First published in 1986, Knowledge, Belief, and Witchcraft remains the only analysis of indigenous discourse about an African belief system undertaken from within the framework of Anglo-American analytical philosophy. Taking as its point of departure W. V. O. Quine's thesis about the indeterminacy of translation, the book investigates questions of Yoruba epistemology and of how knowledge is conceived in an oral culture.

'Analytic philosophers have invested enormous amoun ts of energy attempting to analyse various terms that play a central role in our everyday thinking about the epistemic and ethical dimensions of our lives. It is often supposed that the conceptions underlying these terms are universals of human culture. The fascinating thesis of this intriguing little book is that supposition is false.' Ethics

Barry Hallen is a Fellow of the W. E. B. DuBois Institute for Afro-American Research, Harvard University. J. Olubi Sodipo is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria.