Africana Philosophy from Ancient Egypt to the Nineteenth Century: A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps, Volume 7 -- Peter Adamson, Hardcover

In this latest instalment of the series A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps, Peter Adamson and Chike Jeffers delve into the fascinating world of Africana Philosophy.

Africana Philosophy from Ancient Egypt to the Nineteenth Century is the first of two volumes in the History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps series to bring readers the story of Africana philosophy. This diverse topic is defined as philosophy emerging from and distinctively related to Africa or the African diaspora. The story starts at the very beginning by asking what it would mean to engage philosophically with evidence left by prehistoric peoples of Africa, and proceeds to discuss the philosophical traditions of ancient Egypt, late ancient and early modern Ethopia, and Islamic philosophy in West Africa. A number of chapters then explore the idea of philosophy in African oral traditions, considering the methodological debates that have raged between African philosophers like John Mbiti, Paulin Hountondji, and Henry Odera Oruka.

Peter Adamson and Chike Jeffers also consider philosophical responses to the situation brought about by the transatlantic slave trade and the early colonization of Africa. Starting from early figures like Anton Wilhelm Amo and Phillis Wheatley, and the ideas that drove the Haitian Revolution, extensive discussion is then given to Africana philosophy of the nineteenth century. The incendiary ideas of David Walker, the nuanced rhetoric of Frederick Douglass, and the clashing approaches of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois are among the highlights here. Significant attention is given to female thinkers like Maria W. Stewart, Sojourner Truth, Anna Julia Cooper, and Ida B. Wells. The coverage is also geographically diverse, with chapters on figures who worked not only in Africa and the United States, but also Brazil, Canada, Britain, France, and the Caribbean.

Author: Peter Adamson, Chike Jeffers
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 07/24/2025
Pages: 528
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.70lbs
Size: 9.42h x 6.39w x 1.54d
ISBN: 9780198927174

About the Author
Peter Adamson, Professor of Late Ancient and Arabic Philosophy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Chike Jeffers, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Dalhousie University Halifax

Peter Adamson received his BA from Williams College and PhD in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. He worked at King's College London from 2000-2012 and retains an affiliation there, but his main position is at the LMU in Munich. He has published widely in ancient and medieval philosophy and is the host of the History of Philosophy podcast.

Chike Jeffers is an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at Dalhousie University. He specializes in Africana philosophy and philosophy of race, with broad interests in social and political philosophy. Jeffers is co-author of What is Race? Four Philosophical Views (2019), along with Joshua Glasgow, Sally Haslanger, and Quayshawn Spencer.