Critique of the Culture of Philosophy: Challenges and Opportunities for Philosophy in Africa

Abstract

This work set out to understand and explain the challenges that face the development of philosophy in Africa. In particular, the focus is on the crisis and dilemma on African identity which has impacted adversely to the development of a culture of philosophy in Africa. Our problem is that, attempts at creating a culture of philosophy in Africa is predicated on an understanding of who is African, and what is Africa. But it is at this definitional level that we find an ambiguity of usage and application of concepts that are fundamental to defining Africa and philosophy. Compounding the problem is an equally ambivalent perspective and meaning of African culture which is conceived and made reference to in unitary yet there is multiplicity of cultures warranting the term African cultures. The latter makes it even difficult and problematic to define a unitary philosophy based on this singular view of Africa, not because all Africans shared a common ecology, nor a common historical experience, or faced a common threat from imperial Europe, but because they belong to the Negro race. Our general objective was to appraise the available literature and practice of philosophy in Africa in order that we may formulate a scheme or paradigm that would have African culture, present or future, as the basis for understanding the practice of philosophy. More specifically, we sought to identify the challenges that confront and subsequently impede the v development of philosophy and propose possibilities for the future of African philosophy and the potential that arises there from. In our attempt to demonstrate that African culture can provide an alternative basis and centre for grounding the practice of philosophy in Africa, we chose to understand philosophy as a continuous history of open ended debate in which the search for truth is permanent. To assist our understanding of the cultural bias in which philosophy in Africa finds itself, we adopted the ideological method by which we sought to demonstrate the impact of ideology and other idiosyncratic biases on the conception, meaning and nature of philosophy in Africa. This research came up with the following conclusions among other findings; 1. That, discourse and literature in African philosophy is conceived in and from a western cultural perspective. 2. That, the impact of ideology on the conception of meaning in ideas and claims on Africa and African peoples, their thinking, techniques of knowledge creation and validation cannot be underestimated. 3. That, the development of a culture of philosophy in Africa is hindered by challenges that are; a. Methodological b. Linguistic c. Theoretical d. Participative vi Arising from the above, we are compelled to recommend that there is a serious felt need for research in interpretive understanding of concepts and categories that influence the practice of philosophy in Africa. As presently constituted, and given the prevailing theories and methodological approaches within African philosophy, vzz, ethno-philosophy, professional philosophy, philosophic sagacity, nationalistic-ideological, literary-artistic, and hermeneutical, one is left in no doubt that the interpretive capacity of the hermeneutical approach has not been harnessed to the maximum. Our recommendation is influenced by the fact that, this approach can perform both the Anthropological task of collecting data as well as the Philosophical task of analysis and interpretation. The result would be to abandon ethnology and sage methods as avenues though which we get to cultural data on African philosophy. This future research will thus bridge the gap that has perennially existed between the data collected for philosophical analysis and interpretation purposes. Here, we stand a chance of removing the cobwebs of Anthropology in African philosophy. From the research we further recommend that the study of philosophy be made available at two levels: 1. To begin at Primary school to include children's philosophy 2. All students pursuing higher education to have a compulsoiy study of critical thinking and basic philosophy. This will increase the cultural awareness of the African students and in particular the peculiar nature and position of the African culture. vii Secondly, it will increase students’ ability to reflect on and critically articulate issues arising from within their social and cultural environment. But more important the study of Philosophy will avail the learners a broader perspective of looking and interpreting their world. viii