"The Struggle for Meaning is a landmark publication by one of African philosophy's leading figures, Paulin J. Hountondji, best known for his critique of ethnophilosophy in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In this volume, he responds with autobiographical and philosophical reflection to the dialogue and controversy he has provoked.

He discusses the ideas routed in the work of such thinkers as Husserl and Hountondji's former teachers Derrida Althusser and Ricoeur, that helped shape his critique and applies them to such issues as the nexus between scientific extraversion and economic dependence, and between the emergence of philosophies of the subject in Africa and political pluralism.".

"While the book's immediate concern is with Africa, the theoretical nature of its analyses and its bearing on postmodern theories of the "Other" will make this translation of great interest to many disciplines especially ethnic gender and multicultural studies."--BOOK JACKET.