The
challenges of African philosophy in the 16th to 19th
century
INTRODUCTION
The
African continent like several other less developed entities was once under
colonial siege several decades ago with attendant deprivation, exploitation and
domination by the colonial masters. The effect of this relationship is
expressed in the unequal trade relations either in form of slavery or
colonialism. However, it equally affected the philosophy of the people and
posed many challenges to it.
There
was a background to intellectual tradition in Africa. This goes beyond the 16th
century. The older African philosophy was based on inter-zonal tradition.
However, the challenges of the African’s philosophy of the 16th to
19th century were both intellectual and socio-historical.
Philosophies are always products of socio-cultural experiences; it involves
connecting cultural experiences with theories. This is cosmological.
Africa
was denied of history and characterized as being inferior, mentally primitive
and incapable of logical, coherent, systematic thoughts about reality. The
above however, gave way to the major challenges of African philosophy in the 16th
to 19th century. However, various attempts had been made to locate
the focus of the problems confronting the idea of African philosophy and the
African idea of philosophy, not only in history but also in the present time.
There
is need for reconciling the universal nature of philosophical challenges with
the preponderance in African philosophical scholarship. Thus philosophical
inquiry is universal in nature. However, there is need, following from the
African philosophy of the 16th to 19th century, to develop
the structural modes of the practice of philosophy in Africa.
CONCEPTUAL
CLARIFICATION
AFRICAN
PHILOSOPHY
African
philosophy has been hard to define; however, most philosophers have contented
themselves in describing what African philosophy is. “The controversy over what
constitutes an African philosophy tends to dominate sometimes so much that it
forms almost the entire content of African philosophy”.[1] African philosophy seems
to be a result of the charge of irrationality leveled against the Africans. It
is worth noting that African philosophy according to Hountondji, bears a direct
relation to history and culture and that the reflection of African
intelligentsia upon our total historical being represents a significant moment
in the intellectual response of Africans to the challenge of western civilization.[2]
Disregarding
the difficulty of defining the concept of an African philosophy, I would try to
give a definition of the concept of African philosophy which I would consider
and use for my work in this paper. Thus, African philosophy is a rational,
critical and systematic exercise based on procuring solutions to the
problematic of the African continent. African philosophy is the compendium of
African thought system dealing with the evaluation and analyses of issues
troubling the African mind.
AFRICAN
PHILOSOPHY OF THE 16TH TO 19TH CENTURY
African
philosophy of the 16th to 19th century refers to the
critical and systematic, rational analyses of the problematic of the African
continent that took place with the range of the years 1500 to 1899
approximately. It is the theories that resulted from critically and
systematically analyzing the issues that troubled the African mind within the 1500
and 1899. However, African philosophers of the 16th to 19 century
are the personalities that philosophize within the range of the years written
above.
This
paper is not intended to be a lamentation over Africa, her philosophy and her
past. Rather, it is an intellectual exercise of Africa and African philosophers
to appreciate Africa’s historical and socio-cultural identity of which most of
them have even been denied the benefits of a critical analysis to determine
their constructive values. Africa has been neglected, suppressed and sometimes
completely disregarded.
THE
CHALLENGES OF THE AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY IN THE 16TH TO 19TH
CENTURY
More
so than other philosophical traditions, African philosophy struggles with a central
tension within its very name. The major challenge of African philosophy down
the 16th to 19th century is the problem of affirmation
regarding the concept of the African philosophy and the question of criticality.
Is there something both uniquely African and fundamentally philosophical within
African culture or tradition. However, African philosophy down the ages was
challenged to fighting the defensive battle imposed by European thought as it
dismisses African philosophy as legitimate.
Yet
another challenge of African philosophy within the 16th to 19th
century issues of slavery and colonialism. Colonization and slavery made the
worst of history in Africa. These two events marked the experiences of Africa.
Superiority was tagged based on the skin colour, Africa was thus characterized as
inferior and primitive, and thought as having an infantile mentality. All these
are effects of man’s inhumanity and brutality to a fellow man thought to be
less human; an effect of man using his fellow being as a means to an end. This
did not only challenge the African philosophy, it equally challenged and indeed
affected the value of the human person.
The
issue of slavery had a very big negative impart and effect on the African
philosophy of the 17th -19th century during which the
activities of slavery and colonization took place. As a matter of courtesy, the
African kings gave away slaves to the westerners. It was not clear to them at
the very first beginning what they are causing the African mind and race in
general. The transatlantic slave presented a scenario where Africans sold
themselves as slaves, this greatly affected the African philosophy because it
is taken that Africans lack reason and basic logic. First, slavery brought a
decline of the African population, and a shift in the conception and
definitions of values and concepts like freedom, violence, rape, justice,
dehumanization, deprivation and right.
Africa
had a problem of integrity with regard to talking bad of slavery. Africans were
not conscious of the fact that they are giving away their right, and it was
unreasonable for Africans to participate in making themselves slave, and based
on this fact, it was asserted that the African mind is not reasonable and
logical enough to embark or participate on a philosophical journey. The
participation of Africans in the transatlantic slave trade made it unreasonable
to restore the situation of Africa, and the image of their philosophy.
Colonization
brought a new way of viewing African which also affected the image of African
and its philosophy. This displaced the old system of African order and
calibration. Colonialism was more wicked, systematic and premeditated, and thus
has more effects that slavery. With colonialism, African was made to have an
instrumental value to the westerners. The western colonization of Africa is
beyond economic reason and, it affected the philosophy of the people also.
***The
effects of colonialism and slavery in African philosophy
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