Identity in Africa: A Philosophical Perspective

Fouad Mami ()
Additional contact information
Fouad Mami: University of Adrar

IBSU Scientific Journal, 2011, vol. 5, issue 1, 65-82

Abstract: Tradition and modernity has been almost always treated as two diametrically-opposed components of African identity. This study illustrates that contrary to this widely disseminated belief, tradition and modernity are two cronies that are simultaneously counterproductive and coercive for African communities. For when closely examined, tradition and modernity cannot foster any viable notion of self and identity. Through our discussion of the role of tradition and the interplay of negative tradition with deplete cultures, it becomes fairly evident that the poor performance of African communities in matters related to development can be answerable when shedding light on the interconnection between European modernity and African archaic traditions. The colonial legacy, the context within which European modernity and African traditions met, according to this study, should not be overlooked for any forward-looking perspective.

Keywords: Africa; modernity; tradition; colonial (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I29 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journal.ibsu.edu.ge/index.php/ibsusj/article/download/186/177 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ibl:journl:v:5:y:2011:i:1:p:65-82

Access Statistics for this article

IBSU Scientific Journal is currently edited by Giuli Alasania

More articles in IBSU Scientific Journal from International Black Sea University Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Salavat Sayfullin ().