Listening to Ourselves: A Multilingual Anthology of African Philosophy (SUNY series in Living Indigenous Philosophies)

Contemporary African philosophy in indigenous African languages and English translation.
A groundbreaking contribution to the discipline of philosophy, this volume presents a collection of philosophical essays written in indigenous African languages by professional African philosophers with English translations on the facing pages—demonstrating the linguistic and conceptual resources of African languages for a distinctly African philosophy. Hailing from five different countries and writing in six different languages, the seven authors featured include some of the most prominent African philosophers of our time. They address a range of topics, including the nature of truth, different ways of conceiving time, the linguistic status of proverbs, how naming practices work, gender equality and inequality in traditional society, the relationship between language and thought, and the extent to which morality is universal or culturally variable.
“…Chike Jeffers has laid to rest the questions as to whether written modern philosophy is possible in African languages.” — from the Foreword by Ng?g? wa Thiong’o
“…the essays raise many philosophical issues that are of interest to both African and non-African audiences. The translations will be especially useful for language learning instruction between English and the languages represented. Let us hope more like this will follow. It is a research program with many benefits.” — Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews