JOURNAL OF ART, HUMANITY & SOCIAL STUDIES
Vol. 2 No. 3, 2022
The Question of African Philosophy Today: The Need for a Paradigm Shift in Philosophy
Lawrence Odey Ojong University of Calabar, Nigeria.
*Correspondent Author: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
With the existence of African philosophy established, one of the issues that confronts African philosophers is: how relevant is African philosophy? Central to this question is the issue of how African philosophy can be made relevant in and beyond Africa.
In the paper, I argue that African philosophy will become relevant when it is not only thought of as a branch of philosophy (Western philosophy), but that it exists as a discipline of its own. The reason for this stance is that Western philosophy is relevant today because it has been developed and studied as a discipline. As a result, I believe that if African philosophy gains autonomy from Western philosophy in African and other universities, it will eventually reach the level of Western philosophy. I also assert that this can be feasible if the present philosophy curriculum is adjusted. This is what is referred to as a “paradigm shift in philosophy.” This paper is both expository and prescriptive.
Keywords: African philosophy; Africa; paradigm shift; philosophy curriculum.
1. INTRODUCTION
If we look at the way African philosophy began, it began with a debate on its existence. Camps are divided into two groups: the denialists and the affirmationists. The deniers hold that there is no African philosophy, while the affirmationists are of the view that African philosophy exists. Even among those who say that African philosophy exists, there are two camps: those with a universalist orientation and those with a particularist orientation. The universalists hold that African philosophy should follow the methods of Western philosophy since philosophy is a universal enterprise with no cultural affiliation. The particularists hold that African philosophy exists as a peculiar field of knowledge, or episteme.
For them, every philosophy stems from a particular culture and reflects that culture, and if this is true, African philosophy remains distinct from Western philosophy with its peculiar methods. But from a study of the available material in African philosophy, one can say that the universalists tend to have the upper hand since the philosophy curriculum used in many of the universities in the world is
Western in orientation. This poses a problem for the development of African philosophy as a distinct philosophic episteme. It is to overcome this challenge that this paper is born. This paper seeks to argue that there is a need for a shift in philosophical orientation.
In this shift, we call for African philosophy to replace the Western philosophy curriculum within universities in Africa and possibly beyond Africa.
Chinakonam had previously developed three models for Africanizing the philosophy curriculum.
These models include the following: B-model, which is a narrative of balance. For him, “one can think of a procedure that adjusts the philosophy curricula in universities in Africa in such a way that there is a balance between courses on both western and African philosophers” (p. 515). The second model is called the D-model, which is a narrative of displacement.
According to him, “a procedure can be worked out that allows for the development of a complete set of African philosophy curriculum to displace the existence of Western philosophy” (p. 515). Finally, the C-model, which is a narrative of competition, According to him,
“the procedure I have described as a narrative of
competition” wishes that philosophy departments in universities in Africa have two units, western and African. “Each of these two units will award degrees up to doctorate level” (p. 516).
This work will first look at the meaning of African philosophy and then at the problems that come with doing African philosophy as a subset of Western philosophy. After that, the paper will stress the need for the replacement of Western philosophy curricula with African philosophy curricula.
2. EXISTENCE OF AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY African philosophy is a tradition of philosophy that is concerned with the world of the African people.
It is a critical reflection or consideration of the African people's life experience. If this is the case, how did African philosophy begin? Chimakonam holds that African philosophy began as a result of frustration.
According to him:
...but what I label systematic African philosophy, itself started from the springboard of frustration...These development are not without
some consequences.
Beginning with the identity crisis of the African, the African's place in history as well as the African's contributions to civilization, later developments were to question the rationality of the African. All of these speculations coupled with the humiliating effect of slavery, colonialism, and racialism instigated an angry frustration against the treacherous colonial system in the refund African scholars. A result, animosity and frustration with the colonial epistemic naturally took shape (p. 10).
T. U. Nwala (2016) provides a very clear origin of the introduction of African philosophy in Nigerian universities under the philosophy curriculum in response to the question of how African philosophy has been taught under the philosophy curriculum. For him, “The University of Nsuka was globally the first to introduce African philosophy into its curricula in 1971–
72.” This writer personally designed the two courses:
1. Phil. 320, “African Philosophy I,” and 2. Phil. 420,
“African Philosophy II.” While African philosophy treated “African traditional thought,” African philosophy II treated “contemporary African thought”
(p. 16). But, exactly, what is African philosophy?
According to T. U. Nwala (2016):
African philosophy I was conceived as a descriptive and analytic examination of African traditional world- view, and its major characteristics, its cosmology, ontology, ethics, logic and its fundamental conceptual concepts about like person, death, matter, spirit nature, destiny etc, as well as the social organization and institutional embodiments of these philosophical conceptions (pp. 16-17).
In an unpublished work titled An examination of African metaphysics and sustainable development in Africa, Brian Njar (2016) writes, “African philosophy in general explores the particular way or ways in which the African experiences, conceives, and interprets nature, society, religion, man, God, human conduct, and so on” (p. 18). Anyawu and Ruch (1989) believe that African philosophy is that which concerns itself with the way in which African people of the past and present make sense of their existence, of their destiny, and of the world in which they live. Lucuis Outlaw (1987) holds that African philosophy came about as a challenge to Western philosophy. For him, “there are ways in which the question of 'African philosophy' challenges the very idea of philosophy as it has been constructed by the more dominant voices narrating the history and setting the agenda of philosophy in the West, and does so in a most radical fashion” (p. 11).
That is to say, African philosophy has to be unique to the African people in the sense that it has to be different from other philosophy.
Furthermore, Chimakonam asserts that African philosophy should be conversational in nature. For him:
By conversational philosophy I mean a rigorous and critical philosophical engagement between individual thinkers with one another on
phenomenological issues of concern or on one another thoughts where the opponent contests and the proponent defends the philosophy, viability of such thoughts. In African conversational philosophy may prioritise the issues concerning Africa (p.
9).
Bruce Janz opines that African philosophy deals with the problems and opportunities of intercultural philosophizing, and does so in ways that covers the gamut of the analytic/continental divide in Western philosophy (African Philosophy: Some Basic Question
131).
Having established how African philosophy came into existence and its meaning, it crucial to highlight the problem of doing philosophy as a subset of Western philosophy.
3. THE PROBLEM OF DOING AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY AS A SUBSET OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
3.1 African Philosophy Apes Western Philosophy - Copycatism
Philosophy as a universal discipline is done as Western philosophy. Here, African philosophy is not done as a distinct discipline. It is done as a sub- discipline of Western philosophy. And as such, it is an extension of Western philosophy. It follows the methods and manner of philosophizing inherent in Western philosophy. So everything about African philosophy is but Western philosophy. Hence African philosophers are not saying anything new, rather, they are copying the idea inherent in western philosophy.
Therefore, African philosophy is nothing but a copy of western philosophy.
3.2 Lack of Originality and Creative Thinking Since African philosophy is a subset of Western philosophy, it does not really breed African philosophers who think creatively. The reason is that they believe that everything about philosophy has been done by Western philosophers who are believed to be the originators of philosophy. All they do is to look for African version of western philosophy. For instance, African Logic, African Ethics, and African Metaphysics etc. So for them, any philosophical idea must have an African version of it. The way it is articulated, is not
different from the way Western philosophers have done it. So Africans are not creative thinkers; they only reproduce Western philosophy. For Ada Agada (2015), African philosophers have to seriously consider the most problematic aspect of the dilemma of African philosophy - the failure of the various available methodology approaches to inspire original and innovative thinking that can earn African philosophy universal acclaim. While Africa continues to produce teachers and scholars of philosophy it has failed to turn out innovative thinkers.
3.3 Hinders the Development of African Philosophy
If philosophy is done as Western philosophy and African philosophy is a subset within it, there cannot be any creative, innovative and original thinking. If this be the case, African philosophy is a stagnated philosophy since it does not seek for progress of any kind. On the contrary it continues to circulate western philosophy as its philosophy.
Accordingly, “They privilege European/Western culture and intellectual productions, and seek to define African philosophy in terms of western definitions and categories” (Vest 2009, p. 4). Secondly, she emphasizes that “they seek to define African (and other non- western) philosophies in reaction to or in defense against pre-existing representation of the developing world/the third world/the colonized/Africa/blackness, etc” (Vest 2009, p. 4). For Chimakonam,
...Humanity is permanently remanded in intellectual infancy. It might be argued that this is the danger which the sub-Saharan African now faces in our time probably due to the possible bastardisation of westernized philosophy curricula-which has empowered some scholars in the west to taunt Africans with despicable appellations.
It may be possible to now attribute this intellectual slump of the African partly to the philosophy curriculum that undergirds his education, whether in the science, the humanities or western philosophy curriculum skews philosophy education in
Africa. Eminently, it can be claimed that it has reduced the study of “love of wisdom”
in some university in African to the history of western philosophy (p. 515).
3.4 Makes African Philosophy Unproductive and Irrelevant
African philosophy is not the same as western philosophy but if it is taken as western philosophy because the philosophy developed from a particular culture reflect that culture so Western philosophy reflect western culture and the problem and situation that gave rise to such philosophy is not the same with the problems and situation in African. Hence African philosophy as Western philosophy cannot be relevant to the African experience. Jonathan Chimakonam (2015b) emphasized that:
The philosophies of deviser traditions share a common bond in their universal characteristics. Not to share in these universal bond as the traditionalists posit amounts to destroying African philosophy for it is at these universal conference that the world changing ideas such as globalization, inter-cultural and cross-cultural exchanges take place. It is to the extent that one philosophical tradition transmits fragments of itself to other traditions that its contributions to world civilization and development are recorded. To exclude African philosophy as philosophy from the universal idea of philosophy is to kill it (p. 103).
4. WHY A PARADIGM SHIFT?
4.1 To Bring about Innovative and Creative Thinking in African Philosophy and Among African Philosophers
When it comes to African philosophy, it has long followed Western philosophy but has neither developed nor contributed to the philosophic enterprise.As a result, for African philosophy to
positively contribute to the development of society and the philosophic enterprise, a paradigm shift is required, and this paradigm shift is the replacement of African philosophy curriculum with western philosophy curriculum.This will awaken African philosophy from its slumber as well as call them to pick up and put on their thinking cap. At this point, they think creatively and innovatively. It is only when this is done that they begin to birth new philosophical concepts and ideas, just as can be seen among members of the conversational school of philosophy. Example:
Azouzu's Ibuanyidanda ontology, Chimakonam Ezumezu logic, Ogbonaya's Ezinule logic, Nweke Akology, Edet's conceptual Mandelanization, his Afroxiology, etc.
Although these philosophers are doing great work, it is not enough because African philosophy has not taken its place as it ought to. So if African philosophy becomes a distinct discipline of its own, it will cause African philosophers to think creatively and formulate more philosophical ideas.
4.2. Enhance the Relevance of African Philosophy and Philosophers
When African philosophers begin to think creatively and innovatively, the idea which will stein from the African place will be relevant to the African society and beyond.
... Necessary debates are vital to the object of African philosophy, as they privilege Africa and African issues relevant to African intellectual goals and concerns. Necessary debates are defined by the intellectual
goals of African
philosophers'. They are pivotal to lively and engaging discouse, they are vital for Africans-African thinkers, African educational programs and African creative expression. Nobody can define what is necessary for Africans but Africans themselves. African projects of cross-cultural and comparativist philosophy are necessary, but one sided monologue initiated and
instigated by colonizing discourses are not necessary or productive for African philosophy (Vest 2009, p. 4).
4.3 Improving African Epistemic Edifice, African Cultures, African Science, Politics and all round development.
If African philosophy becomes a distinct discipline on its own, the new ideas and concept that are developed will be criticized, interrogated, deconstructed, reconstructed and constructed. Hence there will be formation of new ideas and concept. In this way African philosophy will be developed and grow. For Jennifer Lisa Vest (2009), “...the contributions of African philosophers expand the discourse in important ways. Beyond their contribution to the discipline more generally, works by African philosophers also provide necessary critiques of African society, culture, and of the other discipline studied in African universities. Consequently, the importance of African philosophy both to Africans and to worldwide intellectual discourse cannot be overestimated” (p. 3).
4.4 Produce an African Version of Love of Wisdom
This paradigm shift will “... reflect an African approach to the study of “love of wisdom” (p.
Chimakonam, 514). I do not think it should include the defense of territory, of what is exclusive and unique without universal echoes. I do, however, think it should gesture towards raising questions about the problems of a place and finding answers to them rather than merely super implying general questions on particular conditions. (514). We must understand that philosophical reason is not static. It is in a continuous journey of self-manifestation from age to age and from culture to culture (Chimakonam 514).
5. CONCLUSION
Although most people will believe that running two separate units implies the multiplication of entities beyond necessity (that is, Ockham's Razor), it is crucial to allow two flowers to bloom. That is to say, according to Chimakonam, “those who sit in the arm chairs and wave away African philosophy for a basket of reasons or Western philosophy for not being African enough might be greatly mistaken.” In this regard, my position is that African philosophy should not be studied as a subset of western philosophy. Thus,
African philosophy should be liberated from western enslavement.
The reason for this is that Western philosophy stifles the growth of African philosophy. Thus, if we begin to teach African philosophy independent of Western philosophy, we shall have a well-developed and sound African philosophy. This is possible when the African philosophy curriculum is formulated separately from the philosophy curriculum. It is with this that African philosophy can develop to its full potential. This is because reason and speculation are not location-bound. As a result, because the African is a member of the human race, and as long as he employs philosophical tools (wonder, reason, criticality, and speculative ability to articulate his world view on reality based on Milieu, for philosophy is a product of social Milieu), it is now necessary to replace Western philosophy with the rapidly developing African institution and beyond.
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