he Idea of African Philosophy
The Idea of African Philosophy.
1.0. Introduction.
The search for African philosophy is dominated by the need for a new identity authentic to Africans and distinct from those imposed by western culture and tradition. Before now the beliefs of the Western philosophers was that two species of human beings exist. On one hand were the Westerners, who are seen and are believed to be the only set of human beings who could reason.
And on the other side were the Africans, who lacks ideas and whom rational thought was considered impossible. For instance, some Western scholars like Hegel believed that Africans are people against which all reason could be contrasted, some believe even if Africans can reason, it is not as developed as what exists in the Western society. Since Africans are special specie of human race, Africans cannot philosophize, understand or demonstrate any form of philosophical enterprise. This Unit is therefore an examination of these Western opinions on African philosophy with a view to show the meaning of African philosophy.
2.0. Intended Learning Outcomes.
By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
• Analyse the philosophical existence in every culture.
• Evaluate the idea of African philosophy in human believe.
3.0. Main Content.
3.1. Meaning and nature of African philosophy.
First begin by asking yourself some questions such as; were our forbearers’ non-thinking creatures? Are we still thinking? Do we have a school of thought that equips our policy makers, guides our scholars and provide guidance for our development? Or are we just living on borrowed thought and precepts? All these questions arouse as a result of the perception of the Westerners about us and their declaration of our lack of philosophical truth like them. You need to know that the Western civilization is based on the philosophy of the West- this philosophy supposedly emanates from Greece specifically Athens: men like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Pericles, Cicero, Archimedes and modern ones like Eistein, Heideggar, Hobbes etc. have contributed not only to the philosophical thought of the west, but laid the foundation of her science, technology and art. These thinkers provided valuable answers to issues wide ranging from morality, government, politics, religion and war. In universities across Nigeria, students are taught Western Philosophy, but what is fundamentally lacking is an understanding of their own philosophy. But do we Africans have philosophy? If we do, what is our philosophy, how do we describe or define African philosophy.
African philosophy can be formally defined as a critical thinking by Africans on their experiences of reality. Nigerian born Philosopher K.C. Anyanwu defined African philosophy as "that which concerns itself with the way in which African people of the past and present make sense of their destiny and of the world in which they live.” If we accept this definition, then African philosophy is a critical reflection on African leaderships in the administration of their duties towards their citizens; the ethical life style. It will also provide possible solutions to the problems experienced in African governance, as we have observed about Western philosophy.
According to Joseph I. Omoregbe a philosopher is one who attempts to understand the world's phenomena, the purpose of human existence, the nature of the world, and the place of human beings in that world. Omoregbe believes that this form of natural philosophy is identifiable in Africa even before individual African philosophers can be distinguished in the sources.
3.2. Nature of African philosophy.
African refers to sub-Sahara African and by simple definition Philosophy is thinking - to think, man requires a language. Thus, the postulation of early Western sojourners that once leaved in various parts of the African continent to have restricted to writing as the only means by which thinking is guaranteed. Writing is not a prerequisite for thinking. Aside this position and as noted in the history of philosophy, certain societies in the ancient time also existed and the process of thinking was noted especially during the Pre- Socratic period of the development of philosophy.
As in most Western cultures, thinkers in Sub-Sahara Africa constituted a special class of people that sought to preserve their works in various forms and did so mostly through oral tradition. Morality, religion and politics were a major concern. But perhaps, due to the nature or peculiarity of their environments while the European philosopher was primarily occupied with issues of politics and morality his counterpart in Africa was more interested and concentrated in religion and morality. Thus, common to the tradition is the issue morality, which seems to be the core of philosophy. Morality which can simply be described as the question of what constitutes good or bad is an essential ingredient of any useable school of thought.
6 окт 2024
