A Critical History of the South African Journal of Philosophy
Lecture by Abraham Olivier
Part of the Workshop Places of African Philosophies
Abraham Olivier, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Fort Hare, delivered a critical and reflective lecture on the history, role, and controversies surrounding the South African Journal of Philosophy (SJP) and its host, the Philosophical Society of Southern Africa (PSSA). He emphasizes that despite the SJP’s claims of wide scope and official status, there is no formal published history of the journal, and its contributions to African philosophy have been limited and problematic.
Olivier relies heavily on Black South African philosopher Mabogo More’s memoir Looking Through Philosophy in Black (2010) for his reconstruction of the history of philosophy in South Africa.
Olivier introduces his methodological approach based on philosophy of place and displacement, arguing that philosophical work is deeply rooted in sociopolitical contexts. He applies this to trace three pivotal “situations” that shaped the SJP and South African philosophy more broadly:
- The Place of Birth:
The SJP was founded during apartheid, heavily dominated by white South African and English philosophers. Early philosophical societies were split politically and philosophically (continental vs. analytic traditions), later merging to consolidate influence during apartheid. Black philosophers, such as Mabogo More, faced systemic racism and exclusion at philosophical conferences, exemplified by shocking personal experiences of discrimination. - Movement in the Political Space:
Olivier discussed how personal experiences of racism shaped Mabogo More’s philosophical focus on racism and complicity. Despite the fall of apartheid in 1994, many white philosophers continued to “stay out of politics,” and the philosophical community remained largely untransformed. Attempts to integrate African philosophy into mainstream philosophical publishing were minimal and often tokenistic. - Recent Displacement and Boycotts:
In 2017, dissatisfaction with continued marginalization led young black philosophers to boycott the PSSA and found the Azanian Philosophical Society. Olivier recounted his personal experiences of disillusionment, including the 2016 PSSA conference scandal where a panel on South African identity included only white speakers—a situation that he and colleagues, despite good intentions, failed to foresee.
Olivier closes by noting some positive recent developments, including an increased number of special issues in the SJP dedicated to African philosophy. However, he also highlighted recent troubling incidents, such as the forced removal of a black editor from the SJP editorial board in 2025, as a recurrence of systemic displacement.
Throughout the talk, Olivier emphasizes that philosophers cannot escape their social and political context, and that displacement, marginalization, and racial dynamics are central to understanding the development (and the failures) of South African philosophy.