Frantz Fanon's Philosophy of Violence and the Participation of Intellectuals in the Advancement of Social Liberation in Africa (original) (raw)

Dialectics of Freedom in Frantz Fanon and Its Releveance in Contemporary Africa

2021

In the contemporary African world where national independence has not brought true decolonisation, as colonialism with its oppressive, exploitative and dehumanising tenets persists via socio-political and economic control, Fanon’s anti-colonial philosophydialectics of freedomstands as an existential remedy. And as a matter of fact, the 2011 North Africans’ (Tunisia, Morrocco, etc ) violent revolution, 2019 and 2020 Sudanese and Malians’ violent revolution that toppled the oppressive governments of Omar AlBashir and Ibrahim Keita, respectively, lend credence to the effectiveness of antithesis of dialectics of freedom. Still, in many African states; Cameroon, Egypt, Nigeria, Niger, Burundi, Uganda, etc exploitation and dehumanisation are increasing as consequences of western neo-colonial influences and dictatorship of indigenous African leaders. This paper therefore investigates Fanon’s dialectics of freedom, visible in his anticolonial thought, in the light of the present African pre...

Frantz Fanon on Violence by Signor Tonye

The problem of identity crisis in Africa is a question of an unresolved historical complexity of cultures. Since the earliest times of Western adventure into Africa till now, the Westerners deliberately take their cultures into Africa. This has taken African cultures and suppresively overwhelm the original African lives. For rightful humanitarian reasons, Africans must rise to accept obvious realities in order to create a highly improved nurture for future African generations, and this is a call for liberation. This, however, is what Fanon emphatically tries to infuse in the minds of the African Intellectuals... Mobilizing a movement that progressively explores a tripartite revolutionary option namely; violence, nationalism and separatism.

Violence as Fundamental Moral Principle in Frantz Fanon: A Philosophical Overview

Preamble: Why violence at all,since in its concept, it runs counter to dialogue. In its practice, it is corrosive, and mere mentioning of it breeds a kind of fierce feeling that often times posits fundamental moral questions patterning to values. Frantz Omar Fanon, in his reflection on the existential situation of the black Africans under colonialism, presented a somewhat deep rooted but difficult realism that portrayed the true nature of man and human society at large. As a French citizen in a French colony called Antilles, he experienced the dehumanizing nature of colonialism, coupled with its incessant alienation of the blacks from their identity. Consequently, this has led to his vehement approach to decolonizing through a method of psychotherapy, combined with political education, aimed at understanding the social conditions under which the individual thrives in a socio-political system. 1 It is in the light of this that this paper shall embark on a critique of violence as a fundamental principle in Fanon. However, the analytic method shall be employed in breaking down the mechanisms inherent in this work. 'The Wretched of the Earth' published in 1963. This work will be the Centre piece of our study in this course as it relates to the work on Fanon's philosophy that is of interest in our current inquiry.

The Symbolism of Violence:A Giro-Ricoeurian Reading of Frantz Fanon

For centuries, history of nationshas shown that the recourse to violence has been the sine qua non condition for the establishment of peace, order, progress, expansions, and the like. Violence, no matter its form, is believed to be the means for peace, justice, or unity. On the contrary, this paper shows that violence calls for violence, for it is based on the mimetic desire, which is the principle of reciprocal violence. Basing on Frantz Fanon"s description of violence as a liberating tool for decolonisation in Africa, the present reflections borrow theoretical tools from R.N. Girard and P. Ricoeur to show that violence hardly achieves permanent peace, justice, or unity in the human race. This is because its mechanism is rooted in desire for more-having, dominion, pride, cupidity, and arrogance leading to the negation of humanity in others. Any justification for violence constitutes an apparent meaning, which hides a more fundamental desire: the desire for more-being fuller being, that is to say, the plenitude of being. Its condition of possibility is not of material order. It is rather of moral order: the respect of human dignity.

The Paradox in Frantz Fanon's Liberation Contestation in the Context of Humanism

EJMSS Volume 3 NO 3, 2023

Various dimensions have emerged in man's understanding of humanism, and ample space has been accorded thoughts about violence and pacifism. African philosophers like Frantz Fanon and Nelson Mandela have taken a position in this debate. The question that has remained unanswered is whether the endorsement of violence as a tool of liberation is not dialectically opposed to the trappings of humanism. The struggle for political evolution in various nations in African presently is one of the numerous motivations of this study. Across history and even in contemporary times, various violent activities have been justified by allusions to liberation and restoration of humanism. Frantz Fanon's contestation and advocacy of violence, in his quest for decolonization in Algeria, represent a liberation philosophy that raises questions about the pursuit of humanism with seemingly nonhumane means. Could such actions be contextualized in humanism? Is it not a camouflage? What is humanism? Is there in-humanism in humanism? This paper engages critical analysis examine what appears to be contradictions in Fanon's humanism. The paper traces how Fanon's theory of violence has affected humanity and to what extent this contributes to sharpening the struggle for national integrity and egalitarianism in Africa.

Frantz Fanon in his Third World. Violence and Decolonization

The Routledge Handbook of Violence in Latin American Literature, 2022

This Handbook brings together essays from an impressive group of well-established and emerging scholars from all around the world, to show the many different types of violence that have plagued Latin America since the pre-Colombian era, and how each has been seen and characterized in literature and other cultural mediums ever since. This ambitious collection analyzes texts from some of the region's most tumultuous time periods, beginning with early violence that was predominately tribal and ideological in nature; to colonial and decolonial violence between colonizers and the native population; through to the political violence we have seen in the postmodern period, marked by dictatorship, guerrilla warfare, neoliberalism, as well as representations of violence caused by drug trafficking and migration. The volume provides readers with literary examples from across the centuries, showing not only how widespread the violence has been, but crucially how it has shaped the region and evolved over time.

Reason in Revolt: An Introduction to the Thought of Frantz Fanon

2016

Frantz Fanon died in 1961. In the years that have passed since his death he has become a canonical thinker in a number of academic fields including postcolonial studies, critical race theory and Africana studies. In South Africa his ideas continue to animate some of the most compelling theoretical innovation that is being produced in the academy and to inspire and shape the thinking of political militants. However, Fanon’s name is often used in a manner that has very little to do with his political work or writings. This course situates Fanon’s work in the broader Caribbean and black radical intellectual traditions and gives students an opportunity to engage with Fanon’s key writings as well as the most important secondary literature developed in response to his work. After completing this course students will have a solid foundation on which to develop an ongoing engagement with both Fanon's work and the key debates in the best secondary literature on Fanon.