Paulin Hountondji and the Science Question in Africa

This book offers a systematic reconstruction of Paulin Hountondji s contributions to the debate about the place of modern science on the African continent. The book shows that Hountondji develops an account of modern science that is sociologically sensitive to the entanglement between modern science and colonialism on the African continent without falling into epistemic relativism about the claims of modern science. It is argued that Hountondji s views on modern science express a strong historical materialist influence, and that he develops a theory of science that draws both on the Hessen-Grossmann hypothesis and dependency theory. Thus, this book brings together two strands of historical materialist thought about science that have hitherto been isolated from one another. This book is of interest to scholars who specialize in African philosophy, history and philosophy of science, global philosophy, and African studies.

Introduction. - 1 Hountondji between Husserl and Althusser. - 2 Towards a Synthesis between the Hessen-Grossman Thesis and Dependency Theory. - 3 Colonialism and Systematic Under-Education. - 4 Hountondji on the Relationship between Endogenous Knowledge and Modern Science. - 5 Modern Science and the Demarcation Problem in African Philosophy. - 6 Concluding Remarks on Hountondji s Framework for the Study of Scientific Dependency.