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HUM2420: African Humanities

Open Education Resources created by Sarah Cervone PhD

HUM2420: African Humanities

Philosophy

African philosophy has a rich history spanning from the earliest known philosophers in Egypt to the political philosophers that fueled African liberation movements in the mid-twentieth century and continue to resonate with social justice movements worldwide. This lesson will provide a brief introduction to the ways philosophers in Africa have shaped, and continue to shape, the international field of philosophy.

Objectives
  • describe African philosophy
  • recognize Africana Philosophy
  • evaluate the contributions of African philosophers
Philosophy in Africa

Philosophy in Africa has a rich and varied history from ancient times to the contemporary era. Some of the world’s oldest philosophical texts were produced in Egypt nearly 5,000 years ago, and Ptahhotep from Egypt is among the earliest known philosophers. The Maxims of Ptahhotep, which dates to 2375–2350 BCE, is referred to as ‘wisdom literature,’ and it was used for centuries to teach culture and ways of living to schoolboys. In the 5th century BCE, the Greek philosopher Isocrates wrote that Greek thinkers such as Pythagoras frequently traveled to Egypt to study, and recent research now indicates that the Greek word philosophos, which means ‘lover of wisdom,’ is derived from the Egyptian concept mer-rekh which also means “lover of wisdom.” Today a growing body of scholarship points to evidence showing that Egypt and other early African civilizations contributed to the development of Classical Greek philosophy in Europe, and many African philosophers continue to engage with the global philosophical community today.

Contemporary Nigerian philosopher, Joseph I. Omoregbe, defines philosophy as the attempt 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. Like many ancient and modern philosophers throughout the world, philosophers in Africa address perceptions of time, personhood, space and other subjects contemplated by philosophical communities worldwide. Yet Kenyan philosopher Henry Odera Oruka distinguishes African philosophy from other geographic and cultural philosophical groups by describing four specific trends in modern African philosophy: ethnophilosophy, philosophical sagacity, nationalistic–ideological philosophy, and professional philosophy.

African Philosophy as Ethnophilosophy and Philosophical Sagacity

Ethnophilosophy is a philosophical perspectives that considers the unique circumstances, historical developments, and social contexts experienced by different cultural groups throughout the world. Similar to the different perspectives emerging from philosophers in Europe, Asia and the Americas, African philosophy is an ethnophilosophy shaped by the unique social and historical contexts experienced by people connected to Africa. Historical context plays an important role in African philosophy because history shapes the lens in which phenomena, purpose, people and place are situated. 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.” In this way, African philosophy consists of shared ideas, values, categories, experiences and assumptions that are embedded in the language, practices, and beliefs of different African cultures or worldviews.

The video below provides a brief introduction to the Akan philosophy (a type of ethnophilosophy in Ghana) of personhood as an example of one ethnophilosophy in Africa.

Philosophical sagacity is a type of ethnophilosophy that centers on individuals, or sages, in a specific community. The premise of philosophical sagacity is based on the notion that most people are simply conforming to dominant norms, ideas, and practices without actually understanding them; and that only a few members in a community reach an in-depth level of knowledge and understanding of their culture’s worldviews. People with a deeper understanding are considered ‘sages,’ and these sages serve as an authority on and teacher of the ethnophilosophy of a particular group. One example of philosophical sagacity is the work of Desmond Tutu and his teaching on Ubuntu which is a communitarian method of African philosophy that emphasizes mutualism in thought. The common expression of ubuntu is that “a person is a person through a person.” In the video below, Desmond Tutu explains the concept of Ubuntu.

For more information on the work of Tutu, visit the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation.

In addition to African philosophy as a type of ethnophilosophy, Africana philosophy is a relatively new academic term that refers to philosophical contributions from all people of African descent both in and outside of Africa. Yet there are some challenges to a single category that encompasses the geographical, historical, socio-political, and cultural differences and complexities that have defined and continue to define the realities of life for the many persons and peoples identified as “African” and “of African descent.” For some, the philosophy must have a racial focus to qualify as Africana because race is considered the defining dimension tying people of African descent throughout the world. Others, however, argue that Africana is a term of solidarity, and that Africana philosophy refers to analyses and critical engagement of and between African philosophers which is independent of racial considerations. Nonetheless, some of the notable topics explored by Africana philosophers include: pre-Socratic African philosophy and modern day debates discussing the early history of Western philosophy, post-colonial writing in Africa and the Americas, black resistance to oppression, black existentialism in the United States, and the meaning of “blackness” in the modern world.

In addition to Africana philosophy, Islamic philosophy is also a significant ethnophilosophy emerging from cultural life in Islamic Africa. Islamic Philosophy refers to philosophical contributions emerging from the Quran as well as ancient and modern Muslim philosophers. Two terms generally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—falsafa (literally: “philosophy”), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, mathematics, and physics; and Kalam (literally “speech”), which refers to a rationalist form of Islamic theology. Islam has a long and rich history in Africa, and Africa has produced thinkers in the Islamic sciences, theology, law, and the traditions of Prophet Muḥammad. Notable scholars include Muḥammad b. Tūmart, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Khaldūn (widely known as Ibn Khaldūn), Nana Asma’u, Shaykh Saad Bouh, Shaykh Aḥmadu Bamba, and others. These African Muslim thinkers developed a religious and political philosophy that challenge Muslims to seek knowledge as a way to develop greater consciousness.

Nationalistic Ideological African Philosophy

The Independence and Nation-building weblesson described how many African nationalists and revolutionaries reflected on colonial oppression and racial discrimination while studying in Europe and the United States. These African political thinkers developed unique perspectives on philosophical ideas such as consciencism, communalism, familyhood, negritude, humanism, nationhood, unification, socialism, and pan-Africanism, and they returned to Africa to instigate a renaissance of African philosophy based on African identity, African independence, the space of African people in history, and African contributions to humanity. These African political and economic philosophical developments coupled with anti-colonial movements had a tremendous effect on the development of a distinct modern African political philosophy that impacted social movements in Africa and in the African diaspora worldwide.

One well-known example of the economic philosophical works emerging from this period was the African socialist philosophy of Ujamaa in Tanzania and parts of Southeast Africa. Also known as the fourth principle of Kwanzaa, Ujamaa, is a Swahili word that means ‘cooperative economics,’ and in practice it refers to ‘local people cooperating with each other to provide for the essentials of living,’ and “to build and maintain our local stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.” The video below provides a brief overview of the role of Ujamaa in the social and economic development policies in Tanzania by the first president,  Julius Nyerere, after gaining independence from Britain in 1961. 

At 5:31 the video addresses the Arusha Declaration, a national economic development policy based on ujamaa that included the ‘vilagization’ of production, which essentially collectivized all forms of local productive capacity.  

Today, the philosophy of Ujamma and cooperative economics informs contemporary racial justice initiatives in the U.S. such as #BlackWallStreet, #BuyBlack, #BlackFriday, and #BankBlack. The philosophies that stimulated African independence movements continue to resonate with African youth challenging racism in society. Steve Biko’s philosophy on Black Consciousness during the anti-apartheid movement weighs in on the contemporary struggle for equal treatment in post-Apartheid South Africa. Biko and other leaders believed that it was important for black South Africans to take control of self destinies, rather than relying on white support to bring freedom. A core idea within the Black Consciousness Movement was the need for blacks to change mindsets in a way that liberates the one from ideas of inferiority that apartheid instilled within black Africans. Today, Biko’s philosophy of black consciousness continues to influences social justice movements such as Black Lives Matters in the U.S. To read one of Biko’s speeches on white racism and black consciousness, click here.

Professional African Philosophy and the Global Philosophical Community

Professional philosophy in Africa generally refers to African philosophers that are schooled in European philosophical traditions and work with Western or European philosophical methods and concerns of philosophy. Professional scholars such as Abiodun Moses Jinadu argue that African philosophers must avoid considering African philosophy as a separate and distinct field that is culturally insulated and should instead recognize ‘a genuine and mutually symbiotic cultural interaction and exchange between the West and Africa given the reality of the globalization.’ It is important to note, however, that professional African philosophers are not simply imitating or following European philosophical ideas, professional African philosophy engages with Western European philosophies through an African perspective. One notable contributor to professional philosophy is Achille Mbembe. He interacts with a multitude of Western philosophical concepts such as statehood, death, capital, racism, and colonialism, yet his work centers on moral and political arguments through a tone of morality. Many recent works by Mbembe, including Critique of Black Reason, suggest that understanding Europe as a force not at the center of the universe is a point from which philosophy and society should view the world. Mbembe asserts that he positions himself in multiple worlds of existence at one time.

Professional philosophy is situated as a long-standing tradition of interactions and engagements with the global philosophical community that dates from ancient Egyptian influences on Classical Greek philosophy and into African contributions to European Enlightenment philosophy in the 17th and 18th centuries. The video below provides a brief introduction to the influence of Ethiopian philosopher Zera Yacob on European thinkers such as Hume, Descartes, Locke, and Kant.

Philosophy in African Studies

This lesson provides a very brief introduction to the different types of philosophies in Africa and the contributions of African philosophers worldwide. African philosophy lends a voice to the unique perspectives and worldviews of African persons and people while at the same time contributing to global philosophical developments that lead to a better understanding of universal questions about the world’s phenomena, the purpose of human existence, the nature of the world, and the place of human beings in that world. To learn more about philosophy in Africa, explore the resources below.

References and Resources
For Discussion in Canvas

Provide a (minimum) brief synopsis of an African philosophical perspective and provide a reference citing your information. Key words to consider: ubuntu, ujamaa, black consciousness, consciencism, communalism, familyhood, negritude, humanism, nationhood, unification, socialism, Rastafarian philosophy, or pan-Africanism. Feel free to use the resources listed in this weblesson.

Evaluate the perspective in approximately 100-words; In what ways can the philosophical work be considered distinctly ‘African’? In what ways does the work contribute to universal philosophical questions about the world’s phenomena, the purpose of human existence, the nature of the world, and/or the place of human beings in that world? Respond to at least two other student posts to receive credit.

When you complete this lesson, move on to the Environment and Education lesson.