Tempels’s missionary context in King Leopold’s Congo shaped his philosophical position

Evidence

Notwithstanding the different traditions of philosophy amongst different people and in different times, I suggest that it is important not to neglect the context in which Tempels makes his argument. He was involved in the colonial adventure, albeit as a missionary. That involvement would have placed him at the forefront of being witness to the atrocities of colonialism, particularly what King Leopold’s project had caused in the Belgian-Congo. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 448

Categorization

• XREF: Contextualist method echoes the biographical-situating approach in reading colonial-era writers generally—e.g. situating Octavia Butler amid but also distinct from the era’s debates.