A Short History of African Philosophy, first published in 2002, is a recapitulation of the major debates that have characterized contemporary philosophical thought and practice in English-speaking Africa, beginning with the publication of the English translation of Placide Tempels' Bantu Philosophy in 1959. Hallen's focus in this work is the growth of philosophical thought and practice in Africa as shaped through engagements with other philosophical trends and discourses dominant in the English-speaking world, with which English-speaking African philosophers became acquainted through British colonial education. Hallen starts by charting the reaches of rationality as a cognitive capacity of humans with both universal and culturally specific manifestations in its order and applications. Specifically, the discussion of rationality under the rubrics of universality and relativism can be traced to the now-defunct debate – originated in the United Kingdom largely as a re-examination of the implications for British neo-positivism of E. E. Evans-Pritchard's now classic study of the Azande, namely Witchraft, Oracles, and Magic among the Azande (1937) – about what counts as a rational account of causal relations between things or observable states of affairs in the world. This debate had been occasioned by Peter Winch's 1964 essay, ‘Understanding a primitive culture’, in which he was critical of Evans-Pritchard's own critique of Azande handling of culpability in witchcraft accusations as overlooking the obvious logical inference from their basic premises. Over the years, Hallen has established himself as the leading critic of Horton and, by extension, of Evans-Pritchard's views and arguments – which Horton fervently defended from a positivistic point of view.
The focus of A Short History of African Philosophy is an account of the growth of, and some of the outstanding major themes in English-speaking philosophy in the African context. In recent years, this discourse has expanded beyond the strict English-speaking circles or themes traditionally associated with the practice of philosophy within that general intellectual lineage. Since 1983 or thereabouts, English-speaking African philosophy and its audiences have embraced or included the thoughts and works of some African philosophers from French-speaking nations, which – thanks to the mediation of translators and publishers in the United States, where African philosophy has made a significant academic impact and presence – have become an essential part of the resources of the English-speaking African school.
Prime examples of such crossing are the works of V. Y. Mudimbe and Paulin J. Hountondji. In this respect, one can contrast A Short History of African Philosophy with Grégoire Biyogo's Histoire de la philosophie africaine, Livre II (l'Harmattan, 2006), which makes no mention of any work in African philosophy in the English language, or of an English-speaking African philosopher other than when he lists (pp. 216–17) some philosophers by their countries of origin.
This expanded and updated edition of Hallen's work will be a valuable asset as a highly accessible reference, not only for the undergraduate student, but also for graduates and researchers.
