Tradition & Modernity: Philosophical Reflections on the African Experience - Softcover

Gyekye, Kwame

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195112261 ISBN 13: 9780195112269

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1997

Synopsis

Tradition and Modernity This work offers a philosophical interpretation and critical analysis of the African cultural experience in modern times. Gyekye attempts to show the usefulness of Western philosophical concepts in addressing a range of specifically African problems. Full description

About this title

Review:

Dr. Gyekye makes wonderfully illuminating contribution to theoretical debates, while also having acute remarks to make on their practical political implications. Moreover this book contains a penetrating discussion of African culture. It is a genuinely exciting book. (Alasdair MacIntyre, Duke University)

Gyekye makes wonderfully illuminating contributions to theoretical debate, while also having acute remarks to make on their practical political implications. Moreover, this book contains a penetrating discussion of African culture. It is a genuinely exciting achievement. (Alasdair MacIntyre, Duke University)

I find this an excellent work on a topic which has been generally overlooked in the historiography of Africa. Not only does the author discuss philosophies of Africa, but how these philosophies in terms of traditions must compete in a changing world. (Sundiata A.K.M. Djata, Northern Illinois University)

An excellent text and ueful in a variety of courses. It combines traditional African ideas with modern concepts very effectively. (Dennis Brutus, University of Pittsburgh)

Synopsis:

This book offers a philosophical interpretation and critical analysis of the African cultural experience in modern times. In their attempt to evolve ways of life appropriate to our modern world culture, says Kwame Gyekye, African people and societies face a number of challenges, some stemming from the values and practices of their traditional cultures, and others representing the legacy of European colonialism. Defending the cross-cultural applicability of philosophical concepts developed in Western culture, Kwame Gyekye attempts to show the usefulness of such concepts in addressing a wide range of specifically African problems. Among the issues he considers are: economic development, nation-building, the evolution of viable and appropriate democratic political institutions, the development of appropriate and credible ideologies, political corruption, and the crumbling of traditional moral standards in the wake of rapid social change. Throughout, Gyekye challenges the notion that modernity must be equated with Western values and institutions, arguing instead that African modernity must be forged creatively within the furnace of Africa's many-sided cultural experience.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0195112261
• ISBN 13: 9780195112269
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 360