Short description:

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.

Long description:

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.

?The text shines a brilliant spotlight on African knowledge, philosophy, and intellectual endogeneity from one of Africa?s leading philosophers. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels.? (G. Emeagwali, Choice, Vol. 57 (9), 2020)

Table of Contents:

Part I. Background to African Logic.- 1. The Manifestation of Reason in African Philosophy.- 2. In Search of a Logic-based Foundation for African Philosophy and Studies.- 3. Some Problematics in African Logic.- 4. The Schools of Thought in African Logic.- 5. African Logic and the Question of Method: Towards Villagisation of Knowledge.- Part II. Unveiling Ezumezu as a System of African Logic.- 6. Ezumezu as Philosophy of Logic.- 7. Ezumezu as Methodology.- 8. Ezumezu as a Formal System.- 9. Application of Ezumezu in Grounding some Theories in African Philosophy.- 10. Justifying the System of Ezumezu Logic: An Analysis of the Problematic Structure of ?q na Abughi q?.- 11. Decolonisation, Africanisation and Transformation: Why we need ?that? African Contribution to World History and Civilisation.