The editors wish to state their gratitude to Prof. Jean d'Ormesson, Secretary General of The International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies (CIPSH) and to its parent organization, UNESCO, Paris, for the signal honor of their judging this project to be of such international importance as to be worthy of the support of those august world bodies.

They wish also to acknowledge the pioneering work of The International Society for Metaphysics and The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy in bringing together representatives of the various philosophical communities in Africa to design the broad project on the philosophical foundations of social life, of which this is the first volume. It is being published along with a volume from Uganda. Other volumes from Zaire and elsewhere will follow in a coordinated effort to identify the philosophical resources of the African cultures and to apply them in new ways for new times in the process of developing an adequate philosophical insight for Africa in the XXIst century.

Finally, the editors would like to express their thanks to Professor George McLean without whose help, encouragement and patience this book would never have come into existence, and to the James A. McLeans for their continued support in the realization of this broad project.