TO OUR READERS

JOURNAL ON AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY

ISSN: 1533-1067

Issue 3 (2003)

TO OUR READERS

We present this latest issue of African Philosophy with mixed feelings. Yes, we are happy to be putting out another number of the journal; but our enthusiasm is tempered by the realization that the regularity of its publication is nowhere near what it should be if we are to realize the lofty ambitions that we have for it. After all, a journal is only as good as the kinds of contributors it is able to attract. And, truth be told, our spasmodic publication record has, we have no doubt, alienated not a few prospective contributors. Additionally, many contributors were compelled to pull their manuscripts and put them elsewhere. To all concerned we would like to offer our sincerest apologies. We hope that what happens from here on will not only persuade those who have been alienated to take another look at us, but will also make them willing to trust us with their work again. While we have been in hiatus, nothing has happened to make us think that the journal and the vision that gave it birth either are dead or have become irrelevant in the current situation. Quite the contrary, the censure that we have received from critics, as well as the continuing inquiries from prospective contributors and, not the least, the steadfastness of the authors that we have included in this volume, are all indicative of the continuing belief of many in our subdiscipline in the necessity and relevance of the journal. For that, we are very grateful.

Our optimism is buoyed by the realization that the void that the journal was originally conceived to fill remains unfilled. No doubt, diverse journals continue to emerge and die in various African countries. Yet, few are those that deal solely with philosophy. As is increasingly the case now in much of Africa, the only journal of philosophy that is published regularly is domiciled in South Africa. Without prejudice to the quality of the South African Journal of Philosophy, it is highly unlikely that many will demur that it is not noted for its output in African Philosophy. And CODESRIA, probably the most stable and the best heeled outfit in the continent for humanities and social science research has not felt the need to fund a philosophy journal. Again, this is without prejudice to its growing interest in the humanities and the fact that it has accelerated its publication of philosophy and philosophy related materials in its journals and book series. Despite this, the interest in African Philosophy, as a subdiscipline, has grown exponentially in Europe, North America, and the Caribbean, not to talk of the fact that African Philosophy in the continent itself has, over the course of the last thirty years, become the cornerstone of studies in the discipline. We are now well into the third or later generation of products—human and material—of that revolution in African intellectual history that heralded the dawn of professional, academic African philosophy beginning with the inauguration in 1972 of the now comatose but hugely celebrated Second Order.

The collapse of philosophy and other academic journals in the continent, in a cruel twist of fate, coincided with the explosion in output of philosophical works by established and young scholars alike, as well as graduate students. Meanwhile, the pressure to publish as a requirement for professional advancement for African philosophers did not lessen. Neither did the need for secondary and other derivative discourses in African philosophy. In fact, more than at any other time, African philosophy, having put paid to the legitimacy of pedigree challenges to its integrity, needs numerous outlets for the dissemination of both original research and research oriented towards the retrieval of all aspects of Africa’s impressive but largely untapped philosophical inheritance. We continue to hope and we are determined to strive to see that African Philosophy will be the place to come to for the best works in the discipline. That is our goal. We can only hope that you, our readers and prospective contributors, will recommit to helping us reach it. With that we present this latest number.

Thank you.

Fémi Táíwò
Tunde Bewaji

Editors.

Citation Format:

Fémi Táíwò. “To Our Readers,” Journal on African Philosophy: Issue 3, 2003.