Research Methodology in Philosophy within an Interdisciplinary and Commercialised African Context: Guarding Against Undue Influence from the Social Sciences
Abstract
This paper argues that despite pressures to conform to the research methodology of
the social sciences, African philosophers must diligently work for the preservation of
the distinct character of philosophy as a discipline. To do this, they will have to move
away from the debate on the existence and nature of African philosophy, and focus
their efforts on the quest for a criterion by which to distinguish philosophical works
from non-philosophical ones, regardless of where the works hail from. They will also
have to be busy engaging in other aspects of philosophical reflection, so that their
discipline may grow in an all-rounded manner, and so that the research methodology
of philosophy may be manifest to scholars from other disciplines. Only then will
philosophy make its unique contribution to interdisciplinary research in Africa and
beyond
Citation
A Journal of the Philosophical Association of Kenya (PAK) New Series, Vol.2 No.1, June 2010, pp.87-118Publisher
University of Nairobi Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies