Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Subsequently we shall be in a position to define african philosophy by looking at the origin of the debate on african philosophy which was as a result of the charge of irrationality leveled against the africans. History of african philosophy internet encyclopedia of. Although i had been completely unaware of it, there was in existence a whole literature that denied that the ancient greeks were the inventors of democracy, philosophy, and science. The ancient kemetic roots of library and information science. About 600 bce, the greek cities of ionia were the intellectual and cultural leaders of greece and the number one seatraders of the mediterranean. The philosophy of ancient egyptian creation accounts. A companion to african philosophy edited by kwasi wiredu. I recommend this book for anyone looking for an unbiased book on the origin of civilization.
Africana philosophy stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Chapter iii greek philosophy was the offspring of the egyptian mystery system 1. Abstract contrary to traditional library history taught in american schools of library and information science, the library, as an institution, and librarianship, as a profession, have their roots in ancient african society. For this reason, the socalled greek philosophy is stolen egyptian philosophy, which first spread to ionia, thence to italy and thence to athens. Africana philosophy is the name for an emergent and still developing field of ideas and ideaspaces, intellectual endeavors, discourses, and discursive networks within and beyond academic philosophy that was recognized as such by national and international organizations of professional philosophers, including the american philosophical. The meaning and nature of african philosophy in a globalising. African philosophy is the philosophical discourse produced by indigenous africans and their descendants, including african americans. Although african philosophers spend their time doing work in many different areas, such as metaphysics, epistemology, moral philosophy, and political philosophy, a great deal of the literature is taken up with a debate concerning the nature of african philosophy itself and if it in fact exists. Obengas lecture at a 1990 conference called the infusion of african and african american content in the school curriculum. African philosophy is used in different ways by different philosophers. History of african philosophy internet encyclopedia of philosophy. The vast majority of the text has only survived in a heavily abridged latin translation produced by tyrannius rufinus in 397. I use the term african to refer to scholarship that is specically concerned with the african continent and its cultures.
A short history of african philosophy peace palace library. The history of african philosophy offers a number of interesting. I came to this book as a teacher of the history of ancient philosophy, and the consideration of whether this book would offer anything that would warrant a change. Sep 19, 2005 have you ever doubted greek origin of western philosophy or wondered about the irony that greek government persecuted socrates and plato for corrupting the youth. In platos theaetetus, socrates suggests that philosophy begins with wonder. But that is if you are looking for the origin in europe. For a comprehensive, yet readable, work on greek philosophy, see w. An afrocentrist presentation of philosophy as a child of african thought. Jul 01, 2004 not only is the word philosophy not greek, the practice of philosophy existed long before the greeks. The meaning and nature of african philosophy in a globalising world international journal of humanities social sciences and education ijhsse page 88 philosophy would be nothing more than asking and offering rational explanations of the universe.
Accepted 4 january, 2012 myths are accounts of the origin of societies and institutions not subject to rationalization but often. Guthries authoritative the history of greek philosophy,six volumes. Imhotep, ptahhotep, amenemhat, merikare, duauf, amenhotep, son of hapu, akhenaten, and the sage of khunanup, are just a few of the african philosophers who lived long before there was a greece or a greek philosopher. There were books in circulation that claimed that socrates and cleopatra were of african descent, and that greek philosophy had actually been stolen from egypt.
Boniface enyeribe nwigwe 2004 university of port harcourt press. Does the history of philosophy start in egypt and thus predate ancient greek philosophy. Ancient greek philosophy is traditionally divided into presocratic and postsocratic periods, thus indicating the centrality of an enigmatic, quasimystical figure who provided the catalytic presence for a mature burst of philosophical energy in plato and aristotle. Jaja institute of foundation studies, rivers state university of science and technology, p. The egyptian origins of western philosophy article pdf available in kritike an online journal of philosophy 32 december 2009 with 12,891 reads.
The demand of philosophising in africa has faced a history of criticism that has been particularly eurocentric and strongly biased. This a 2007 version of a study guide the unisa philosophy dept has used to introduce to students since 2007. Ancient greek philosophy books showing 150 of 8 the republic paperback by. The volume is heavily weighted towards contemporary african intellectuals, and draws heavily from regional african philosophies such as those in ghana, nigeria, and uganda. Pdf relevance of african oral philosophy destin feutseu. Download 100 free philosophy courses and start living the examined life.
Jun 11, 20 greek philosophy as an independent cultural genre began around 600 bce, and its insights still persist to our times. An exercise in afrocentrism by onyewuenyi, innocent c. I love dr diop calls it like it is and challenges other anthropologists biased point of views or blatant lies on the subject of african history. African philosophers may be found in the various academic fields of philosophy, such as metaphysics, epistemology, moral philosophy, and political philosophy. It is intended to be used with a textbook it was written for published in 2002 under oxford university press as philosophy from africa.
Not only is the word philosophy not greek, the practice of philosophy existed long before the greeks. The butterfield stage line ran from 1857 to 1861, but the road was used by settlers, cattle drives and trade caravans long after. That greek philosophy had roots in egypt does not imply, as some. Onyewuenyi is the author of the african origin of greek philosophy 3. The african union should, therefore, create a restoration programme of african history and give it all the necessary importance. Plato shelved 14 times as ancientgreekphilosophy avg rating 3. African origin of philosophy obenga theophile bboy bongoz. African philosophy is an attempt by philosophers to make the folklores, myth, sooth sayings, religion, education, socio political organizations and other aspects of the african culture relevant to. The origin of sound recording lip projektet hunts fantasy football podcast. But to the african, this has led to a lack of selfconfidence and a candoattitude. African sage philosophy is the name now commonly given to the body of thought produced by persons considered wise in african communities, and more specifically refers to those who seek a rational foundation for ideas and concepts used to describe and view the world by critically examining the justification of those ideas and concepts. According to dictionaries on greek etymology the origin of the word is unknown.
African philosophy is a disputed term, partly because it is not clear if it refers to philosophies with a specifically african theme or context such as distinctively african perceptions of time, personhood, etc. Plutarch, diogenes laertius, herodotus, plato, aristotle. African origin of philosophy obenga theophile my linked podcast is the audio portion from a vhs videotape of dr. There is a common belief among whites that philosophy originates with the greeks. West texas before and after the civil war saw an explosion of immigrants making their way through the area on their way west. This is a short history of africa excluding egypt, ethiopia and dutch and british south africa, which are the subjects of separate histories. Emergent and contentious issues in african philosophy. African sage philosophy stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. However, recent research shows that wonder may have different subsets. This article traces the history of systematic african philosophy from the early 1920s to date. Some of the history of these countries, however, is naturally mentioned in this history of the rest of africa but is kept to the minimum needed to make the rest comprehensible. In doing this, we shall start by attempting to describe and possibly define what philosophy is. The african philosophy reader is an excellent collection of essays, and is intended for undergraduates and beginners in african philosophy.
Socalled greek philosophy was alien to the greeks and their conditions of life the period of greek philosophy 640322 b. A few smaller quotations of the original greek are preserved in justinians letter to mennas. However, in their determination to maintain racial and intellectual superiority over africans, western historians, since the 18th century, subverted history by attributing the origin of philosophy to the greeks. The 18 million or so who left africa have grown to more than 180 million people of clear african ancestry.
Of near eastern languages and civilizations, graduate school, yale university. Have you ever doubted greek origin of western philosophy or wondered about the irony that greek government persecuted socrates and plato for corrupting the youth. Ancient egypt in retrospect nicholas chukwudike anakwue lagos business. The idea is so common that almost all of the books on. Pdf introduction to african philosophy study guide. The origins of philosophy heidegger, 1956, the nature of philosophy priest, 2006. And it must be remembered that at this remote period of greek history, i. Prof emeritus theophile obenga on the african origin of so. Greek philosophers who came to africa to study by adu. Since the independence, most african countries have adopted educational systems that are identical to those of the colonial masters, thus rejecting and denying the importance of local and indigenous culture for education ngara 2007. The fundamental principles in the question of african philosophy, i. This volume shows that african priestscholars of the egyptian mystery system originated philosophy. Most europeans who write books on etymology do not consider zulu, xhosa, yoruba, or amharic, when coming to a conclusion about what is known or unknown.