African Philosophies

“Séverine Kodjo-Grandvaux makes a brilliant attempt to expand the horizons of Western modernity by introducing the African Human gaze to humanize us all. This is a major and original contribution.” Teodros Kiros, Professor of Philosophy at Harvard Summer School and host of The Kiros Report “Severine Kodjo-Grandvaux has written a wonderful and insightful text that rejects Western conceptualizations of philosophy that are used to devalue and exclude African philosophies as legitimate. African Philosophies favors clarity and precision in its discussion of African philosophers’ ideas and insights into the human condition over the political or ethical pleas for inclusion often found in many works of comparative philosophy. Kodjo-Grandvaux insists that philosophies should wander beyond the artificial borders of Western thought towards the diverse cultural possibilities of the human. Diop, Oruka, Wiredu, and Appiah become world thinkers reflecting upon the differences and plurality found among peoples in Africa and the world. Instead of continuing the colonial heritage of Western (white) philosophy that believes it must teach lesser peoples the white ways of thinking, Kodjo-Grandvaux insists that African philosophies have much to teach the West about human potentiality and being.” Tommy J. Curry, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh