African Philosophers of Science and History in the 19th Century

The first comprehensive study of how two influential 19th-century African philosophers—Rifa'a al-Tahtawi and James Africanus Beale Horton—shaped major debates on modernity.

Can modernity be severed from its historical association with colonialism and racism?

Zeyad el Nabolsy examines the writings of two 19th-century African philosophers, Rifa'a al-Tahtawi and James Africanus Beale Horton, to answer this question. El Nabolsy focuses on their reception of modern science as it developed in Europe from the early modern period onwards, as well as their understanding of progress in human history.

El Nabolsy argues that, far from being mentally colonized, both Rifa'a al-Tahtawi and James Africanus Beale Horton had good reasons for believing in the universal validity of modern scientific knowledge and in the possibility of a truly universal philosophy of history centred on the belief in progress. This book shows that al-Tahtawi and Horton successfully severed philosophies of history centred on progress from their historical association with justifications of racism and colonialism.

This book rejects exoticizing discourses on African philosophy in favour of a historical contextualist approach to the study of African philosophy. By integrating West and North African philosophy into our histories of modern philosophy, this study illuminates how African philosophy can contribute to discussions of key questions in philosophy of history and philosophy of science.