This volume of newly commissioned essays provides comprehensive coverage of African philosophy, ranging across disciplines and throughout the ages. Offers a distinctive historical treatment of African philosophy. Covers all the main branches of philosophy as addressed in the African tradition. Includes accounts of pre-colonial African philosophy and contemporary political thought.

From St. Augustine and early Ethiopian philosophers to the anti-colonialist movements of Pan-Africanism and Negritude, this encyclopedia offers a comprehensive view of African thought, covering the intellectual tradition both on the continent in its entirety and throughout the African Diaspora in the Americas and in Europe. The term "African thought" has been interpreted in the broadest sense to embrace all those forms of discourse - philosophy, political thought, religion, literature, important social movements - that contribute to the formulation of a (...) distinctive vision of the world determined by or derived from the African experience. (shrink)

This considerably revised second edition of Philosopy from Africa presents the current philosophical debate in Africa to a diverse, multicultural world. Its major themes include decolonization, Afro-centrism vs. Euro-centrism, the struggle for cultural freedoms on the continent, and the historic role of Black Consciousness in the liberation struggle. Writers and thinkers, Steve Biko, Kwasi Wiredu, Abiola Irele, Mogobe Ramose, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o and Wole Soyinka, among others, explore the debate surrounding: restitution and reconciliation in the post-colonial milieu, pressures (...) on the tradition of Philosophy in the modern world, the reconstitution of the African self, the conflict between African and Westwern epistemological paradigms, justice and globalization, and the continuity of religion and metaphysics in African thought. Africa is reconstituting its post-colonial character; much of its moral, political, and social thought is concerned with the turbulent process of embracing its modern identity while protecting its ancient cultures. Reflecting this process, this new edition of Philosophy from Africa also addresses provocative ideas about gender and race in Africa. When was the African woman 'invented'? What is the political morality of race? Africa's place in the global context, and the much publisized 'African Renaissance', are put under the prism of critical analysis. These pressing and increasingly urgent issues are eloquently addressed in a fascinating interplay of voices from both Africa and the West. Philosophy from Africa is the perfect guide to the fascinating world of African thought. (shrink)

In 1 Timothy 2:11-15 women are forbidden to teach and have authority over men in the church. The ground for this instruction is the creation account in Genesis 2 that asserts the priority of Adam over Eve in the order of creation. The second reason for the instruction is the deception of Eve according to the account of the Fall in Genesis 3. This pericope has elicited arguments between advocates of egalitarianism and complementarianism revolving over the issues of grammar, the (...) context of the Ephesian church with regard to false teachings and the comparison of this text with the other writings of Paul, for those that subscribe to the authorship of Paul. The contention of this article is that verse 15 provides a major clue as to how this text should be understood. In addition, the author's rhetoric in this text is interrogated with regard to the text's own internal literary and theological logic. In this regard, the author is found to be inconsistent in his outlook, for the grace that was poured out abundantly on him: a blasphemer, a persecutor and a violent man and on account of his ignorance and unbelief is apparently, being denied women on account of Eve's deception. (shrink)