Caliban's reason : introducing Afro-Caribbean philosophy /

Intended as an introduction to Afro-Caribbean philosophy, with ten chapters organized into three parts on founding texts, Africana thought, and Caribbean historicism, this volume is a cutting-edge contribution to the debate on African ethnophilosophy. Henry (Brown Univ.) argues for a return to traditional African philosophy, citing its religious orientation to indicate a non-European context for understanding the emergence of Afro-Caribbean philosophy. He maintains that the views held by C.L.R. James and Frantz Fanon on traditional African philosophy (so called ethnophilosophy) are problematic. Support for the idea of reclaiming the African philosophy that has survived in Caribbean religions, such as Voudou, Santeria, Obeah, and Cumfa, is gleaned from a critical examination of Sylvia Wynter's poststructuralism and Wilson Harris's poeticism. Henry maintains that prominent Africana thinkers (Paul Gilroy, Lewis Gordon, Lucius Outlaw, and Cornel West) fail to accommodate adequately the Africanized worldview functioning in Caribbean cultures. He insists that a "decolonization" of Caribbean philosophy must avoid James's tendency to make European philosophy the lingua franca of all philosophy and overcome Fanon's failure to reconcile his commitment to European existentialism with a tradition of African existentialist thought. This informative sourcebook requires familiarity with recent research on postcolonial thought and facility with cultural studies terminology. Recommended for upper-division undergraduates and above. T. L. Lott; San Jose State University