Full text Read free
Chimakonam, Jonathan O,. Ezumezu: A System of Logic for African Philosophy and Studies
2019, Cham, Switzerland: Springer Verlag
Expand entry
Added by: Franci Mangraviti
Publisher’s Note:

The issue of a logic foundation for African thought connects well with the question of method. Do we need new methods for African philosophy and studies? Or, are the methods of Western thought adequate for African intellectual space? These questions are not some of the easiest to answer because they lead straight to the question of whether or not a logic tradition from African intellectual space is possible. Thus in charting the course of future direction in African philosophy and studies, one must be confronted with this question of logic. The author boldly takes up this challenge and becomes the first to do so in a book by introducing new concepts and formulating a new African culture-inspired system of logic called Ezumezu which he believes would ground new methods in African philosophy and studies. He develops this system to rescue African philosophy and, by extension, sundry fields in African Indigenous Knowledge Systems from the spell of Plato and the hegemony of Aristotle. African philosophers can now ground their discourses in Ezumezu logic which will distinguish their philosophy as a tradition in its own right. On the whole, the book engages with some of the lingering controversies in the idea of (an) African logic before unveiling Ezumezu as a philosophy of logic, methodology and formal system. The book also provides fresh arguments and insights on the themes of decolonisation and Africanisation for the intellectual transformation of scholarship in Africa. It will appeal to philosophers and logicians—undergraduates and post graduate researchers—as well as those in various areas of African studies.

Comment: Can be used as a main reference textbook for a course on African logic, insofar as Part I provides an (opinionated) survey of the field, and Part II develops a particular proposal in extensive detail. The chapters in Part I can be accompanied by many of the primary sources in "Logic and African Philosophy: Seminal Essays on African Systems of Thought", edited by the same author. Chapters 6-8, which introduce Ezumezu, can be used in a general course on logic or African philosophy wanting to discuss this particular system and philosophy thereof. While familiarity with Part I is helpful, it is not strictly required.

Export citation in BibTeX format
Export text citation
View this text on PhilPapers
Export citation in Reference Manager format
Export citation in EndNote format
Export citation in Zotero format
Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share by Email
Can’t find it?
Contribute the texts you think should be here and we’ll add them soon!