AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
IS THERE AN AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY IN EXISTENCE TODAY? – ESSIAKA P. LALEYE
Essiaka P. Laleye investigates the question of whether there is an African philosophy existing today. He proceeds by confirming that Father Temples is correct; that in refusing to acknowledge the existence of ‘black thought’ (Coetzee P.H. & Roux A.P.J. Philosophy from Africa 2002: 86) is to ‘exclude blacks from the class of human beings’ and the severity of such an attitude from other opposing philosophical influences; namely Western philosophy, leads to an investigation into the question of African philosophy and if it deserves the ‘epithet philosophical or not’.
He then expounds further as to the pertinence of the question and that if there is an African philosophy, it only makes sense if there is a widely accepted meaning of the term ‘philosophy’ as it presumes that the person asking the question understands the term equally and accepts that all human beings are rational animals with shared understanding of philosophy and the nature of human existence. Whilst he notes that doing philosophy does not necessarily make one a philosopher and accordingly how it is understood by Western philosophers, as for them African thought and thus African philosophy, is a doubtful notion.
He examines what Louis Vincent Thomas wrote, where he suggested that African thought needed to be investigated against a comparison of the characteristics that contrast to other philosophical thought, for example, Western thought, and that the differences would need to be reconciled. He suggests that the ‘richness of the common enterprise’ is to be mutually understood and that each thinker should preserve their ‘own culture and mentality’ as a precondition for the ‘quest for truth’. He disagrees with what Thomas claimed; that in Western understanding there is no Diola, Senegalese philosophy because they are incapable of ‘thinking in abstract terms, observing at the same time the rules of logic’. That the Diola do not consider the question of ‘being’ as fundamental in an ‘exhaustive and rigorous manner’ is perhaps a point to be stressed in stronger terms, as not all humankind are philosophical in their thinking and find no need to justify their existence or to defend their beliefs; religious or otherwise.
The Essay on Existentialism: Philosophy of Life and Existence
Existentialism “Existentialism is an attitude that recognizes the unresolvable confusion of the human world, yet resists the all-too-human temptation to resolve the confusion by grasping toward whatever appears or can be made to appear firm or familiar…The existential attitude begins a disoriented individual facing a confused world that he cannot accept. ” (Robert Solomon) Existentialist all share ...
He makes the claim that Africans by nature are religious because the ‘shape of thought fundamentally characterizing the traditional African may be termed religious’ and he reinforces this with a citation from Yoruba, E, Bolaji Idowu, ‘The key note of their life is their religion’. Africans are in all things religious and the ‘all governing principle of life’ in all the affairs of life, belongs to the ‘Deity’ and until proven to the contrary, it assumes this pertains to ‘all Africans’.
It is interesting to note however that whilst Laleye characterizes traditional African philosophy with the view that religion is the foundation of African thought, Kwasi Wiredu’s argues the claim that ‘all Africans are deeply religious’ by pointing out that ‘not all Africans peoples entertain a belief in God’ (20) and this does not presume there is anything wrong with their mental capabilities. In any event to seek enlightenment on how Africans think and what they believe suggests that there is of course the ability to reason. This is a fundamental mistake in the argument that Africans are not rational therefore are not human beings and, as offensive as it is, it nonetheless proves in the asking; that all humans are rational animals, for to pose such a question is to accept the ability of the person being questioned and to acknowledge rational thinking.
Laleye then poses the question ‘Should there be an African philosophy’ and then stresses that it is ‘obvious’ that there should be. He states that it is a matter of urgency to ‘appreciate philosophy’ as a human activity and that it is desirable in itself for the sake of philosophy and perhaps for the sake of all Africans as well as all humankind. He stresses that the ‘African thinker essentially remains within his/her rights as a thinker, not necessarily as an African’ is the answer that yes, there is and ought to be an African philosophy that is maintained and investigated by other Africans. This is perhaps when the answer to the question he posed, ‘When will Africans stop looking at themselves with eyes that have been forged by their rulers?’ will be answered.
The Essay on African Philosophy 4
In a class there is a learner with low interpersonal skills. The learner is withdrawn and doesn’t seem to be integrating with other learners in class activities. The key point as a teacher is how to encourage the learner to be more self-confident in and out of a classroom environment. The issue for the learner may be behavioural, a home issue or a negative attitude, causing the inability for the ...
The idea that is suggested is that when Africans demonstrate their own philosophical views, not so much in defense against opposing philosophical views, but for the sake of their own re-appropriation of the past with the view to laying down a new foundation for a universal philosophy.
In conclusion, the essence of the message in Laleye’s treatise is that the value of philosophy, for what it imparts, is for the sake of all humankind and it is for the further enhancement of human existence, no matter your race, religion, nation or culture, for ‘it is not so much love of wisdom that must be claimed as wisdom itself’ (94) is for all to take cognisance of this view.
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SOURCES CONSULTED
Robinowitz, I. 2005. English Studies. Explorations in Reading and Meaning. Only study guide for ENN102-E
University of South Africa. Department of English Studies, 2008. English Studies: Explorations in Reading and Meaning: tutorial letter for ENN102E. Pretoria.
Moffett. H & Mphalele, E (eds) 2002. Seasons Come to Pass. Cape Town: Oxford.
Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ars_Poetica.htm. Accessed on 2008/05/16
Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace.htm. Accessed on 2008/04/16
