Tempels’s legacy should be judged by contextualizing him in his own time.
Evidence
It could be argued that there is very little benefit in trying to chart a line of continuity from Tempels to some philosophers of African descent. What should be of importance, the argument may go, is the place accorded Tempels in the history of modern African philosophy. I propose that if justice were to ever be done to Tempels, it would be important to properly contextualize him. His commitments as a missionary and as someone who attempted to systemize black thought must be understood in the context of his time. If we understand Tempels in the context of his time, it might prove useful in deciding what we will eventually do with his legacy. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 465
Categorization
- DEFINE: Introduces the methodological principle of contextualizing thinkers historically — applicable to the reader’s wider study of how colonial-era sources should be read.
- XREF: connects to: Judging Tempels fairly requires situating him in his historical context; Tempels’s thought is best understood through his whole corpus, not just Bantu Philosophy; Hountondji admitted his influential critique neglected Tempels’s historical and personal context.
- yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Judging Tempels fairly requires situating him in his historical context; Tempels’s thought is best understood through his whole corpus, not just Bantu Philosophy; Hountondji admitted his influential critique neglected Tempels’s historical and personal context.