African American Philosophers and Philosophy: An Introduction to the History, Concepts, and Contemporary Issues

✍ Scribed by John H. McClendon; Stephen C. Ferguson

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2019
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 299
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book presents the first introduction to African American academic philosophers. Choosing to focus exclusively on the role of professional philosophers, this volume explores their concepts and ideas, revealing the critical part they have played in the formation of African American philosophy.
Setting the historical context, an introductory chapter covers the period from the early years of educational attainment in the 1860s to the 1960s, when only 4 PhDs in philosophy were granted to African Americans. To demonstrate the impact of their philosophical work on general problems in the discipline, chapters are broken down into four major areas of study: Axiology; Social science; Philosophy of religion; and Philosophy of science
Providing personal narratives on individual philosophers and examining the work of figures such as H. T. Johnson, William D. Johnson, William R. Jones, Roy D. Morrison, William A. Banner, African American Philosophers and Philosophy challenges the myth that philosophy is exclusively a white academic discipline. Packed with examples of struggles and triumphs, this engaging introduction is a much-needed approach to studying philosophy today.

✦ Table of Contents

Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
Biographical Information on Selected African American Philosophers
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Introduction: Footnotes to History:On the Recovery of African American Philosophers and Reconstruction of African American Philosophy
On the problem of universality and particularity
A note
Notes
Chapter 1: Through the Back Door: The Problem of History and the African American Philosopher/Philosophy
On the progress of African American philosophy
On the history of Greek philosophy: The problem of Afrocentric interpretations
Empirical description, philosophical definition, and historical interpretation
Professional philosophy and academic racism
Notes
Chapter 2: The Problem of Philosophy: Metaphilosophical Considerations
The meaning of the question “what is philosophy?”
The problem of philosophical definition
The definition of philosophy and metaphilosophical discourse
Metaphilosophy: The foundation and scope of philosophy
What is African American philosophy? Metaphilosophical considerations
Notes
Chapter 3: The Search for Values: Axiology in Ebony
Knowledge of value and value of knowledge
On the question of values: The object of philosophical inquiry
Black is beautiful: A philosophical investigation of a beautiful problem
The problem of axiology
On aesthetics
The search for objective beauty
Philosophical perspectives on black music
Notes
Chapter 4: Philosophy of Science: African American Deliberations
What is the philosophy of science?
The African American dialectical idealist tradition in the philosophy of science
William T. Fontaine and Ernest E. Just: The materialist conception of life
African American philosophers on Einstein’s theory of relativity
Eugene C. Holmes on the problem of space and time
Normative values, social reality, and social activism
Epistemology contra sociology of knowledge
Notes
Chapter 5: Mapping the Disciplinary Contours of the Philosophy of Religion: Reason, Faith, and African American Religious Culture
Philosophy of religion and psychology of religion
Method of investigation: Academic study versus devotional study of the Bible
The matter of religious beliefs: Historical criticism contra faith commitment
Christian belief and Jesus Christ: The matter of historical confirmation contra faith
The philosophy of religion contra religious philosophy
Notes
Glossary of Key Terms
Select Bibliography
Index