AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY

What are the various Schools of

Thought in African Philosophy?
 AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
• An anthropologist proposed a game to the kids in an
African tribe. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree
and told the kids that who ever got there first won
the sweet fruits. When he told them to run they all
took each others hands and ran together, then sat
together enjoying their treats. When he asked them
why they had run like that as one could have had all
the fruits for himself they said: UBUNTU, how can
one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?
(Quotes and words by Sam Scott)
AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
 INTRODUCTION
• Philosophy in Africa has a rich and varied history,
dating from pre-dynastic Egypt, continuing
through the birth of Christianity and Islam.
• Arguably central to the ancients was the
conception of "ma'at", (in ancient Egyptian
religion, the personification of truth, justice, and
the cosmic order) which roughly translated refers
to "justice", "truth", or simply "that which is
right".
 INTRODUCTION
• Before we embark on the models that
constitute the current African world-view, it may
be appropriate if we asked the question:
"What is the overall picture of contemporary
philosophy in the African Continent?"
• Basically, there are various trends that can be
regarded as the core of African Contemporary
Philosophy in our present times.
 Contemporary philosophy in Africa
• The first of these trends is Ethnophilosophy.
• While the second is branded as Philosophic
Sagacity.
• Cultural Philosophy is another trend.
• The fourth trend is Nationalist-ideological
Philosophy.
• Politico-ideological philosophy
• Finally, there is what we all know, Professional
Philosophy.
• What precisely do these philosophies mean?
 Ethnophilosophy
• Ethnophilosophy is a system of thought that deals
with collective worldviews of diverse African
peoples as a unified form of knowledge.

• It is based on the myths, folk-wisdom and the

proverbs of the people.

• Ethnophilosophy involves the recording of the

beliefs found in African cultures. Such an approach
treats African philosophy as consisting in a set of
shared beliefs, a shared world-view -- an item of
communal property rather than an activity for the
individual.
 Ethnophilosophy
• The term “Ethnophilosophy" was
coined by Paulin Hountondji to
refer to the works of those
anthropologists, sociologists,
ethnographers and philosophers
who present collective
philosophies of life of African
peoples.
 Ethnophilosophy
• Ethnophilosophy is thus a specialized and
wholly customs dictated philosophy that
requires a communal consensus.
• It identifies with the totality of customs and
common beliefs of a people.
• It is a folk philosophy.
• An ethnophilosopher is committed to the task of
describing a world outlook or thought system of
a particular African community or the whole
of Africa.
• Apart from Paulin Hountondji, it is also
represented by authors such as Placid Temples,
Leopold Senghor (Senegal), John Mbiti and
Kagame.
 Sagacity Philosophy.
• The second current trend of philosophy in Africa today, is
the Sagacity Philosophy.
• Philosophic sagacity is a sort of individualist version of
Ethnophilosophy, in which one records the beliefs of
certain special members of a community. Basically it is a
reflection of a person who is acknowledged both as a
sage and a thinker.
• Philosophic Sagacity is a reflective system of thought
based on the wisdom and the traditions of people.
• As a sage, the person is well versed in the wisdoms of
his/her people and the people of a particular society will
quickly recognize that sages possess that wisdom. But that
is not enough.
 Sagacity Philosophy.
• For it is possible to be a sage and not a thinker.
The acknowledged sage must also be a
thinker who is rationally critical and are
capable of conceiving excellent options and
recommending ideas that offer alternatives
to the commonly accepted opinions and
practices. Sages therefore transcend the
communal wisdom and remain the
spokespersons of their culture.
 Sagacity Philosophy.
• Sagacity philosophers are convinced that the study of
African Philosophy does not consist in the study of
general works but in identifying wise women and
men in society whose repute is very high on the
basis of their wisdom.
• By interviewing them, their recorded wisdom and
that of the professional philosopher amount to
true African thought.
• Their aim is to show that literacy is not a necessary
condition for philosophical reflection and exposition
and that in Africa, there are critical independent
thinkers who guide their thought and judgments
by the power of reason and inborn insight.
 Sagacity Philosophy.

• Their philosophy is based on: the evidence of their

research.
• For instance. in Marcel Griaule's Conversations with
Oqotemmeli: An Introduction to Dogan Religious Idea.
Ogotemelli is a sage who is interviewed by Marcel and
the result is the philosophy of religion of the Dogan
people.
• This philosophical trend is a creation of Professor
Odera H. Oruka of Nairobi University and it is a trend
subscribed by many contemporary philosophers mostly in
Eastern Africa and other parts of Africa.
 CULTURAL PHILOSOPHY
• According to your study Guide cultural philosophy
originated during the 1940’s When African writers
and thinkers like Leopold Sedar
Senghor(Senegal)Aime Cesaire and Cheik Anta Diop
(Senegal)
• They started to explore the mystery of African
personality and it culminated into the philosophy of
Negritude.
• Its proponents tried to discover the meaning of
‘being Black in the world,’ and more particularly
the meaning of Africanite, being African.
 CULTURAL PHILOSOPHY
• They derived their philosophical inspiration from
the anti-intellectual and personalist movement in
French philosophy during the 1930s and 1940s
which emphasized the emotional and non-
rationalist qualities in the African personality.
• It glorified the ideas of dance, drama and music as
they have found expression in African culture. This
trend is still evidence today but its followers are
artists, writers and traditionalists, rather than
professional philosophers.
CULTURAL PHILOSOPHY
 Nationalist-Ideological philosophy.

• The fourth current trend of Philosophy In Africa is the

Nationalist-Ideological philosophy.
• It is a system of thought, based on traditional
African socialism and family hood.
• It is represented by the works of politicians like
Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere and Leopold
Senghor.
• This trend of philosophy aims at seeking a true and a
meaningful freedom for African people that can be
attained by mental liberation and a return to genuine
traditional African humanism wherever it is possible.
• So it is basically a socio-political philosophy.
 Politico-ideological philosophy
• Proponents: Jomo Kenyatta, Kwame Nkrumah,
Kenneth Kaunda, Julius Nyerere, Sekou Toure, Franz
Fanon and Ernest Wamba dia Wamba.
• This school proposes a philosophy of action in
support of the struggle against colonialism and
imperialism.
• In addition to the discourse on the emancipation of
African mind, Wamba dia Wamba sees the urgent
tasks of African philosophy as:
 Politico-ideological philosophy
• The freeing of thought of the African, to enable free
and critical thinking.
• The production of principles to help Conceptualise
the universal emancipation of the African.
• Helping to heal the African from great disease of
the incapacity to self-determination at all levels.
• Theoretically orienting the science and technology
towards dealing with Africa-specific problems.
 Politico-ideological philosophy
• Theoretically freeing the politics of absolutely
generic equality.
• Inducing public debates on points of interest
to public consciousness in Africa and
contributing to the break-up of the triple
refusal to think for oneself.
• To take seriously one’s history and to resist
taking up the long term perspective.
 Professional Philosophy.
• The final unit of philosophy in Africa today is
the professional philosophy.
• In the African context, professional philosophy
consists in the analysis and interpretation of
reality in general.
• It further consists of criticism and argument,
which to them, are the essential
characteristics and conditions for any form
of knowledge to be judged as philosophy.
 Professional Philosophy.
• Philosophy to them is a universal discipline that
has the same meaning in all cultures in spite of
the fact that a particular philosopher maybe
conditioned by cultural biases, method and the
existential situation in his/her society.
• According to this school represented by basically
four African philosophers, Kwasi Wiredu, Paulin
Hountondji, Oruka Odera and Peter Bodunrin,
African philosophy is the philosophy done by
African philosophers be it on the subject
matter that is African or alien.
 Professional Philosophy.
• To these philosophers, African philosophy today is
predominantly a metaphilosophy dealing with the
central theme of, "What is philosophy?" and the
corollary (result), "What is African philosophy?"
• Viewed in this context, it has some limitations that
have been, identified by Odera H. Oruka as lacking
personal subject matter, a prolonged history of
debates and literature to preserve and expand itself
as well as a limited degree of self-criticism.
 Hermeneutic philosophy
• The dictionary defines hermeneutics in three
ways: to make something clear, to explain
something and to translate or interpret
something.
• Proponents of hermeneutics have concentrated
on the understanding of texts, which is the
written word. The philosophy focuses on the
analysis of African languages in order to
find philosophical content.
 Ubuntu- “I am what I am because of
who we all are”
• The word ‘Ubuntu‘ originates from one of the Bantu
dialects of Africa, and is pronounced as “uu-Boon-too”.
• It is a traditional African philosophy that offers us an
understanding of ourselves in relation with the world.
• According to Ubuntu, there exists a common bond
between us all and it is through this bond, through our
interaction with our fellow human beings, that we
discover our own human qualities.
• Or as the Zulus would say, “Umuntu Ngumuntu
Ngabantu”, which means: a person is a person through
other persons.
• We affirm our humanity when we acknowledge that
of others.
 Ubuntu
• The South African Nobel Laureate
Archbishop Desmond Tutu describes
Ubuntu as:
• ‘It is the essence of being human. It speaks
of the fact that my humanity is caught up
and is inextricably bound up in yours.
• I am human because I belong. It speaks about
wholeness, it speaks about compassion. A
person with Ubuntu is welcoming, hospitable,
warm and generous, willing to share.
 Ubuntu
• Such people are open and available to others,
willing to be vulnerable, affirming of others, do
not feel threatened that others are able and
good, for they have a proper self-assurance that
comes from knowing that they belong in a
greater whole.
• They know that they are diminished when others
are humiliated, diminished when others are
oppressed, diminished when others are treated
as if they were less than who they are. The
quality of Ubuntu gives people resilience,
enabling them to survive and emerge still
human despite all efforts to dehumanize them.”
UBUNTU……
 Nelson Mandela explained Ubuntu as
follows:

“ A traveler through a country would stop

at a village and he didn´t have to ask for
food or for water. Once he stops, the
people give him food, entertain him. That
is one aspect of Ubuntu but it will have
various aspects. Ubuntu does not
mean that people should not address
themselves. The question therefore is:
Are you going to do so in order to enable
the community around you to be able to
improve? ”
 The Meaning of UBUNTU CONT….
• Ubuntu is an African philosophy based on the connection of all
human beings. “I am because we are” is a phrase that is commonly
associated with the philosophy. Ubuntu is based on mutual support and
sharing what you can to help others.
EG:
• Together we can restore the humanity of children living with HIV.
Together, we can heal each other, our communities, and the world. That
is all a part of the philosophy known as Ubuntu, which we are making
every effort to put to practical use. You are a part of this
transformation!

• “Ubuntu [is] that profound African sense that we are only

human through the humanity of other human beings.”
Nelson Mandela
 The Meaning of UBUNTU CONT….

• “One of the sayings in Africa is Ubuntu – the

essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks
particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as
a human being in isolation.
• It speaks about our interconnectedness. You
can’t be human all by yourself, and when you have
this quality – Ubuntu – you are known for
your generosity.
• We think of ourselves far too frequently as just
individuals, separated from one another, whereas
you are connected and what you do affects the
whole World.
When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the
whole of humanity.” -Desmond Tutu
 What about Namibia
• In the Otjiherero language, ubuntu is
Omundu. The concept of ubuntu is
viewed the same in Namibia as in
other African cultures, and the Zulu
saying is also common in Otjiherero:
Omundu oMundu mena rovandu.
 What about
• Kwanyama: omunhu omunhu
molwo vanhu
• Silozi:Mutu ki mutu ka batu!
• Ndonga:
• Any Kavango vernacular?
• Afrikaans: ‘n Mens is ‘n mens as
gevolg van ander mense.
 Other…
• In the Shona language, the majority
spoken language in Zimbabwe after
English, ubuntu is unhu. The
concept of ubuntu is viewed the
same in Zimbabwe as in other
African cultures, and the Zulu saying
is also common in Shona: munhu
munhu nekuda kwevanhu.
 The three maxims of Hunhuism or
Ubuntuism
• Stanlake J. W. T. Samkange (1980), highlights the
three maxims of Hunhuism or Ubuntuism which shape
this philosophy :
• The first maxim asserts that ´To be human is to
affirm one´s humanity by recognizing the
humanity of others and, on that basis, establish
respectful human relations with them.
• And the second maxim means that if and when one is
faced with a decisive choice between wealth and
the preservation of the life of another human
being, then one should opt for the preservation of
life.
• The third maxim as a principle deeply embedded in
traditional African political philosophy, says that the
king owed his status, including all the powers
associated with it, to the will of the people under
him.
 UBUNTU cont…
• While sharing is incorporated within "unhu" it is
only one of the multiplicity of virtues within
"unhu". In the "unhu" domain, visitors do not need
to burden themselves with carrying provisions — all
they need is to dress properly and be on the road.
• All visitors are provided for and protected in every
home they pass through without payment being
expected.
• In fact, every individual should try their best to
make visitors comfortable — and this applies to
everyone who is aware of the presence of a visitor
within a locality. This explains how David Livingstone
survived on his journeys in Southern Africa especially
among ubuntu-oriented societies of the time.
 UBUNTU cont…
• Other manifestations of Ubuntu are that it is
taboo to call elderly people by their given
names; instead they are called by their
surnames.
• This has the effect of banishing individualism
and replacing it with a representative role, in
which the individual effectively stands for the
people among whom he comes from at all
times.
• The individual identity is replaced with the larger
societal identity within the individual. Thus, families are
portrayed or reflected in the individual and this
phenomenon is extended to villages, districts,
provinces and regions being portrayed in the individual.
 UBUNTU…..
• This places high demands on the
individual to behave in the
highest standards and to portray
the highest possible virtues that
society strives for.
• "Unhu" embodies all the invaluable
virtues that society strives for
towards maintaining harmony and
the spirit of sharing among its
members.
 UBUNTU cont…
• A key concept associated with "unhu" is how we behave and
interact in our various social roles, e.g., daughters-in-law
traditionally kneel down when greeting their parents-in-law
and serve them food as a sign of respect and maintain the
highest standards of behaviour that will be extended or
reflected to her family and all the women raised in that
family.
• The daughter-in-law does this as part of the ambassadorial
function that she plays and assumes at all times. However,
this does not apply only to daughters-in-law but to all women in
general, even among friends and equals such as brother and
sister, and this does not imply that the woman is subordinate to the
man, or sister to brother. Its all essentially considered to be a
characteristic of having "unhu" and a social interaction
within the context of "unhu".
• The demands imposed upon men within the context of "unhu" are
more physically demanding than that placed upon the woman.
 UBUNTU cont…
• Under "unhu" children are never
orphans since the roles of
mother and father are by
definition not vested in a single
individual with respect to a
single child. Furthermore, a man
or a woman with "unhu" will
never allow any child around him
to be an orphan.
 UBUNTU cont…
• The concept of "unhu" also constitute the
kernel of African Traditional Jurisprudence as
well as leadership and governance.
• In the concept of unhu, crimes committed by
one individual on another extend far beyond
the two individuals and has far-reaching
implications to the people among whom the
perpetrator of the crime comes from.
• Unhu jurisprudence tend to support remedies
and punishments that tend to bring people
together.
 UBUNTU cont…
• For instance, a crime of murder would lead to the creation of a
bond of marriage between the victim´s family and the accused´s
family in addition to the perpetrator being punished both inside
and outside his social circles.
• The role of "tertiary perpetrator" to the murder crime is extended
to the family and the society where the individual perpetrator
hails from.
• However, the punishment of the tertiary perpetrator is a huge fine
and a social stigma, which they must shake off after many years
of demonstrating "unhu" or "ubuntu".
• A leader who has "unhu" is selfless and consults widely and listens
to his subjects. He or she does not adopt a lifestyle that is
different from his subjects and lives among his subjects and
shares what he owns.
• A leader who has "unhu" does not lead but allows the people to
lead themselves and cannot impose his will on his people, which is
incompatible with "unhu".
 In conclusion….
As indicated in the politico-ideological philosophy trend, prominent African scholars
and leaders came up with various philosophies categorizing the thinking of Africans
over the years. Hereunder follow some of the African philosophers:
• Senghor’s negritude:
• Nyerere and Ujamaa
• Kaunda’s Humanism:
• Mobutu’s Authenticity:
• Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s Harambee
• Cheik Anta Diop’s African identity philosophy:
• Frantz Fanon’s philosophy of violent revolution:
• Gyekye’s Communitarianism:
• Wiredu’s Philosophy of Personhood

• Study their philosophical discourses in the study

guide.