Cet article examine quelques questions épineuses relatives à l’historiographie de la philosophie africaine, en se concentrant, plus particulièrement, sur des préoccupations d’ordre épistémologique. L’étude s’organise autour de trois axes : 1. L’exclusion de l’Afrique de l’histoire universelle de la philosophie (de la fin du XVIIIème siècle jusqu’au seuil de période contemporaine) ; 2. la délimitation du champ heuristique de l’historiographie de la philosophie africaine ; 3. la périodisation et les critères de classification des différents courants ou mouvements philosophiques africains.

African Philosophy has become, in the space of a few decades, a real discipline, arousing an ever-growing interest. There remain, however, thorny questions to be elucidated, in particular those relating to the history of this tradition of thought. Retracing its trajectory over the centuries or identifying its evolution prospects from its own “historical terrain” requires certain epistemological prerequisites, which will be discussed in this article. The study is structured around three axes: 1. the exclusion of Africa from the universal history of Philosophy (from the end of the 18th century to the contemporary period); 2. the delimitation of the heuristic field of the historiography of African Philosophy; 3. the periodization and the criteria for classifying the various currents or African philosophical movements.