Epistemic Roots, Universal Routes and Ontological Roofs of African “Ritual Archives”: Disciplinary Formations in African Thought (original) (raw)
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A Grammar of African philosophy: Being and transcendence in Falola
The entrance of Toyin Falola, a renowned African scholar historian based at the University of Texas at Austin, into African literary creativity has mid-wived a significant landmark in the development? of an African theory of knowledge and an African theory of being, with the consciousness of miscegenation of African oratorical, rhetorical, and discursive poetics alongside the stifling alternatives of Western paradigms and metropolitan capitals of ancient Greek and modern philosophies. Integrated into this poetics of African knowledge are philosophical reconstructions of the Yoruba concept of Eda (being), a dialogical discourse method, African individuality and socialism, the philosophy of womanhood, motherhood and of the transcendence of human spirit, illusion and magic over the empirical structures of science and physicality. This provides a multi-disciplinary window into the project of evolving a valid African epistemology and theory of knowledge that are insulated from critical and theoretical homage to Western alternative paradigms.
2006 , African philosophy : The analytic approach A review
2009
The text is made up of 16 chapters plus a conclusion. Eight of these chapters had been published earlier but substantially revised, updated, and interrelated so as to make the text a coherent composite. It is divided into 4 broad parts. Part I, consisting of 4 chapters, revolves round the question of the nature and status of African philosophy. The views of Robin Horton, Richard Rorty, and Paulin Hountondji are explicated and analyzed. Part II, made up of 3 chapters and entitled 'Methodology', challenges the view that assumes or presumes that African conceptual systems, like the Western ones, divide up human beings into rational and emotional components. The author also demonstrates that what is essentially the same methodological technique may be used and viewed in a radically different manner in different cultures. The gist of part III (containing 4 chapters) is that African (Yoruba) discourse reflect individual and artistic sophistication and genius: that the misguided attempts to impose equivalents of Western notions of witchcraft upon African conceptual systems have only seemed to sustain the image of African societies as primitive. Part IV (made up of 5 chapters) is essentially an extension of part III. Whereas part III deals with 'Moral Epistemology', part IV is anchored on 'Aesthetics'. Here the concern is to show aesthetic links to ethics as well as epistemology among the Yoruba.
The African Cultural Grounding and Historical Provenance of the Afrotriumphalist Perspective
The human worth of any given people is best appreciated in terms of their confidence in their history and culture as the embodiments of the life-affirming values and examples on the basis of which they can empower themselves and develop their communities. Without such confidence, it is impossible for any given people to be taken seriously by other members of the human family. This article sets out to outline the rubrics of “the Afrotriumphalist perspective” (Gwekwerere and Mheta:2012) in the study of phenomena relating to Africa, in addition to demonstrating its African cultural grounding and historical provenance against the backdrop of the need for African scholars to actively participate in the development of such Africa-centered critical perspectives as would furnish a brand of consciousness that expedites the appreciation of African people as capable of transcending their existential challenges. The emphasis on ‘the African cultural grounding’ and ‘historical provenance’ of the Afrotriumphalist perspective in this article is best understood in the light of the realization that African culture and history do in fact embody the life-affirming consciousness that should inform African thought and behaviour in the unfolding of the African Renaissance agenda
Filosofia Theoretica: Journal of African Philosophy, Culture and Religions
Editorial Without philosophy, the world would be filled with brutes! But the essence of philosophy practice does not lie in agreements rather; it lies chiefly in disagreements. Where people usually agree, there reason has gone on holiday and the spirit of philosophy vanquished. But our disagreements must be respectful to distinguish it from the banter of brutes or charlatans. This is what Filosofia Theoretica stands for hence, conversational thinking. I therefore, present Volume 4 Number 2 of Filosofia Theoretica, a journal dedicated to the promotion of conversational orientation in African philosophy. Conversational philosophizing breaks away from the perverse orientation introduced by the Universalist school in African philosophy. Papers published in the journal have phenomenological basis and thrive on productive conversations among actors. We believe that conversational philosophy represents one of the modes through which the episteme of African philosophy could grow by opening new vistas and unveiling new concepts. To this end, Prof. Olatunji Oyeshile writing from University of Ibadan, examines the interconnectedness of modernity (which has its basis in the social world), Islam (which provides the human with transcendental values) and an African culture (which serves as a nexus of modernity and Islam). In this Age of religious violence, this piece supplies great insight into the heart of religious influence. From Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, David Oyedola holds a conversation with Anthony Appiah on the latter's theory of race as illusion which connects with D. A. Masolo's impossibility of identity. The Nwa-nju concluded that it is not enough, as a derivative of Appiah's skepticism about race and identity, to gesture at racial and identity concerns while using logical incoherence, globality, methodological separatism and cosmopolitan traits to undermine the relevance of identity which is the soul of the postcolonial quest for a distinct African race or black (African) philosophy. Those who enjoy sublime intellectual encounters should read this essay. Writing from Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko Dr. Cyril-Mary Pius Olatunji introduces the concept " Ignocence " and uses it as an index to critique the search for political Messiah in the Nigerian polity. Those who feel strongly about the culture of political impunity and corruption in the post-independence Africa should read this piece. And from University of Port Harcourt, Dr. Christian Emedolu undertakes the massive task of clearing the fog on the horizon of African science as an emerging discipline. The author maintains in his conversations that most of the ideas presented by some African scholars contain vestiges of the magical tradition in them. He argues that even though this might not be a flaw by any reasonable standard, there is a genuine need to separate magic from science, if we ever crave for any form of material/physical progress in Africa. He converses with a good number of scholars in African science and concludes that time has indeed come for us to properly
Toyin Falola and African Epistemologies
Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks, 2015
Illustrations viii Tables 1.1 A typology of Toyin Falola's single-authored books 5.1 African immigrants and educational attainment in the United States, 1960-2011 5.2 Correlations between billionaires in the United States and African immigrant variables 94 6.1 Univariate statistics by types of presuppositions in the text 6.2 t-Test: paired samples test and correlations 9.1 A diegetic categorization of the chapters in The Power of African Cultures
Africana Philosophy as a Cultural Resistance
Vernon Press, 2018
My aim in this chapter is to historicise a specific reading of Africana philosophy in terms of cultural repudiation to imposed historical memories and episteme. I use the term “Africana” in broad generality, for an inclusive representation of intellec- tual traditions emerging from Africa and the African Diaspora. From the per- spective of intellectual history, “Africana” is used here to signify a cross fertili- sation of knowledge-experiences between Africa and the African Diaspora, and how these experiences mirror each other.
On Defining African Philosophy: History, Challenges and Perspectives
The definition of philosophy has remained a perenn ial philosophical problem and there is little agreement as to what it is. Rather , what many seem to agree on is the descriptions of philosophy, that is, what it encompasses which wil l provide the basis for our definition. In the same vein, it has been difficult to define what African philosophy is, rather most philosophers have contented themselves in describin g what African philosophy is. According to Sogolo, “the controversy over what constitutes an African ph ilosophy tends to dominate sometimes so much that it forms almost the entire content of the course” [1]. In this paper , the attempt is to say what African philosophy is, inspite of the seeming unending polemics in th e sphere and practice of African philosophy. In doing this, we shall start by attempting to describe and possibly define what philosophy i s. Subsequently we shall be in a position to define African philosophy by looking at the origin of the debate on African philosophy which was as a result of the charge of irrationality leveled against the Africans. Let us recall that many European scholars mostly anthropologists and sociologists in the like of E. Durkheim, Auguste Comte , James Frazer, Sigmund Fre ud, Malinowski, Max Muller, Herbert Spencer, Edward Tylor and even Levy Bruhl, have attempted to give an answer to what the African traditional world views were through thei r theories on religions of the primitive people. For instance, Levy Bruhl rejected the rationality of the primitive people and claim ed that they were largely pre-logical and that what their practices point to is a kind of symbolism. We reject the postulations of these scholars, which were largely anthropological, psychological and sociologi cal as the philosophy of the primitive people or Africans. In the same vein any attempt by contemporary African philosophers t o present a purely descriptive, conjectural account of the African worldv iew as African philosophy will also be rejected. We conclude that African philosophy consists in speculative, conceptual and analytical as well as the critical examination of the African traditional thought in the light of con
People cannot ‘see’ states the same way that they can watch the sunrise in the morning or catch a glimpse of a butterfly floating above a petunia. From this perspective states are not a rigid, tangible form of reality but rather abstract, arbitrary lines drawn by human beings. The concept of a ‘state’, one could argue, is the biggest game of ‘imaginary friend’ (or foe) known to man. Searle (1995:2) gives another perfect example: ‘without the attribution of value, and the existence of financial institutions, a dollar bill or euro note would be nothing more than a piece of paper. As already suggested, sovereignty or the borders dividing states exist only by virtue of human agreement. It is human design and intent that shapes the material object into one with a specific meaning and use within a context.’ The frightening thing, however, is that sometimes these ‘designs’ are presented in such a way that they are adopted by others. In this way, ideas are legitimised through their parallels in history. As stated by Bush (2015: internet),“history can be a tool of influence – a tool of long-term psychological warfare even – used to manipulate the here-and-now, to give added emotional resonance.” A case in point being that one way that colonialism was legitimised in many societies was through the repetition of certain narratives, narratives that interlinked with concepts that originated in the olden days of slavery. As stated by David (2011: internet) “One of the chief justifications for the so-called 'scramble for Africa' was a desire to stamp out slavery once and for all.” The aim of this essay is thus to look at contemporary debates within African philosophy, specifically: Where is Africa? Who is African? How can and does Africa relate to the West, to other philosophical, cultural and religious traditions? Is reason culturally specific? How are reason and language related? What is fundamental reality, in an African context? And finally, how should political, social and ethical life be imagined in Africa? The conclusion will pull all the main points made in the essay together. The sources used to substantiate the arguments made in this paper were books, journals and the internet.
Language and the African Philosophical Traditions
Yoruba Studies Review, 2021
Are there universal principles, categories, or forms of reasoning that apply to all aspects of human experience—irrespective of culture and epoch? Numerous scholars have explored this very question from Africana perspectives: Kwasi Wiredu (1996) explored the philosophical issue of whether there are culturally defined values and concepts; Hallen and Sodipo (1986) examined the question of whether there are unique African indigenous systems of knowledge; Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (1994) evaluated the role of colonialism in the language of African literature; Oyerò nkẹ ́ ́ Oyěwumi (1997) argued that “gender” is a Western cultural invention that is foreign to Yorùbá systems of sociation; and Helen Veran (2001) argued that even though science, mathematics, and logic are not culturally relative, “certainty” is nonetheless derived from cultural practices and associations. Building on these and other works, this essay argues that: (i) incommensurability of “worldviews,” “perspectives,” “paradig...