Plato, Socrates, Kant are some names which come to mind when we talk about Western philosophy and Loa Tzu, Confucius, Mencius, Sun Yat-Sen, Ghandi are some when discussing Eastern philosophy. But when we talk about Africa, are there African philosophers. And if there is an African philosophy how does it differ from Western and Eastern philosophy?
The Palgrave Handbook of African Philosophy; eds.: Adeshina Afolayan, Toyin Falola. Copied from internet:
"This handbook investigates the current state and future possibilities of African Philosophy, as a discipline and as a practice, vis-à-vis the challenge of African development and Africa’s place in a globalized, neoliberal capitalist economy. The volume offers a comprehensive survey of the philosophical enterprise in Africa, especially with reference to current discourses, arguments and new issues—feminism and gender, terrorism and fundamentalism, sexuality, development, identity, pedagogy and multidisciplinarity, etc.—that are significant for understanding how Africa can resume its arrested march towards decolonization and liberation."
Very interesting question. It seems to me that it needs to be put more broadly: what is the peculiarity of philosophy (worldview) in various regions of the world. It would be interesting to discuss philosophical views not only in Africa, but also in Oceania, and in Latin America.
Yes, African philosophy exists. One particular subject that many African philosophers have written about is that on the subject of freedom and what it means to be free or to experience wholeness. Philosophy in Africa has a rich and varied history, some of which has been lost over time. One of the earliest known African philosophers was Ptahhotep, an ancient Egyptian philosopher.
For more you may visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_philosophy.
Since the 1970s, philosophers from India, Latin America, and Africa began to criticize Orientalism and laid the foundations for postcolonial studies. The current then evolved into colonialism by invoking political, cultural, historical, geographical and economic titles combined to defend the right of the “other non-Western” to exist, especially to express itself from its specificities, not from a Western perspective.
Julius Nyerere , Nkumah and Mandela. Without forgetting Robert Mugabe and Idi Amin.
African philosophy exists strongly and as an example is the philosophy of different Egyptian civilizations.
Dear Dr
Yes, too many philosophical competencies exist when African.
Best regards
Dear RG friends a great African philosopher is Mogobe Ramose. He wrote a great book about Ubuntu. That concept consists of Ubu and Untu. Ubu is: I am, you are, we are etc. Untu, in your eyes, I can see that I exist. Ubuntu has many layers, we are connected to our ancestors (dead and living), to the unborn children (we should create the possibility that they will be born), the Gods and Ghosts, Cosmos and Universe and our mother earth. All the best, Carl
Everybody, thanks for your reaction. The conclusion based on your reaction is that African philosophy exists. But there is a second dispute that the farther you go south of Africa the less development there is and that there is no philosophical tradition in the southern part of Africa south of the Sahara than that of the Western or Islamic philosophy or the philosophy of decolonization or of the oppression such as that Frantz Fanon (Black skin white masks, The wretched of the earth). And that Unbuntu is not specific African because its principles are universal. And so is also the idea of Ujamaa. And that there are no written records and that there is no philosophical tradition south of the Sahara. The dispute is that there is no ‘black philosophy’ or ‘black philosophical tradition’. What is your reaction on that? Is there a black philosophy of black philosophical tradition apart from the Western, Islamic or Eastern philosophy? Do you have to have written records to proof that there is a philosophy?
The Palgrave Handbook of African Philosophy; eds.: Adeshina Afolayan, Toyin Falola. Copied from internet:
"This handbook investigates the current state and future possibilities of African Philosophy, as a discipline and as a practice, vis-à-vis the challenge of African development and Africa’s place in a globalized, neoliberal capitalist economy. The volume offers a comprehensive survey of the philosophical enterprise in Africa, especially with reference to current discourses, arguments and new issues—feminism and gender, terrorism and fundamentalism, sexuality, development, identity, pedagogy and multidisciplinarity, etc.—that are significant for understanding how Africa can resume its arrested march towards decolonization and liberation."
Dear all, if everybody is so positive about the existence of African philosophy how does it come that there was and is so much denial of it. In The Book Smugglers of Timbuktu (Charlie English, 2017) philosopher David Hume is quoted to say: “There never was any civiliz’d nation of any other complexion than white” and British historian Trevor-Roper writing about Africa: “There is only the history of Europeans in Africa. The rest is darkness”. Not only they but also Kant and others pointed to the lack of development (philosophy and history) and therefore to the backwardness of Africa. Hegel wrote: The African is natural in his completely wild and untamed state’. But also Voltaire, Rousseau, Lévi-Brühl didn’t have a positive image about Africa and the Africans. Also prof A.C. Crayling in his 'The History of Philosophy' is denying the existence of a distinct African Philosophy.
Dear Professor Dr Rudi Darson, this is called white prejudice and superiority feelings. Hegel said that Africa below the Sahara has no written language and philosophy. Africa below the Sahara therefore did not contribute to the world history according to Hegel. These prejudices of western philosophers has been undermined by the Kenian Professor Dr Henry Odera Oruka in the period 1944-1995 (Nairobi). His work can be found in books like Sage Philosophy. Indeninous thinkers and Modern Debate on African Philosophy. In other words, the West has intentionally and consciously damaged Africa's reputation. Sorry and all the best, Carl
Dear Carl HD Steinmetz , thank you for your reaction. First I have to say I'm not a professor, but I do agree with you though that prejudice and superiority sure have played a role in the qualification of African philosophy. But not only Europeans, also people like the distinguished Ghanaian philosopher Kwame Appiah disputes the existence of a distinct African philosophy, while Placide Tempels, a Belgian, through his studies in Congo came to the conclusion that there is a distinct African philosophy, called Bantu philosophy. Of course you can dispute the name to stand for all African philosophy, but still his conclusion is that there is an African philosophy or you can say philosophies.
And of course there is always the effort by proponents of the non-existence stand to try to separate Egypt, because considered developed, from Africa south of the Sahara, considered not developed. But Egypt is of course part of Africa.
But apart from that the Nigerian philosopher Oluwole through her studies proved that the Yoruba philosopher Orunmila lived in the same period as Socrates and was teaching without writing down his teachings, the same as Socrates did. While Socrates is considered one of the most important philosophers, Orunmila is denied that qualification even in Africa, while his teachings were equally important. And also, you can go and study The Books of Timbuktu and see what is in there. The oral tradition as a way to transfer knowledge is not considered scientific enough, while that is an important way to transfer knowledge in all universities all over the world. So, knowledge saga's in my opinion, is a good way to store and use knowledge and a good source to extract philosophical knowledge (according to Henry Oruka).
You can also dispute whether data collection through written records the only right way is to collect and store data. Art and artifacts are important for storing knowledge, that’s why excavation is such an important source to collect data. And if the most arts and artifacts of Africa are stored in in the dungeons of European museums, and can’t be seen nor studied, then it is easy to say that Africa has history nor philosophy. Looking for whales on a beach and not finding them there and thus concluding that there are no whales in the sea is not such a good conclusion, I think.
The German philosopher Heinz Kimmerle was a proponent of Intercultural Philosophy or World Philosophy where the philosophical questions and approaches from other than the Western world are equally counted and acknowledged. In that sense he continued in the tradition of Placide Tempels and takes the same position as Alexis Kagame and Kwasi Wiredu (A companion to African Philosophy) that there is a distinct African Philosophy. Kimmerle studied African Philosophy. On the other hand, Paulin Houtondji, a Benin philosopher, in his book African Philosophy: Myth and Reality (1996) takes the position that there is no distinct African philosophical tradition separate from the West, the position Kwame Appiah takes.
Truth seeking, building knowledge, is at the heart of philosophy and in every society that process can be different. People can come to the same conclusion from different angles, by different analysis or they can contribute by looking differently. If we narrow our vision and approach just to one dominant way of approach in which we have been trained or out of conviction, we will miss out on reality and deprive our self from more knowledge and insights to understand the world.
Dear Dr Rudi Darson, I am very happy with your answers about African philosophy. I also have to update my knowledge as a psyhologist. Have a great day, Carl
Africana Philosophy and African Philosophy
In this whole discussion somebody asked me offline whether there is a difference between Africana Philosophy and African Philosophy. Yes, there is a difference. Africana Philosophy is “a third-order, metaphilosophical, umbrella-concept used to bring organizing oversight to various efforts of philosophizing—that is, activities of reflective, critical thinking and articulation and aesthetic expression—engaged in by persons and peoples African and of African descent who were and are indigenous residents of continental Africa and residents of the many African Diasporas worldwide”. (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/africana). African Philosophy in contrast is the philosophical discourse (epistemology, metaphysics, logics, morality, aesthetics and other ways of building knowledge) produced by Africans and people of African descents.
The whole idea of discussing knowledge about being, looking for it, talking about it, is natural and important to humans. Every society to stay in existence has to deal with it and has to transfer that knowledge in writing or by oral means to next generations. Being is for everybody the same, but the way we experience it and make sense of it may be different and philosophy is sense making (rational and irrational). For that reason, the notion of African Philosophy can sound as a strange one, Africa is a large continent with different countries and very often with their own way of thinking and experience and their own stories. So, you will have e.g. Ghanaian, Ethiopian, Nigerian, Zambian, Egyptian Philosophy and where they have congruence you speak about African Philosophy. Also to make a distinction with Western and Eastern Philosophy. The same goes for the West with different countries and also for the East, so if you can talk about Western and Eastern Philosophy, you can also talk about African Philosophy.
Dear Dr Rudi Darson what a great explanation about the difference between Africana en African Philosophy. I am learning a lot from your contribution. Thanks and have a great day, Carl
Yes, for me exits and it is older that European or America. I know The philosophy of Ubuntu derives from a Nguni word, ubuntu meaning “the quality of being human.” Ubuntu manifests itself through various human acts, clearly visible in social, political, and economic situations, as well as among family .
I tried to teach with this thinking and I respect it
Ubuntu (Zulu pronunciation: [ùɓúntʼù]) is a Nguni Bantu term meaning "humanity." It is often translated as "I am because we are," or "humanity towards others," but is often used in a more philosophical sense to mean "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity."
Dear Dr Ingrid Del Valle Garcia Carreno thanks for reminding us about the philosophy of Ubuntu. I truly like this holistic manner of viewing society. I learned a lot from reading the South African Professor Dr. Mogobe Ramose's work about Ubuntu. He explains that Ubuntu has an impact on the law and political system and also our opinions and practices about health. All the best, Carl
What goes for African philosophy also goes for the Indigenous philosophy of the America’s (e.g. Maya's, Aztecs). For instance, the Maya's thought systematically about subjects like truth, identity, time and change and in his book Philosophy of the Ancient Maya: Lords of time (2017) Alexus McLeod dealt with it. But still in philosophy handbooks the Mayans are mentioned. The philosophies of the Latin American countries are brought together under Latin American Philosophy (The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, 2005) and its starting point is the Spanish and Portuguese discovery and colonization, a moment more recent than the existence of the Mayan Philosophy (2000 BC), while the latter is not mentioned. But also, the Aztecs had their philosophy: Aztec Philosophy: Understanding a World in Motion (2015).
To benefit fully of the whole humankind, we must take all the human production of thought and creativity and bring them together to have a clearer understanding of the world.
Very interesting learn about African Philosophy.
About South American Philosophy check this please, http://integralleadershipreview.com/7678-inca-wisdom-and-integral-theory/
Thanks.
Dear Zerihun Woldeselassie it is a legitimate question. Check for instance a standard such as The Oxord Companion to Philosophy (Ed. Ted Hondrich 2005), where they talk about Western Philosophy, Eastern Philosophy, but never about African Philosophy. Philosophies of different countries are mentioned: England, Dutch, Indian, Craotian, Irish, Korean, French, Russian, Serbian, but no African countries. And I mentioned earlier people like Hegel and Kant had the opinion that there was no such thing as African Philosophy. And there are also people from African descent supporting that claim of position.
That's why it is good to come up with sources about African Philosophy or of philosophy from African countries if they exists and if you have them.
We should respect the Phylosophy of each country .( Both classical & new ).
Dear Jaydip Datta , it is true that we have to respect the philosophy of every country and I think it is a must to reveal them, so that humanity can profit from the whole of produced human thinking or human thought.
In The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (Ed. Ted Honderich, 2005) there is a section 'Black Philosophy'. The general distinction of philosophy was Western and Eastern Philosophy, when there was no recognition of the existence of African Philosophy. There was more a distinction made based on region, on continent and not on race. Instead of 'African Philosophy' the term 'Black Philosophy' is used in The Oxford Companion. Are these two terms - African Philosophy and Black Philosophy- interchangeable?
Black Philosophy maybe, is more linked to Africana Philosophy. African Philosophy is maybe more linked to the whole of the African continent, from North to South, regardless of ethnicity or race. Africana Philosophy or Black Philosophy is critical thinking and issues about black people produced by black Africans and their descents around the world. But maybe there are other ideas about the definition of African Philosophy, Africana Philosophy and Black Philosophy.
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