Tradition and Modernity: Philosophical Reflections on the African Experience

Abstract

This book offers 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, African people and their society face a number of challenges; some stem from the values and practices of their traditions, while others rise from the legacy of European colonialism. Defending the cross-cultural applicability of philosophical concepts developed in Western culture, the book attempts to show the usefulness of such concepts in addressing a wide range of African problems. Among the issues are as follows: economic development, nation-building, evolution of viable and appropriate democratic political institutions, growth of appropriate and credible ideologies, political corruption, and crumbling of traditional moral standards in the wake of rapid social change. Throughout, the notion that modernity must be equated with Western values and institutions is challenged, arguing that modernity must be forged creatively within the furnace of Africa's multifaceted cultural experience. © 1997 by Kwame Gyekye. All rights reserved.