| dc.description.abstract | This study sought to inquire into the specific functions of
philosophy in the development process of post-independence Kenya.
It was provoke', by the realisation that since 1963, philosophy in
general and th~ national philosophy in particular had increasingly
been subordinated to ideological interests and imperatives which had
not only falsified the essential functions of philosophy in national
development but had also resulted in unphilosophical devaluation of
philosophy, distortion of the historical realities, misperception of
basic development necessities and finally subordination of the
national philosophers to a sense of fear and uselessness.
The purpose of the study was, therefore, to expose the magnitude of
the damage w rcuqh t; by subordinating philosophical principles to
ideological im}"eratives in the process of national development and
to suggest methods of adequately utilizing enormous philosophical
-..
resources in rational and beneficial national development.
To achieve this end, the central hypothe~s was that philosophy was
increasingly being underutilized in the national development process
due to unphilosophical subordination of national philosophy to narrow
ideological in~erests and political expediency.
The study was aivided into five chapters. Chapter one was basically
introductory. It provided the historical roots and theoretical
- i i i -
justification for the ~esearch problem.
Chapter two reviewed the historical birth and development of the
modern Kenyan phi l.o sophy exposing, as it were, the origins of its
eclectic and p:;agmatic character.
Chapter three focused on the national philosophy: its perception,
problems and application to national development.
Chapter four critically looked at the philosophical attitudes of the
national philosophers, their problems, limitations and their dismal
participation in the development process.
In Chapter fiv,:, the entire study is summarised before suggestions
and recommendations for the - ~~oveIT.r,;en-b . , scholars and researchers
are given.
We adopted dialectical-conceptual -.. method and conducted the study
within a specific historical perspectives.
Our primary source was the library where we relied mainly on both
published and unpublished works including: Government documents,
policy papers, journals, newspapers, seminar papers, conference
papers and r-eLev ant; books.
Despite the three main problems, namely, lack of adequate literature;
- i vpolitical
oversensitivity of the research topic and the new political
thinking and philosophical consciousness, the study established that
philosophy had made little impact in Kenya in general and national
development in particular due to: poor philosophical heritage; poor
philosophical attitudes of the national philosophers; lack of moral
authority and ~Iolitical support for austere philosophical approach
to national life; and finally, an overbearing external economic
pressure inco;~atible with a truly independent philosophical
reflection, choices and actions.
Therefore the study recommended that the Government should urgently
establish a National School of Philosophy through statutory
provisions and that this school should be run by people from all
walks of life but under distinguished and committed professional
national ph i.Louoph ers . Among other things, however, this school
should engage i.npopularisation and democratisation of the utility
of philosophy Ln the whole country. It should also simplify and
translate philosophical works into l~cal languages for the benefit
of everyone.
Lastly, a complete bibliography was provided. | en |
