisiting Asouzu’s Ibuanyidanda (complementary) metaphysical theory in African philosophy: Exploring the idea of singular complementarity Aribiah David Attoe17 The body in Amo’s philosophy of mind Abraham Olivier18 Event metaphysics in Lao-Tzu’s notion of Tao and ?`rúnmìlà’s concept of Ìwà Emmanuel OfuasiaIndex