Abstract

It is a little more than fifty years that African cultures have been the subject of open and widespread philosophical deliberation. It is even more recent that African philosophy has been a subject of academic learning, investigation and debate, both in Africa itself and abroad. The end of European colonization of Africa in the twentieth century has enabled African scholars generally and philosophers particularly to pursue consciously, and at times also vigorously, Africans' cultural freedom. As we know and debate them today, several of the key issues in African philosophy are a critical part of the wider postcolonial cultural critique which has occurred across the disciplines. At their gloomy end, many of these issues may continue to address what some continue to perceive as Africans' need for total cultural independence. On the heuristic side, Africans' practice of philosophy in the postcolonial period has made it possible to reconsider many philosophical issues and problems with the freshness of new comparative conceptual dimensions. This latter approach makes it possible for African philosophers to participate in a cross-cultural philosophical discourse without sacrificing the independence of African modes of thought. The essay reviews some of the recent works of various of those African philosophers who have particularly influenced the perception and reception of African philosophy both within and outside the continent.