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African Philosophy in Search of Identity (African Systems of Thought)

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Masolo has written perhaps the best encyclopedic account of 20th century African philosophy. His exploration of the problem of articulating reason in the African context, a context burdened by the imposition of colonialism, racism, and the perils and anxiety of metaphilosophical reflections on philosophy (epistemologically, ontologically, and politically understood) is balanced and erudite. I teach this book regularly in my Contemporary African Philosophy course at Brown University and I provide a discussion of it in my book, HER MAJESTY'S OTHER CHILDREN. My main concern, by way of criticism of the text, is its appeal to pragmatism in places that are clearly existential. This is a problem endemic to pragmatism, however, since the category of experience often raises similar sets of problems as in existential philosophy. No pragmatist, for instance, believes in a prior essence. That said, read this work. It is illuminating, and it is a valuable guide for anyone interested in 20th century philosophy.