by
Maduabuchi Dukor (Ed.)
This first-ever Dictionary of African Philosophy emerges from a long-awaited intellectual journey—one grounded in the Great Debate of the 1970s–80s and validated by thinkers across and beyond the continent. Born of an international UNESCO-associated project, it answers the call for multiculturalism and the recognition of diverse epistemologies in the postmodern world, restoring balance in a global landscape where ideas must flow not only from centres to peripheries, but also the other way around.
It confronts a simple truth: Western thought stands on Egyptian foundations, and Egyptian philosophy itself grew from deeper Sub-Saharan roots. Africa has always been part of the world’s intellectual bloodstream; this volume simply makes that truth impossible to ignore.
Here, philosophy is not detached speculation but a rhythm—communal, embodied, dialogical, carried in drumbeats, in stories, in the presence of ancestors. “We are all Africa” is not metaphor but orientation: the question is not whether we are connected, but how we engage with such a connection. This book is the backstage pass to that journey.
Dictionary of African Philosophy was featured on the front cover of Brolly, Journal of Social Sciences (Vol. 5, No. 3 – December 2024).
The Foreword by Maduabuchi Dukor, General Editor, and the Afterword by Madalin Onu, Executive Editor, were published in full and are available in open access:
Professor Maduabuchi Frank Dukor, a distinguished voice among African philosophers of the 21st century, is a scholar, writer, editor, poet, and newspaper columnist, skilfully blending these diverse roles with intellectual rigor and artistic expression. With a career spanning decades, he contributed to the fields of African philosophy and logic, producing groundbreaking works such as Theistic Humanism of African Philosophy or African Philosophy in the Global Village. His extensive academic contributions include 81 journal articles, 46 anthology chapters, and many other influential scholarly materials.
Maduabuchi Frank Dukor was appointed Professor at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria, in 2006 and later served as the Head of the Department of Philosophy. He holds advanced degrees from leading institutions, including an MPhil from the University of Lagos (1989), a PhD from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1993), and a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (1994).
A fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters and member of the Aristotelian Society of Great Britain, Prof. Dukor has been columnist for major newspapers, such as The Guardian Nigeria and Champion, and editorial board member for academic journals including Nnamdi Azikiwe University Journal of Philosophy, Journal of Black Studies, Open Journal of Philosophy, or Global Journal of History and Culture, among others. He is also the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Essence Library (NATCOM–UNESCO recognised centre in Nigeria) and Essence: Interdisciplinary-International Journal of Concerned African Philosophers.
Recognised globally, his contributions have earned numerous awards, including the Decree of Merit for Outstanding Contribution to Philosophy from the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge. A visionary philosopher and educator, Prof. Dukor continues to inspire and shape the discourse on African philosophy and its place in global thought.
