Interpretation for Liberation

Introductory and critical overview of African philosophical hermeneutics

African philosophical hermeneutics has emerged in response to the predicaments of post-colonial African societies. Its central premise is that practical responses have a lot to gain from interpreting people’s experience of meaning and the disruption of it. But where does understanding originate from? And what are the possibilities and limitations of interpretation as support for practice?

Suspended in the tension between Africa’s traumatic past and people’s continuing quest for autonomy, African hermeneutics draws on old traditions, adopted ideas and creative reflection. This results in intense intellectual engagement with history and conflict, translation and human nature, epistemic domination and liberation.

This book explores the role of hermeneutics in African philosophy. By examining its leading thinkers, it offers stimulating perspectives for any reader grappling with interpretation, critique, pluralism, decolonization and politics – in Africa and elsewhere.