African philosophy originated from the reflections of ancient Africans on fundamental questions about human existence and the universe. It was originally an oral tradition but is now an academic field of study. Early European scholars denied the existence of African philosophy, viewing Africans as irrational. However, African scholars have established that philosophy in Africa was as rigorous and logical as in other parts of the world. African philosophy is characterized by its spirituality, communitarian nature, and view of an interconnected universe. It can be studied through its ancient roots, transitional post-colonial identity period, and modern expressions in universities. The major trends in African philosophy aim to address challenges facing Africa. Topics of African philosophy include metaphysics, epistemology, ethics

1. AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
By
OLUBANJO-OLUFOWOBI

2. •Previously, we said that the word philosophy
originated from Pythagoras a Greek from
Samos. As academic field of study, philosophy
originated from Greece with a man known as
Thales of Miletus. In other words, both the
word and study originated from Greece. The
salient questions we want tackle in our lecture
today are: is there African Philosophy/ if there
is, what is African Philosophy? How did it
originate? Where did it originate? Some
philosophers have denied the existence of
African philosophy.
Introduction

3. •Many European scholars mostly anthropologists
and sociologists in the like of E. Durkheim, Auguste
Comte, James Frazer, Sigmund Freud, Malinowski,
Max Muller, Herbert Spencer, Edward Tylor and
even Levy Bruhl, have attempted to give an answer
to what the African traditional world views were
through their theories on religions of the primitive
people.
•These racist writers waged an intellectual
onslaught on Africa, denting the existence of an
African history on philosophy
Critics of Africans’ Ratiocination

4. • According to these scholars, Africans are
primitive people and Africa a disease
continent. This disease was premised on
the religious, savagery, unscientific,
uncritical, pre-logical and oral perception
of the African worldview.
• Thus, they view Africans as less rational
than them, the Europeans and what
Africans practices point to is a kind of
symbolism
Critics of Africans’ Ratiocination

5. However, as Pritchard noted, none of the
anthropologists whose theories about the
primitive religion have been most
influential had ever been near a primitive
people. They consequently had to rely for
their information on what European
explorers, missionaries, administrators and
traders told them. Also there was the
problem of interpretation. Their reports
were inadequate and highly selective.
Critics of Africans’ Ratiocination

6. The attempts at answering the
Europeans of the charge that the
Africans are irrational constituted the
motive force for the propagation of all
sorts of beliefs and ideologies as African
philosophy. These attempts are glaring
in the works of John Mbiti African
Religious and Philosophy (1969) and
Father Placid Tempel’s Bantu Philosophy
(1959) to mention but a few.
Responses to Critics of Africans’ Ratiocination

7. However, in the narrow sense and
strict sense of the word philosophy, a
philosopher is one who devotes a
good deal of his time reflecting on
these questions and who frequently
and habitually does this. Be it in the
wide or narrow sense, there is African
Philosophy.
Responses to Critics of Africans’ Ratiocination

8. However, it is imperative to know
that philosophy is essentially a
reflective activity. To philosophize is
to reflect on human experience in
search of answer to fundamentally
questions. There is no part of the
world where men never reflect on
basic question about human person
or about the physical universe.
Responses to Critics of Africans’ Ratiocination

9. Fundamental questions like; what
is man? What is his origin? What is
the ultimate destiny of man? Is he
part of the universe or does he
transcend the universe? Does life
have any value? Does human life
continue after grave, and what
happens thereafter? Has he any
ultimate destiny?
Responses to Critics of Africans’ Ratiocination

10. Responses to Critics of Africans’ Ratiocination
However, in the narrow sense and strict
sense of the word philosophy, a
philosopher is one who devotes a good
deal of his time reflecting on these
questions and who frequently and
habitually does this. Be it in the wide or
narrow sense, there is African
Philosophy.. It is not only in the
Western world that men reflect on the
fundamental questions about human
life.

11. Responses to Critics of Africans’ Ratiocination
Again the ability to reason logically
and coherently is an integral part of
man’s rationality the ability to
reason logically and coherently is
not limited to the Western world.
The power of logical thinking is
identical with the power of
rationality.

12. Responses to Critics of Africans’ Ratiocination
Again, Africa was the cradle of
human civilization, for western
civilization is an offshoot of Egypt
evolution where western ancestors
in the person of Thales, Pythagoras,
Plato etc. studied. If Africans sub-
human, and incapable of
philosophic thoughts, why did they
go to Egypt to study?

13. Responses to Critics
•The major lead of western philosophy over
African philosophy is that philosophical
reflections of the Western world are preserved
and transmitted by writing, in form of book
unfortunately due to the lack of writing; the
philosophical reflections of Africans were not
preserved and transmitted by writing. Thus, the
origin of African Philosophy and the
philosophical reflection of individual African
thinkers remain unknown to us. But this does
not mean that they did not exist

14. • African philosophy is the African
doctrine and theories on reality and
the universe. The concept of reality
encompass what exists physically
and mentally, visible and invisible,
fictionally and factually. While
universe is made up of things like
God, gods, man, ancestors, heaven,
hell, things, institution, beliefs,
concepts and practices etc.
What is African Philosophy

15. What is African Philosophy
• To Bodunrin, African philosophy is
characterized by rigour in analysis
and criticism of African cultural
beliefs and those issues that affect
the African society is what could be
said to be African philosophy.
• It is the search for knowledge, truth
and values that are cultural relevance
to Africa and Africans

16. What is African Philosophy
• It is the systemic examination of
the ideas which Africans live by.
• It is the critical and logical
reflection on the issues that are of
importance to the Africans’ needs
and ways of life.

17. Features of African Philosophy
• The concept of vital force is considered
characteristic of African Philosophy.
• African Philosophy is spiritually inclined
• In Africa philosophy, there is an interconnection
among forces in the universe.
• African Philosophy is humanistic and
communitarian in nature.
• For African people, time is a composition of events
• Wisdom in Africa does not consist in knowing how
to read and write, but in good life which is
manifested in a harmonious existence with God, the
spirits and the fellow humans.

18. • In African Philosophy, there is an
interconnection among forces in the universe.
African philosophy belief in one harmonious
existence; God or the Supreme being interacts
with man and the force of nature which
otherwise are called spirits in a forward and
backward movement. From man through the
spirit to the Supreme Being and vice versa

19. African Philosophy is a philosophy of one-
for-all and all-for-one. I am because you
are and because you are therefore I am.
African Philosophy is communitarian in
nature Wisdom in Africa does not consist
in knowing how to read and write, but in
good life which is manifested in a
harmonious existence with God, the spirits
and the fellow humans.

20. Era of African philosophy
• There are three periods now generally described and recognized in African philosophy; Ancient African
philosophy, transitional period and modern-contemporary African philosophy.
• Ancient African philosophy deals with reflections that are extracted from Africa in its ancient and
traditional setting. It deals with how African elders attempt to ponder over the mysteries of the universe,
the hostility of the environment, the difficulties of living with fellow beings (human and non human), the
desire to establish and live in a stable society, the necessity to communicate freely with others, and how to
know and master the environment either through co-operation or by conquest.
• the search for a post-colonial identity—a distinct transformation from the
• first-order level to second-order level of cultural/philosophical analysis. This is with
• a view of rescuing Africa from the economic, academic, and mental steriotype or
• stamp placed on Africans.

21. Ancient African philosophy
•It deals with reflections that are extracted from
Africa in its ancient and traditional setting. It
deals with how African elders attempt to ponder
over the mysteries of the universe, the hostility
of the environment, the difficulties of living with
fellow beings (human and non human), the
desire to establish and live in a stable society,
the necessity to communicate freely with
others, and how to know and master the
environment either through co-operation or by
conquest.

22. Transitional Period
African scholars during this period engage in the search
for a post-colonial identity—a distinct transformation
from the first-order level to second-order level of
cultural/ philosophical analysis. This is with a view of
rescuing Africa from the economic, academic, and mental
stereotype or stamp placed on Africans.

23. African philosophy can also be identified by four trends:
All the trends in African philosophy are attempts
to meet the challenges facing the African
continent
Ethno-philosophy
Philosophic sagacity
Nationalist ideological philosophy
Professional philosophy
• Ethno-philosophy: it is the African traditional
worldview. It largely consists of the collective
world-views of Africans, their folklores, myths
and so forth

24. Trends in African Philosophy
• Nationalist ideological philosophy is
exemplified in the works of African political
thinkers such as Nkurumah and Nyerere. It
attempts to seek the best system of
government for African societies.
• Professional philosophy is believed to be
what is practiced by contemporary African
philosophers in African universities. is
characterized by rigour in analysis and
criticism of African cultural beliefs and those
issues that affect the African society

25. African Metaphysics
In Metaphysics (or Cosmology or Ontology) we
focus on, say, “Yoruba Cosmology”
•God, gods, man, spirit, ancestors, Matter,
mind, time, space, heaven and hell, air, water,
earth, ogbanje/abiku, being reality
Reincarnation, fatalism, life after death, life,
death, ghosts, Determinism, freedom,
some topics and themes that constitute the
substance of African philosophy

26. Topics in African Philosophy
• African Epistemology In African
epistemology justification of
knowledge and truth is sought for
African culture with entails African
religions, oral tradition, literature
and history, arts/artifacts, fables,
proverbs, idioms, rituals, music,
dance, folklores myths etc.

27. African Ethics
Life, society, leadership, followership, obedience,
eldership, Goodness, justice, evil, harmony, beauty, osu
caste system, concept of a good person, Tolerance,
cultural invasion, ideology, ethnic harmony, women
empowerment, corruption.
.
African Aesthetics
In this regard we study African Art, drama, dance, music,
songs, rituals, science, etc., Beauty, for example, is a
standard topic in Aesthetics.
Topics and themes that constitute the
substance of African philosophy

28. Arguably, the greatest contributions of
Africa to world culture in the twentieth
century have been acknowledged in
African art/artifacts.
African Logic
Modes of reasoning, of knowing, of
argument, Theories, doctrines and
synthesis.