African sage philosophy is the name now commonly given to the body of thought produced by persons considered wise in african communities, and more specifically refers to those who seek a rational foundation for ideas and concepts used to describe and view the world by critically examining the justification of those ideas and concepts. Ethnophilosophy is thus a specialized and wholly customs dictated philosophy that requires a communal consensus. It is, however, true, he claims, that one can identify some broad trends along the lines of the diagnosis he makes. According to presbey 2007, paulin hountondji 1970 in his critique of african ethnophilosophy urges philosophers to produce works in which africans addressed each other or focused on topics of. It is not easy to indicate with absolute precision what marks off modern philosophy from its predecessors, classical, medieval and renaissance philosophy. Africana philosophy is the name for an emergent and still developing field of ideas and ideaspaces, intellectual endeavors, discourses, and discursive networks within and beyond academic philosophy that was recognized as such by national and international organizations of professional philosophers, including the american philosophical.
One of the implicit assumptions of ethnophilosophy is that a specific culture can have a philosophy that is not applicable and accessible to all peoples and cultures in the world, however this. Creatively coping with negative emotions gail presbey gail m. Ethno philosophy of education draws on sources of knowledge such as customs traditions, lifestyles, myths folklores, languages, beliefs, artefacts and histories of different african cultures. A modern contemporary african philosopher by the name, tsenay serequeberhan teaching african philosophy at hampshire college once remarked that when he told students and the faculty there that he was teaching african philosophy, they were shocked and raised eyebrows by asking if such a thing like african philosophy ever existed at all. For the sophists, it would be questioning the foundations of traditional religion, morality and.
Education on the african continent, like virtually all social interaction, was traditionally characterized by the bounds and bonds of comparatively smallscale ethnic communities. The significance of philosophic sagacity in african philosophy. I will also describe the main characteristics of ethnomethodological ethnography. Living in a country with free religion choice, in southamerica, i have had the chance to see african philosophy alive and moving in many religious centres. From these examples some of the distinguishing characteristics of sage philosophy can be gleaned. Ethnophilosophy, comparative philosophy, pragmatism. The african philosophy reader peace palace library, the. For example when we do philosophy of religion or philosophy of science, such as medicine, it is usually clear that we do not call what we do repentance or surgery.
In important as well as strategic respects, the interests and claims of these two elds undermine and even contradict the notion of an african philoso phy arising from the subcontinents indigenous cultures. African sage philosophy first published tue feb 14, 2006 african sage philosophy is the name now commonly given to the body of thought produced by persons considered wise in african communities, and more specifically refers to those who seek a rational foundation for ideas and concepts used to describe and view the world by. This book provides an excellent orientation to, and a logical development of, the major trends and issues that have dominated discussions in african philosophy since the publication of placide tempels bantu philosophy in 1945. Criteria that distinguish it from ethnophilosophy and make it a unique approach within african philosophy. African philosophy as ethnophilosophy one of the principal sources of african ethnophilosophy was the french philosopher lucien levybruhl 1857 1939. Hountondji accuses oruka of working with an unacceptable definition of african philosophy and in. This position, apart from meeting the stout criticisms and apathy of philosophers like david hume to metaphysics and metaphysical issues in general, would definitely be repudiated by the universalist philosophers who contend that philosophical and metaphysical issues should have and make universal appeal. The sage philosophy project began in the mid1970s at the department of philosophy of the university of nairobi kenya.
Africana philosophy stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. It is obvious that the exponents of ethnophilosophy were taking advantage of the convoluted character of the idea of philosophy itself, confusing the two related but separable orders of the discourse. It contends that all the other schools are engaged in one form of ethnophilosophy or the other, that standard african philosophy is critical, individual discourse and that what qualifies as african philosophy must have universal merit and thrive on the method of critical analysis and individual discursive enterprise. African philosophy general the basics of philosophy. First, they display the deeply personal nature of the ideas, or opinions, that the sages. African sage philosophy stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Quizlet flashcards, activities and games help you improve your grades. According african culture african philosophy african religions african traditional african traditional religions afrocentricity aime cesaire analysis argues azande bantu philosophy beliefs called cesaire claim concept critical debate definition dialectical discourse dogon eboussiboulaga epistemological ethnophilosophy european evans. One particular subject that many african philosophers have written about is that on the subject of. The late kenyan philosopher, henry odera oruka, identified six schools of thought on what african philosophy is or could be, namely, ethnophilosophy, philosophic sagacity, nationalisticideological philosophy, professional philosophy, hermeneutic philosophy, and artistic or literary philosophy. In another essay popularly associated with his name, oruka identified four main trends to be constitutive of african philosophy, namely i african ethnophilosophy, ii african nationalistideological philosophy, iii professional african philosophy, and of course, iv the african sage philosophy under consideration here. Africana is a more inclusive term for scholarship related to both africa and the diaspora. Bantu philosophy and that its fundamental categories are manifested in features.
The implicit concept is that a specific culture can have a philosophy that is not applicable and accessible to all peoples and cultures in the world. In another essay popularly associated with his name, oruka identified four main trends to be constitutive of african philosophy, namely i african ethnophilosophy, ii african nationalistideological philosophy, iii professional african philosophy, and of course, iv. Ethnophilosophy, unanimity and african critical thought. Department of philosophy and religious studies, kogi state university anyigba, nigeria. Pdf an essay concerning the foundational myth of ethnophilosophy. A short history of african philosophy peace palace library. In an attempt to expound what african philosophy consists in oruka 1991 distinguishes four trends. Philosophy to them is a universal discipline that has the same meaning in all.
In recently published works we also witnessed arguments. Despite their diversity and remoteness, and the sheer geographic distances between these groups, they are seen to share not only. Sage philosophy is a body of knowledge attributed to wise men and women in communities and is regarded to be philosophically significant for both its content and its critical approach to the sustenance and growth of knowledge at the communal level. On the other hand, there were those who believed that every philosophy is in some significant way an expression of the culture that produces it. African sage philosophy is the name now commonly given to the body of thought produced. By using oral stories, poetry, songs, legends and proverbs, for example, as sources of knowledge one examines the consequences of such knowledge for. The article explores the criteria that distinguish kenyan philosopher henry odera orukas sage philosophy from ethnophilosophy and make it a unique approach within african philosophy. The first approach, ethnophilosophy, represents the worldviews, folklore, folk wisdoms, myths, and beliefs of certain african groups of people. Characteristics and methods involved in ethnomethodological. Kwame anthony appiah, ethnophilosophy and its critics. Odera orukas four trends in african philosophy and their.
An example of ethnophilosophy is african philosophy. The meaning and nature of african philosophy in a globalising. Pdf ethnophilosophy, comparative philosophy, pragmatism. This position, apart from meeting the stout criticisms and apathy of philosophers like david hume to metaphysics and metaphysical issues in general, would definitely be repudiated by the universalist philosophers who contend that philosophical and. Views of some of the bestknown african philosophers, such as kwasi wiredu, paulin hountondji, h. The second chapter outlines the concept of person in african philosophy. Etymologically, philosophy can be broken into the following roots and examples. Take for example the thesis that africas indigenous cultures are essentially traditional in character.
It was first challenged by the kenyan philosopher, h. She is a former fulbright senior scholar at university of nairobi 19982000. Most of the literature on ethnophilosophy is written about african cultures. According to this school, criticism and argument are essential characteristics of anything which is to pass as philosophy.
Abstract i examine wiredus views that 1 ethnophilosophy cannot be considered a legitimate philosophy because it has the feature of authoritarianism, and that 2 this feature of african tradition will not allow modern philosophy to flourish because it prevents individuals. African philosophy is the philosophical discourse produced by indigenous africans and their descendants, including african americans. A working definition of philosophy is proposed and a few philosophical problems are illustrated. The author emphasizes that sage philosophy is both philosophical and interdisciplinary, in that it also makes use of the methods of the oral historian and social. Ths argues that the fundamental assumptions about reality are reflected in the languages of africa. Ethnophilosophy treats african philosophy as consisting in a set of shared beliefs, values, categories and assumptions that are implicit in the language, practices and beliefs of african cultures or the uniquely african world view.
Levybruhl taught at the sorbonne from 1896 to 1927 and was one of the leading ethnologists of his era. Ethnophilosophy, african routledge encyclopedia of philosophy. There might be some truth in okafors provocative statement that japanese philosophy has ethnophilosophical traits. Living in a country with free religion choice, in southamerica, i have had the chance to see african philosophy alive and moving in many religious centres, being their cosmogony sistem a fhilosophy in itself. Oyeshile department of philosophy, university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria introduction the definition of philosophy has remained a perennial philosophical problem and there is little agreement as to what it is. It starts by attempting a common definition of the word person and proceeds to show that the concept of person in african thinking is taken to be in contradistinction to the western concept.
In the reading by irele views on african philosophy in francophone africa get attention. Odera oruka, as based upon hountondjis unfair appreciation of africas indigenous cultural heritage. Oyeshile and others published on defining african philosophy. I count myself very privileged to participate in this important annual conference of experts and professionals and to share ideas on the link between law and public. While the second is branded as philosophic sagacity, the third trend is nationalistideological philosophy. African philosophy is a disputed term, partly because it is not clear if it refers to philosophies with a specifically african theme or context such as distinctively african perceptions of time, personhood, etc. This view is held by placide tempels 1959 who explicitly argues that the. In this essay, i will write about ethnomethodological ethnography and the steps involved in conducting such method. Pdf ethnophilosophy, although glorified by some african. Africana philosophy is the name for an emergent and still developing field of ideas and ideaspaces, intellectual endeavors, discourses, and discursive networks within and beyond academic philosophy that was recognized as such by national and international organizations of professional philosophers, including the american philosophical association, starting in the 1980s. But as with critical ethnophilosophy, what we would here wish to call african philosophy need not be located in the practices we are studying.
Characteristics and methods involved in ethnomethodological ethnography. The readers are thus drawn into a wideranging discussion of what african philosophy is and how it relates to colonialism and western philosophy. The theoretical framework that informs this paper is that of ethnophilosophy as it relates to africa. Introduction the past three or more decades have witnessed a deluge of works on the twin quest to know whether african philosophy exists and what its nature consists of. The term ethnophilosophy was coined by paulin hountondji to refer to the works of those anthropologists, sociologists, ethnographers and philosophers who present collective philosophies of life of african peoples. Abstract i examine wiredus views that 1 ethnophilosophy cannot be considered a legitimate philosophy because it has the feature of authoritarianism, and that 2 this feature of african tradition will not allow modern philosophy to flourish because it prevents individuals from rationally and critically examining beliefs. During this week, we will examine at least two approaches to african thinking and doing. Some general comments about the nature of philosophy can be summarized from the previous tutorial. Ethnophilosophy, as a philosophical project, has had its fair share of criticism. The main characteristics of ethnomethodological ethnography consist of the presence of taken for granted assumptions, commonsense knowledge and procedures, typification, indexicality, accounting, reflexivity.
Ethnophilosophy is the study of indigenous philosophical systems. History of african philosophy internet encyclopedia of. The typical view focuses on the shift from epistemology to m etaphysics. Hence mere descriptive accounts of african thought system. Presbey is an associate professor of philosophy at university of detroit mercy. History, challenges and perspectives find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. What are the main characteristics of african philosophy. Ethnophilosophy examines the systems of thought of existing and precolonial african communities in order to determine what can be the ideal forms of. The african philosophy reader peace palace library. Ethnophilosophy, african routledge encyclopedia of. I use the term african to refer to scholarship that is specically concerned with the african continent and its cultures.
Critic didier kaphagawani, in a 1987 article reprinted in sage philosophy, charged sage philosophy with being parasitic on ethnophilosophy, insofar as philosophic sages practiced secondorder reflection and analysis of firstorder ethnophilosophy kaphagawani in oruka sage 1991 ed. Ethnophilosophys most immediate african antecedents include leopold senghors philosophy of negritude and the writings of the belgian missionary to the congo later zaire, placide tempels. Outlaw see the reading by him mentions other suggested classifications. Odhiambo revised philosophic sagacity aims and functions 1.
A hermeneutic enthused by ubuntu bhele ndikhokele mtshiselwa university of south africa abstract african philosophy is a recognised field both in the old testament and philosophy studies in africa. The meaning of the term ethnophilosophy has evolved in both a significant and. Today, we will look at ethnophilosophy of education. African sage philosophy internet encyclopedia of philosophy. African philosophers may be found in the various academic fields of philosophy, such as metaphysics, epistemology, moral philosophy, and political philosophy. African philosophy as ethnophilosophy 25 peter lang. This is a body of materials combining marxist social and economic theories with negritudes politics of difference.
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