African Philosophical Adventures

John Murungi is professor of philosophy at Towson University.

• PrefaceChapter One: Introducing African Philosophy at an American AcademyChapter Two: Kilimanjaro and the Spell of the Sensuous: An adventureChapter Three: Nightclubbing Adventure in AfricaChapter Four: Building a Philosophical Bridge between Africans and Latin AmericansChapter Five: Ethical Crisis in African DevelopmentChapter Six: The Crisis of Human rights in Africa: An African Perspective on Human RightsConclusion

Murungi’s African Philosophical Adventures joins the well-regarded "African Philosophy: Critical Perspectives and Global Dialogue" series. This book is an adventure in itself. Murungi puts African philosophy in conversation with a variety of 20th-century philosophers (Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty) and historical figures (most notably Nietzsche). After the first chapter, in which Murungi investigates the meaning of philosophy and the teaching of African philosophy, he offers two chapters on the phenomenology of the body. The fourth chapter unearths possible connections between African and Latin American philosophy within the debates about the intersection of Euro-Western philosophy and Indigenous philosophy. The last two chapters explore, respectively, two major themes in contemporary African philosophy, namely African development and human rights. These two chapters are particularly noteworthy in that they will appeal not only to philosophers but also to those working in political science, postcolonial theory, and global development. Readers of this book will not learn much about canonical African philosophers, but they will appreciate creative adventures through various themes within African philosophy—adventures that offer new paths to trek. Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.