On the Prospects for African Philosophy in Australia

This paper grapples with the situation of people of African descent in Australia by working through the constitution of the body of academic philosophy in the country. It contends with the parochialism of the Australian philosophical community and the prospects for the cultivation of greater pluralism. Taking African philosophy as one possible future constituent of Australian philosophy, the article explores three sets of reasons that are typically given for the marginalisation of Africana contributions to date: Black disinterest; nature; and philosophy itself. The insights gleaned from that investigation lead to a refusal of the status quo and a sketch of an alternative orientation towards philosophy, as well as Australian sociality more broadly.