TANGAZA UNIVERSTY COLLEGE.

CATHOLIC UNIVERSTY OF EAST AFRICA.

SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY-PHILOSOPHY.

PHC 241 AFRICAN PHILOSOPOHY.

A paper on how Professional African
Philosophy has contributed to the
debate of African Philosophy

Lecture; Ochieng Ojwang.

20/00417,
OBIRI VINCENT OMBATI.

“A term paper submitted to Tangaza University as requirement in partial

fulfillment of the awarding of a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.”

February 2021

Introduction
This was one of the schools of African philosophy, Professional
philosophy perhaps the most controversial, can be identified as
universalist or modernist school that produced by African philosophers
trained in the Western philosophical tradition, that embraces a universal
view of the methods and concerns of philosophy. Those philosophers
identified in this category often explicitly reject the particularistic
approach and assumptions of ethnophilosophy and adopt a universalist
worldview of philosophy that requires all philosophy to be accessible and
applicable to all peoples and cultures in the world1, in other words to say
that philosophy must have the same meaning everywhere. This is even if
the specific philosophical questions prioritized by individual national or
regional philosophies may differ. School argued that African philosophy
must have universal merit and thrive on the method of critical analysis
and individual discursive enterprise. It is not about talking, it is about
doing. Some staunch unrepentant members of this school include ; Odero
Oruka, Paulin Hountondji, Peter Bodunrin, Kwasi Wiredu, Dismus
Masoslo, Tsenay Serequeberhan, Marcien Towa, Lansana Keita, Oriare
Nyaruath just to mention a few.

How Professional African Philosophy has contributed to the debate of

African Philosophy.

The debate on African philosophy whether it exist or not, is a debate

raged on for more than three decades and if it does, what makes the
philosophy ‘African’. These questions were mainly answered by
members of two Schools of Thought that is the Traditionalists and , for
our case here the professional philosophy we saw that they subscribe to
Universality view of philosophy, so there contribution is that of the
school of thought of Universalists whereby they insist that African
philosophy has to be a body of analytic and critical reflections of
individual African philosophers.

By the 18th century Universalism was a school of thought that dealt with
religious, theological and philosophical concepts with universal
applicability wherein the doctrines consider all people within their
formation. It also claimed that religion is a universal human quality.
They tried to answer the question of what constituted African philosophy,
in this they had two approaches that is racial and a tradition criterion.
According to racial, philosophy would be African if it is produced by
Africans. This view was supported by Paulin Hountondji, Odera Oruka

1
Samuel Oluoch Imbo, An Introduction to African Philosophy (1998), pp. 38-39
(in part), early Peter Bodunrin, Godfrey Ozumba and Innocent Asouzu,
the approach has been criticized as pejorative, incorrect and exclusivist.

This school pointed out that The view of philosophy as a critical activity
whose function embraces an interrogation of its own nature and meaning
is undoubtedly a legacy of the Greek philosophers2. It is worth noting that
African philosophy according to Hountondji, bears a direct relation to
history and culture and that the reflection of African intelligence is upon
our total historical being representing a significant moment in the
intellectual response of Africans to the challenge of western civilization3.
With Peter Bodunrin he gives a view that what philosophical arguments
do is to compel us to make a choice since we can not live with
inconsistent beliefs. On African philosophy, extra philosophical
considerations account for the divergent views which African
philosophers hold. These considerations all have something to do with
anti-colonialist and post-colonialist intellectual liberation. Professor
Bodunrin in distinguishing two groups of African philosophers on what
African philosophy he says the first group known as the traditionalists
emphasize the present in relation to the past, in other words their concern
is the discovery of evocative or genuine African ideas and thought
systems. This group thinks that the crisis of identity in which Africa is
entangled is because Africa has lost its roots. While the second group,
analytic bent, emphasizes the present in relation to the future. To this
group, African philosophy should be pursued in the light of
modernization through science and technology which are the most useful
axioms for development.

This professional philosophy trend also stated that the whole concept of a
particular way of thinking, reflecting, and reasoning is relatively new to
most of Africa, and that African philosophy is really just starting to grow.
For Instance the growth of African is the Kawaida project, created by
Maulana Karenga, an ongoing search for African models of excellence in
the seven core areas of culture: history; spirituality and ethics; social
organization; political organization; economic organization; creative
production (art, music, literature, dance, etc.) and ethos.

Conclusion.

2
Hountondji, P.J., 1983. African Philosophy: Myth and Reality, (London: Hutchinson University Library for
Africa,1983), pp: 7.
3
Ibid., p.11.
We at last see that this school of thought of profession philosophy in the
contribution to African philosophy there emphasis will be laid on the
view that holds that African philosophy should not be confused with
African religion or ethnography.

References
Kwasi Wiredu (ed.), A Companion to African Philosophy (2004:
Blackwell).

Paulin J. Hountondji, African Philosophy: Myth and Reality (1983:

Bloomington, Indiana University Press).

Samuel Oluoch Imbo, An Introduction to African Philosophy (1998), pp.

38-39.

Hountondji, P.J., 1983. African Philosophy: Myth and Reality,

(London: Hutchinson University Library for Africa,1983), pp: 7.

Peter O. Bodunrin, Philosophy in Africa: Trends and Perspectives (1985:

University of Ife Press).

Maurice Muhatia Makumba, An Introduction to African Philosophy: Past

and Present (2007), p. 25.

Ochieng'-Odhiambo, F: African Philosophy: An Introduction, Consolata

Institute of Philosophy Press (1997).