Editorial Without philosophy, the world would be filled with brutes! But the essence of philosophy practice does not lie in agreements rather; it lies chiefly in disagreements. Where people usually agree, there reason has gone on holiday and the spirit of philosophy vanquished. But our disagreements must be respectful to distinguish it from the banter of brutes or charlatans. This is what Filosofia Theoretica stands for hence, conversational thinking. I therefore, present Volume 4 Number 2 of Filosofia Theoretica, a journal dedicated to the promotion of conversational orientation in African philosophy. Conversational philosophizing breaks away from the perverse orientation introduced by the Universalist school in African philosophy. Papers published in the journal have phenomenological basis and thrive on productive conversations among actors. We believe that conversational philosophy represents one of the modes through which the episteme of African philosophy could grow by opening new vistas and unveiling new concepts.

The story of African philosophy is surrounded by controversy. Decades after the “great debate” over its mere existence, many vital questions have been left unanswered. From examining the origins of African philosophy to addressing fundamental issues in ontology, epistemology, ethics, and political thought, this collection of essays brings fresh insight to questions both old and new. First time readers and seasoned scholars alike will find this book to be an essential resource in African thought. Atụọlụ Ọmalụ gives shape and direction to a hitherto formless discipline and heralds an exciting future for African philosophy.

In this Vol. 6 No. 1, we bring a mix of refreshing articles in different areas of African philosophy and thought. Filosofia Theoretica Journal of African Philosophy, Culture and Religions is dedicated to the promotion of conversational orientation and publication of astute academic research in African Philosophy and Thought. The articles submitted to Filosofia Theoretica must be presented in defensive and conversational style. The journal has a vision to put Africa and African intellectuals on the global map. However, this does not imply that non-Africans cannot submit articles for consideration insofar as the title falls within the focus of the journal.

Franciscan priest Placide Tempels’s 1946 book, Bantu Philosophy, introduced a new discourse about African thought and beliefs, questioning the universality of Western philosophy and establishing paradigms that continue to dominate discussion of the relationships between Africa and the West today. More than 75 years after the publication of this influential text, this volume brings together a wide range of contributors to examine the legacy and impact of Tempels’s work for the study of African philosophy and religion. Reflecting on whether Bantu Philosophy reinforces conflict or convergence between Africa and the West, and its reception within Africa, scholars from both African and Western institutions provide new perspectives on both Tempels’s ideas and ongoing debates in African philosophy and religion.

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This book investigates how knowledge is conceived and explored within the African context. Epistemology, or the theory of knowledge, has historically been dominated by the Western approach to the discourse of knowledge. This book however shines a much-needed spotlight on knowledge systems originating within the African continent. Bringing together key voices from across the field of African philosophy, this book explores the nature of knowledge across the continent and how they are rooted in Africans’ ontological sense of being and self. At a time when moves to decolonize curricula are gaining momentum, this book shows how understanding the specific ways of knowing that form part of the every day life of the African, will play an important part in rebalancing studies of philosophy globally. Employing critical, conceptual and rigorous analyses of the nature and essence of knowledge as understood by indigenous African societies, the book ultimately asks what could pass as an African theory of knowledge. This important guide to the connections between knowledge and being, in African philosophical thought, will be an important resource for researchers and students of philosophy and African studies.

This book provides a unique insight into understanding the Igbo social, economic, and political world through comprehensive analyses of indigenous and foreign religious practices, issues surrounding women, literature, language, sexism in musical lyrics, films, and community development and government. It also explores thought-provoking cultural practices relating to marriage and divorce, reincarnation, naming, and masquerade dance. The themes covered in the book help readers appreciate the often-neglected multifaceted local and external forces that continue to shape the Igbo experience in southeastern Nigeria.

In searching for the potential that lies in African societies, the chapters of this volume consider relationships between knowledge, education and social structure from multiple angles, from a macro-continental scale to national education systems, schools and local communities. The themes that cut across the chapters include education as a mode of transmitting values, the contrasting effects of school credentials and knowledge for use, politics and interactions among people surrounding a school and knowledge acquisition as a subjective process. The rich empirical analyses suggest that the subjective commitment of, and mutuality among, people will make the acquired knowledge a powerful 'tool for conviviality' to realize a stable life, even given the turmoil created by rapid institutional and environmental changes that confront African societies.

Some philosophers on the African continent and beyond are convinced that consensus, as a polity, represents the best chance for Africa to fully democratise. In Consensus as Democracy in Africa, Bernard Matolino challenges the basic assumptions built into consensus as a social and political theory. Central to his challenge to the claimed viability of consensus as a democratic system are three major questions: Is consensus genuinely superior to its majoritarian counterpart? Is consensus itself truly a democratic system? Is consensus sufficiently different from the one-party system? In taking up these issues and others closely associated with them, Matolino shows that consensus as a system of democracy encounters several challenges that make its viability highly doubtful. Matolino then attempts a combination of an understanding of an authentic mode of democracy with African reality to work out what a more desirable polity would be for the continent.