Paulin J. Hountondji

Who is Paulin J. Hountondji?

Paulin Hountondji is a Beninese philosopher and politician.

Hountondji was educated at the École Normale Supérieure, Paris, graduating in 1966, and taking his doctorate in 1970. After two years teaching in Besancon, in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi, he accepted a post at the Université Nationale du Bénin in Cotonou, where he still teaches as Professor of Philosophy.

His academic career was interrupted, however, by a period spent in politics. Having been a prominent critic of the military dictatorship that had ruled his country, Hountondji became involved in Benin's return to democracy, and served in the government as Minister of Education and Minister for Culture and Communications until his resignation and return to the University in 1994.

He is currently director of the African Centre for Advanced Studies in Porto-Novo and served as the Bingham Professor of Humanities from 1 August 2008 to 31 December 2008 at the University of Louisville in Louisville, KY.