Essay from the year 2014 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy Beyond Occidental Tradition, University of Botswana (University of Botswana), course: Modern Philosophy, language: English, abstract: The African philosophy of Ntu existed a long time ago, and it brought about solidarity and oneness in African society.The importance of this paper therefore is to discuss the African Philosophy of Ntu. The paper will start by defining the key concepts, then differentiating African philosophy from Western philosophy. The paper will go further into discussing the basic features that make up the Ntu philosophy and also, towards the end of the paper, the African philosophy will be criticised. At last a conclusion will be drawn up, summing all the main points of the paper.

This publication is a continuation of two earlier series of chroni cles, Philosophy of the Mid-Century (Firenze 1958/59) and Con temporary Philosophy (Firenze 1968), edited by Raymond Klibansky. Like the other series, these chronicles provide a survey of significant trends in contemporary philosophical discussion from 1970 to 1985. The need for such surveys has, I believe, increased rather than decreased over the last years. The philosophical scene appears, for various reasons, more complex than ever before. The continuing process of specialization in most branches, the emergence of new schools of thought, the convergence of interest (thought not neces sarily of opinion) of different traditions upon certain problems, the increasing attention being paid to the history of philosophy in discussions of contemporary problems, and the growing signifi cance for philosophical discourse of the social, political and cul tural situation in various regions of the world are the most impor tant contributory factors. Surveys of the present kind are a valu able source of knowledge of this complexity and may as such be an assistance in renewing the understanding of one's own philo sophical problems. The surveys, it is to be hoped, may also help to strengthen a world-wide Socratic element of modern philosophy, the dialogue or Kommunikationsgemeinschaft. So far, five volumes have been prepared for the new series.

By offering a topical rather historical presentation of an unique African philosophical reflection on physical and immaterial reality, the author of this book underscores the relevance of African systems of thought to philosophy. Consequently, the book centres on four focal issues: What are the meanings of Ntu'ology and Baganda Ntu'ology? Does the Ntu'ology of the Baganda offer an inimitable description of being, time and space? What is the Baganda Ntu'ological impression of the human being, knowledge, relations, and destiny as well as of human and spiritual beings' interconnections? How does the Ntu'ology of the Baganda portray the modality of being and values? This text should give scholars an introduction to yet another African philosophical system of thought.

Hountondji contends that ideological manifestations of this view that stress the uniqueness of the African experience are protonationalist reactions against colonialism conducted, paradoxically, in the terms of colonialist discourse. Hountondji argues that a genuine African philosophy must assimilate and transcend the theoretical heritage of Western philosophy and must reflect a rigorous process of independent scientific inquiry.

Divided into eight sections, each with introductory essays, the selections offer rich and detailed insights into a diverse multinational philosophical landscape. Revealed in this pathbreaking work is the way in which traditional philosophical issues related to ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology, for instance, take on specific forms in Africa's postcolonial struggles. Much of its moral, political, and social philosophy is concerned with the turbulent processes of embracing modern identities while protecting ancient cultures.

First Published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.