Analysis of African Philosophy - Essay Example

Nature of African philosophy: (Makumba,,p. 33 – 34) argued that when African philosophy is a matter of concern, it becomes essential to review the three stages of the growth of African thought, which are referred to as, “ancient literature thought”, “traditional oral thought” and the “professional philosophy in contemporary Africa”. The definition of African philosophy is a function of the way one identifies the African culture and characterizes African identity. The definition is quite debatable and many philosophers have viewed it differently in the past. This paper analyzes the nature of African philosophy considering the native Africans, be they black or otherwise. The philosophy of every culture is quite influenced by the cultural traditions, norms and values that are cultivated in any society. The social issues combined with the geographical particularities give rise to mutual consensus of the individuals toward adopting a particular philosophy, which becomes an essential characteristic feature of that society. The philosophy of any society is influenced by the way people live, feel, interact, dwell and socialize. These factors accompanied with the historical achievements, events and ideologies generate the philosophy that depicts how people perceive and interpret matters of daily life. Likewise, African philosophy has resulted from African traditions, social and cultural trends that are inspired by the demands of the land of Africa. Africa generally maintains dry and hot weather throughout the year. There is less rains and accordingly less food. The lands are not very suitable for cultivation of crops because of a considerable lack of water. Besides, within Africa, there are very less of good education opportunities for people of Africa. A large number of Africans still maintain and adopt the lifestyle of their forefathers. The way they live, the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the games they play, their interpersonal relationships, their style of interaction, their concept of family and marriages and their beliefs are significantly different from the rest of the world. Africans generally lag far behind the technologically advanced modern world, and this truth reflects in the nature of their philosophy. This is what makes African philosophy metaphysical in nature which is quite unlikely of the technical non-African world. African philosophy lacks in literature writing and very few debates on issues of international concern are voiced in Africa. This stands as a basis of the criticism of the universalists who deny the existence of African philosophy because they try to measure African philosophy on the scale of Western philosophy. However, there does exist an African philosophy which is quite similar to the philosophy of ancient and old medieval reigns in nature. Generally, African philosophy values knowledge gained through experience more than other sources. God is believed to be the sovereign. Elders are considered wise. Religion is very important to the Africans. Africans do not cultivate a concept of future, because that has not yet come. Also, death is considered as a comma, that separates this world from the world hereafter. Africans believe that life would continue after death. Why is Africa backward as compared to the other continents? Africa is quite backward as compared to other continents and it has been like that for centuries. One reason why this happened is the metaphysical nature of African philosophy. Over the centuries, Africans have been putting more emphasis on almost everything but, education and technology and their philosophy has played a major role in that. Neither did Africans progress in their studies nor any technological advances have been noticed in Africa over the centuries. Use of modern transport is very rare. This technological backwardness has materialized due to several reasons. Africa is a continent too large for the population it dwells. Accordingly, there has been less business. Africans have been living a low-standard life for centuries. Africans have been kept as slaves by the technologically advanced and educated Europeans for ages. “Imperialism and colonialism are concepts used in describing the state of relations between Africa and Europe from their first period of contact to the end of World War II.” (Fowale, 2009). Most of the ancient Africans lived in Africa for the whole of their lives and never moved out of Africa to learn where they had been as compared to the rest of the world. It has remained completely isolated from the other continents for a very long period in history. Also, people of Africa live in extreme conditions. There is famine, lack of water, crops and fruits. History has established the fact that no nation can succeed without the determination and motivation of the people of that nation. Africans have long been slaves to the Europeans and have not managed to come out of that trauma psychologically even after centuries. Instead, inspired by the Europeans, many Africans moved toward the Western countries to enjoy a better lifestyle and have successfully managed to achieve that in most of the cases. That is why, the Western societies are becoming increasingly diverse in nature in terms of color, culture, languages and ethnic backgrounds. Africans thought better to settle in already advanced countries than remain in Africa and play their role in the development of their continent. Besides, the uneducated Africans had very less to sell to other countries if they ever chose to remain in Africa. Their natural resources were useless to them without the knowledge and means to explore them. Besides, it would not be rational to state that all of Africa is economically or technologically backward. In fact, there are some extremely rich parts of Africa who have indulged in the trade of gold and diamond with the Europeans, but the benefits gained in compensation for the export of natural resources is not evenly distributed among all of the Africans. The rich Africans do not care for the poor ones. In addition to that, Africa has been house to some of the extremely selfish rulers in the history who have been busy making money on the cost of the development of the continent. Concluding all, Africa has been facing political and environmental crisis throughout the history that has hindered the economic and cultural development of Africa. References: Fowale, Tonqkeh, J. “Colonialism And Imperialism, Africas Twin Woes. 2009”. 2 May 2009. Web. 30 Feb 2010. Makumba, Maurice. M. An introduction to African philosophy: past and present. Kenya: Paulines Publications Africa, 2007. Web. 30 Feb. 2010. Read More