In Defense of Pluralism About African Logic

Abstract: African logic is often defined as a three-valued logic system, with truth, falsity, and truth-falsity being its three values. I argue here that this definition is problematic, as it excludes other logic systems with different mathematical valuations from Africa that could be used to axiomatize, explain, understand, and render intelligible the conceptions of reality within Africa and beyond. Therefore, in this article, I argue that African logic should not be restricted to a single definition but should be viewed as a collection of African culture-inspired logic systems. I call this view ọtụtụ ụzọ logic (many ways logic)—alternatively, African logic pluralism and African pluralistic logic—and defend it first by eliminating theoretical alternatives and second by outlining its advantages over these alternatives.