PLS1502 - Introduction
to African Philosophy
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, PLS1502
Introduction to African Philosophy
Summary
Part 1: Defining scope and trends in African philosophy
SU 1: Defining African philosophy Philosophy:
- The study of the fundamental nature of
knowledge, reality, and existence, especially
• For this module, Africans are: when considered as an academic discipline.
o = Afs located on continent of Af + - The study of the theoretical basis of a
o = Afs living in dispora 1. particular branch of knowledge or experience.
- Experience of own self-understanding.
What is Af phil?
“Af phil is, at the same time, basically philosophical and typically African” (Osuabwu,
vol 4:28).
Controversy of term “Africa”
• Word / term “Africa” – imposed from outside.
o Not used self-referentially by “Africans”.
o Need min knowledge of Af hist = added
advantage to study Af phl.
Multiple dimensions of Af:
• “Arab Af”
• “Maghreb 2 Af”
• “sub-Saharan 3 Af”
the expressions: historical dimensions + multiple dimensions of Af.
Alternative names
Azania (for SA) Alkebulan (for Africa)
• Indigenous name • Means “mother of
applied to SA by black mankind” or “Garden
nationalists + of Eden”.
liberationists. • Alkebulan is oldest +
• In Hebrew Azania only word of
means ‘God listens’. inidenouse origin. Is
Azania can also be of used by Moors,
Arabic origin. Nebious Numidians,
Khart-Haddans
(Carthegenious) +
Ethiopians.
1
Dispora: dispersion / spread of any people from their homeland.
2
Maghreb: NW Af (predominantly Muslim) – Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia = all members of Arab Maghreb
Union.
3
Sub-Saharan Af: all countries S of Saharah (46 out of Af’s 54).
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, PLS1502
Introduction to African Philosophy
Summary
Questioned … reasonable to accept geographical meaning of Af?:
Contention 1:
• Raised from natural history perspective.
• At one time all continents joined – geographic divs didn’t exist. The undivided whole
(supercontinent) was called Pangea 4. Divided over millennia, naturally formed = Af,
Asia, Euro, Americas + islands.
Contention 2:
• Humans named diff continents.
• Understanding reasonableness of naming “Af”.
o 5forms bridge between understanding term “Af” from geographic perspective +
“Af” from historic perspective.
SWA - Nambia SA - not Azania
Kingdom of
Tanganyika - Basutoland -
Tanzania
Lesotho
Thus,
geographic
S Rhodesia - meaning of "Af"
Zimbabwe must be
From social,
history complemented
+ political by hist.meaning
perspectives, human
named parts of Af (+
changed the names) ==
study of nat.science - why Name of Africa arose at a
N Rhodesia - + when changes particular time, under
Zambia specific hist.
circumstances
In antiquity, the Greeks are said to have called the continent Libya and the Romans Africa,
perhaps from the Latin aprica (sunny), or the Greeks aphrike (without cold). The name Africa,
however, was chiefly applied to the northern coast of the continent, which was in effect regarded
as a southern extension of Europe. The Romans, who for a time ruled the North African coast,
are also said to have called the area south of their settlements, Afriga, or the Land of the Afrigs –
the name of a Berber community south of Carthage. Another explanation occassionally offered is
that the name applied to a productive region of what is now Tunisia meant Ears of Corn. The
Ifriqiyah is apparently the Arabic trasliteration of Africa (“Encylopaedia Britannica) 1974:117).
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or Pangaea: supercontinent – when all continents were one B4 breaking up + theories on tectonics.
5
Azania: indigenous name applied to SA by black nationalists & liberationists. In Hebrew Azania means ‘God listens’. Azania
can also be of Arabic origin.
3
, PLS1502
Introduction to African Philosophy
Summary
From citation above note:
1 Mediterranean = platform of cultural interact.between
Romans+Greeks+N.Af peoples+Arabs. 1 st only N part of
Af, then whole continent.
2 Because of 1 above, Romans+Greeks name “Af” because
of their experience with the continent’s
climate. - - Because of Roman rulership +
settlements of Rome in N.Af + conquered
inhabitants = indigenous not give name.
“Carthago delednda est 6”.
- Over time, Af became part of
vocab.of those of S.Europe, later
W.Euro.
- Conquest of Af – colonisation =
spoke of Af as if it comprised only 1
ethnic group, of single common culture.
- = must question name “Af”:
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[T]he name Africa may have originally been either Semitic or Greco-Roman … {T}he
application of the name is more recent centuries has been due almost entirely to W.Euro …
[W]e should question Euro’s decisions about boundaries of Af + the identity of Africans . (Ali
Mazrui 1986:25, 29, 38).
- Name & naming = on-going problem of identity. Most Af countries change names
at independence = Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe.
- Discovery that “Af” name imposed = desc.of outsiders = problems.
- Descrip. of its climate is not descrip of its phil. African phil means the study of “sunny” / solar phil.
o Diff.to speak of one Af phil because its peoples belong to diff.complex,
diverse ethinic groups, such as: Defining the term 'Bantu'
§ phil of Bantu
§ phil of San Abantu (or 'Bantu' as used by colonists) is Zulu word for
people. Is plural of the word 'umuntu', meaning 'person',
§ phil of Akan, etc. and is based on the stem '--ntu' plus the plural prefix
'aba'.
This original meaning changed through the history of
3 “Af” refs more of W.Euro hist. experience South Africa. It is a term used in two ways in archaeology,
with peoples of continent; less of own history and anthropology:
(1) it named a major linguistic group in Africa, and more
people’s self-understanding.
locally, to identify the sizeable group of Nguni languages
e.g. Encyclopaedia Britannica (1974:461): spoken by many Africans in sub-Saharan Africa, and
(2) it identifies those Bantu-speakers who spoke that
The Egyptians were a practical people, + they reveal thru group of closely related languages which linguists divide
the products of their arts + crafts their particular genius. into four categories: Nguni, Sotho-Tswana, Venda and
In classical times those early Egyptians were also Tsonga-speakers.
credited by the Greeks with great knowledge + wisdom; It is important to note that the Bantu-speaking peoples are
but the evidence proved by Egyptian writings does not not an homogenous group. They comprise more than a 100
support this Greek opinion. It is probable that the Greek million Negroid people who live in southern and central
travellers in Egypt, impressed by the grandeur + antiquity Africa, ranging from Nigeria and Uganda to South Africa,
of the monuments of the land + misled by the accounts of and who speak about 700 languages, including many
past ages given to them by their priestly guides, grossly dialects. How these languages spread into southern Africa
misinterpreted the evidence + jumped to unwarranted remains uncertain.
conclusions. Unlike the Greeks, the Egyptians were not
https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/defining-term-bantu
philosophically inclined, intellectually inquisitive, or prone
to theorising …
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“Carthage has been destroyed” – Roman Gen.Scipio Africanus. Africanus = his nickname: his tactical reforms gave Rome
dominant position in N.Africa, Spain and Greece. Carthage, N tip of Tunisia, near Siciliy (across Mediterranean),
approx.450km.
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Semitic: denotes family of langs.incl. Hebrew, Arabic, Phoenician, Arkadian.
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