Call for Papers: African Philosophy of Interconnectedness [ed. by Björn Freter, to be published in Springer-series Studies in African Philosophy]

[Björn Freter]

Dear Colleagues,

African philosophies of interconnectedness seem to share the axiomatic idea of a relational ontology. I am not a being in and of myself. When I understand myself as myself, I do not identify a distinct and independent “I,” but rather an entity that manifests within a web of interconnectedness in which all is bound up with all. This has significant philosophical consequences. The extraordinary importance of, for instance, autonomy, individuality, and the thinking self, as it is known from major Western traditions, is lost—or substantially transformed—when viewed from the perspective of a philosophy of interconnectedness. The best-known philosophy of interconnectedness today is surely the philosophy of ubuntu, which (since the 1990s) has been associated with the formula umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (a human being is a human being through human beings). Similarly, the Shona notion of Ukama, which expresses kinship and relationality as the foundation of existence, goes far beyond immediate family relations to encompass society, ancestors, land, and future generations. And there are so many more philosophies of connectedness – just think of Harambee, Ujamaa, Sankofa, Ukama, Maʽat, Omoluabi, and many more. Although significant research has been conducted, to this day, no comprehensive volume has been dedicated to these African philosophies of interconnectedness. This book intends to change that and to provide reconstructions, comparisons, and critical assessments of these philosophical approaches to answer, for instance, questions:

- What are the connections or differences, and what are the conflicts and tensions between all these ideas of interconnectedness?

- Is there indeed a comprehensive relational axiom, or do the philosophies of interconnectedness differ in essential respects, even on an axiomatic level? - In what ways has the notion of connectedness spread?

- How have the various approaches influenced each other philosophically and historically?

- What comparative and global philosophical connections exist?

Please find the full call on my webpage:

https://www.bjornfreter.com/post/call-for-papers-african-philosophy-of-interconnectedness-to-be-edited-by-bj%C3%B6rn-freter-and-to-be-pu

The Table of Contents you can find there presents an overview of the structure of the book and many other possible chapters. Authors are being sought for all chapters below. Of course, dear colleagues, all your ideas beyond this tentative outline will be highly welcome!

Best,

Bjorn Freter

Björn Freter, PhD

(he/him/his - see here for more information why)

https://www.bjornfreter.com/ 

Just published!

Volume 24.1 of the APA Studies on Philosophy and the Black Experience, the third volume under the editorship of Anthony Neal and myself, has been published!
https://www.apaonline.org/page/black_experience_apastudies

The volume 24.2 will be published within the next weeks!

Some recent publications!

»Radicalizing Ubu-ntu. Some Critical Thoughts on Mogobe Ramose’s Philosophy of Ubu-ntu and a Proposal for its Desuperiorization«, in: Kenneth Abudu, Kevin Behrens, Elvis Imafidon (eds.): »African Philosophy and Deep Ecology«, Routledge, 2025, 41-54, https://tinyurl.com/RamoseUbuntu

»Sophie Bọsẹdé Olúwọlé on Yorùbá Philosophy, Knowing, not-Knowing and the Pain of Letting Go«, in: Ada Agada, Emmanuel Ofuasia, and Bruno Yammeluan Ikuli (eds.): »Contemporary African Metaphysical Thought«, Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2024, 105-129, https://tinyurl.com/OluwoleYoruba
»Andro*-Superiorism. Anti-female* Thought and the Superhuman Fallacy in Western canonical Philosophy«, in: Arụmarụka: Journal of Conversational Thinking 4.1, 2024, 60-93, https://tinyurl.com/Androsuperiorism
»Onto-normative Monism in the ሐተታ (ḥāteta) of Zera Yaqob: Insights into Ethiopian Epistemology and Lessons for the Problem of Superiorism«, in: Peter Aloysius Ikhane, Isaac E. Ukpokolo (eds.): »African Epistemology: Being and Knowledge«, Routledge, London, 2023, 145-158, https://tinyurl.com/EthiopianEpistemology

Elvis Imafidon, Mpho Tshivhase, Björn Freter (eds.): Handbook of African Philosophy
https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-030-77898-9

Upcoming
»Abosede Priscilla Ipadeola’s Philosophy of Liberation«, in: Amara Esther Chimakonam and Dr. Christian Idika (eds.): »Her-storical Perspectives in African Philosophy«, Springer, Cham, 2025, tba

»Mogobe Ramose on Socrates Monologicus and Socrates Dialogicus. On the Importance and Restoration of Socrates for African Philosophy«, in: Siphiwe Ndlovu; Mutshidzzi Maraganedzha (eds.): [Festschrift Mogobe Ramose], UKZN Press, 2025, tba

»Philosophy and the Existential Realities of Africa. A Conversation with Nigerian Philosopher Dorothy Oluwagbemi-Jacob«, in: APA Studies on Philosophy and the Black Experience 25.1, 2025, tba

»An Inventory of the Wisdom of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. Beatrice Okyere-Manu, Léocadie Lushombo (eds.), African Women’s Liberation Philosophies, Theologies, and Ethics, 2024. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, xix, 301pp. ISBN 978-3-031-39133-0 (e-book PDF)«, in Theoria tba, 2025, tba

»Abosede Priscilla Ipadeola’s Philosophy of Liberation«, in: Amara Esther Chimakonam and Dr. Christian Idika (eds.): »Her-storical Perspectives in African Philosophy«, Springer, Cham, tba

»The Superhuman Fallacy and Desuperiorization«, in: The Co2libri collective (eds.): »Conceptual collaboration: living borderless research interaction«, Open Access Publication with de Gruyter Publishers, co-edited/coordinated by Andrea Fleschenberg, Kai Kresse, and N.N. further members of the collaborative in collective, to be published as Volume 44 of ZMO-Studien, by de Gruyter, 2025, tba