WHAT IS AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY?

Philosophers generally agree that there is no universally accepted definition of philosophy

because the idea of philosophy has to do with the general worldview of a people which is
somewhat difficult to pin down. But for us to begin to understand the concept of African
philosophy, we have to try to get an idea of what philosophy implies. Etymologically, philosophy
means love of wisdom. This is derived from two Greek words; ‘Philo’, meaning love and
‘Sophia’, meaning wisdom. This means that taking it from the etymological meaning, philosophy
can be said to be present wherever and whenever people curiously search for wisdom. This
simply means that philosophy is not wisdom itself but the act of loving wisdom. Philosophy’s
main concern is the human problem and predicament. However, the perception and treatment of
this problem and predicament are age and geography-sensitive. The geographic Psensitivity of
the enterprise of philosophy makes it possible for it to be practised by different people and in
different locations of the world and remain philosophy. Philosophy generally emanates from the
people’s traditions and way of life. Philosophy is generally described as the “mother of all
disciplines”, which is why all disciplines have the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree as their
last and highest degree.

Philosophy has also been defined as pondering on the wonder of the world and how man could
better be prepared to make the right choices and be able to dissolve these worries and anxieties
of life. Philosophers of ancient times both in Egypt and Greece are said to have started
philosophizing as a result of their wonder and curiosity. So, in its fundamental stage, philosophy
began when man began to question the realities of his environment to study them for better
understanding. This is why one’s way of philosophizing is largely dependent on one's cultural
realities. There is no limit to what we can classify as philosophical knowledge, but in recent
times, some disciplines have begun to branch out of ‘mother philosophy’.

Philosophy as an academic discipline is a critical inquiry which seeks to investigate the

assumptions of knowledge. It acts as a policeman of all other disciplines, to ascertain the validity
of their claims and their reality application. It frees man from the bondage of superstition,
prejudices and cultural tyranny. Therefore, when the subject matter of philosophy comes to the
citadels of academic learning, it becomes a critical and rational inquiry.

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THE NATURE OF AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY

Drawing from how we have defined philosophy above, we can safely understand what African
philosophy is. As we have different definitions of philosophy, so do we have different definitions
of African philosophy, depending on the school of thought one decides to align with? Many
African philosophers like Wiredu, Bodunrin, Mbiti, Hountondji, Nwala, Oladipo, and so on, have
described African philosophy from their different perspectives and schools of thought. J.S Mbiti
describes African philosophy as the “understanding, attitude of mind, logic, perception behind
how the African people think, act or speak in different situations of life”. Going by the above
definition, it could be taken that African philosophy is the entire way of reason and life of the
African. These attitudes and traditions have been handed down by the forefathers of the Africans,
but modified specifically to suit the age and time it is being practiced. These include myths,
rituals, ceremonies, morals, and general worldviews of the Africans.

Azenabor (2004) has also noted that African philosophy must be situated within a sociocultural
paradigm. This means that the African environment influences the thinking and reason of the
Africans. Kwasi Wiredu (2004) distinguishes three levels of African philosophy. The first is the
level at which African philosophers study the traditional background of a people. This is also
called folk philosophy. That is philosophy at the level of traditional folktales and myths. He
refers to this philosophy as “bold assertions without supportive arguments”. This philosophy is
the collective, rather than the individualized one. The second has to do with the thought of a class
of individuals in traditional African societies. Wiredu described this class as those who have not
been influenced by modern intellectual enterprise but can still be capable of critical reflections
which are different from the folk ideas of the people. Here, Wiredu contends that the thought of
individual indigenous African people deserves critical attention from contemporary African
philosophers. Wiredu describes the third level as the level of contemporary African philosophy.
They will be done by contemporary African philosophers. He describes this as the philosophy of
contemporary Africans, using the instruments of the modern world to tackle philosophy.
According to him, this level of philosophy is still developing and should be the yardstick with
which African philosophy should be measured. But we contend that every philosophy emanates
from non-philosophy. It is from the traditional and environmental features of his time that
Socrates started to philosophize during his time. No philosophy is entirely divorced from cultural

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and traditional hangovers. No philosophy fell from the sky. Therefore, African philosophy is
curiosity and wonder which is influenced by the African environment and its peculiarities. The
quest to understand and systematically study the African reality by the Africans themselves and
from the perspective of the African experience is what is known as African philosophy. African
philosophy in its academic sense has acted as a launch pad for Africa in global affairs. This is
because the study of African philosophy in universities around the world has given the African
continent a pride of place among the comity of nations of the world. It has gone a long way in
correcting the prejudices harboured against Africa and the ability of her people to embark on any
form of critical reasoning by the rest of the world.

GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY

By geography, we mean the areas that should come to mind when referring to African
philosophy. This means that when we talk about African philosophy, some people and locations
should come to mind. In studying African philosophy, this question has been answered by many
scholars in different ways. We shall attempt to articulate some of these views here while
analyzing them to make a somewhat definite argument. Where is the “Africa” that we talk about
when we talk about African philosophy? Who are these Africans? How is ‘Africa’ conceived in
African philosophy? Africa, as we know it, today, is the creation of the Europeans and we might
have difficulty trying to use a European language to define what Africa is. The geography of
African philosophy has been limited by those who seek to detract from African philosophy. The
Eurocentric researchers and academics had tried to exclude Egypt from the geography of African
philosophy, because according to them, Egypt is not part of Africa. However, ancient Greeks like
Herodotus and Aristotle argued that ancient Egyptians were “black-skinned, “woolly-haired, and
“bandy-legged”. Nwala went further to argue that if Descartes, a French, and Hume, a Scottish,
can claim ancient Greeks as their intellectual ancestors, Africans of different geographies can
also claim ancient Egyptians as their intellectual fathers.

So, the geography of African philosophy is the entire continent of Africa, which includes present-
day North Africa. As we have noted, present-day Egypt was once occupied by black people, who
thrived under the most sophisticated civilization known to the ancient world, and not just the
current geography of black and Sub-Saharan Africa. This attempt to remove Egypt from the

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geography of African philosophy was made by those who sought to deny the contributions of
Africa to world civilization.

THE DEBATE ON AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY

The debate on African philosophy centres on two issues:

 The definition of philosophy in the light of any writing coming from African philosophy to be
considered as “philosophy”; and

 The definition of what is “Africa” is because it is not all pieces of literature qualified as
“African philosophy” that are truly African philosophy in character. This debate raged for a long
time and continues to rage among African philosophers and Eurocentric philosophers who are
bent on denying the existence or validity of African philosophy. Philosophy, as we earlier noted,
is defined in terms of its etymology as “the love of wisdom”, and not even wisdom itself. This
therefore means that the exercise of love towards the pursuit and acquisition of wisdom
anywhere in the world can be described as philosophy.

Sogolo has identified that the ability for self-reflection and rational thought is a prominent
universal trait of human beings. This simply means that man, no matter the location, culture and
colour of his skin, is capable of self-reflection and rational thinking. The human mind is
structured alike and men reason alike in all cultures. The cultural differences among cultures
cannot be seen as a deficiency, hence, the cultural difference between Africa and other parts of
the world which makes Africans apply reason in a different form cannot be said not to qualify as
philosophy. Sogolo goes ahead to assert that the human can flip-flop on issues of consistency is a
universal one. No race is free from inconsistency in matters of reason. According to Nwala, those
who seek to detract and malign African philosophy are guilty of ignoratio elenchi, that is, arguing
out of ignorance and beside the point. This is because they seek to set aside African philosophy
without first setting aside the traditions of the African peoples. They refuse to acknowledge that
traditional African philosophy is an authentic philosophy, while at the same time accepting
traditional European philosophy as an authentic one. What is the implication of this? If Socrates,
who never wrote anything, could be considered a philosopher even though he lived in the hay
days of Greek superstition and traditional thought, why can we not accept African traditional
thought as an authentic philosophy? As we have said, African traditional thought is an authentic

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philosophy because all philosophy began from the traditions and worldviews of the people. No
philosophy developed in isolation. Examining Oruka’s Sage Philosophy, Azenabor describes
philosophic sagacity as an evaluation of thought by an individual African elder who is a
repository of wisdom through interviews, discussions and dialogues. Anyanwu has noted that the
issue of methodology in African philosophy is not so important. Rather, he suggests that
experience should be the yardstick to judge the authenticity of any philosophy which claims to
be African. Therefore, African philosophy must not necessarily follow the patterns of Western
philosophy to be considered authentic but should follow African patterns, and improve based on
the parameters of the African worldview.

The debate on African philosophy is continuing as a psychological warfare. The Eurocentric

researchers who do not want to see Africa take its place among the committee of ancient
civilizations have continued to try to sabotage African philosophy by seeking ways to find it
wanting, but African philosophy has come to stay and will keep improving in ways consistent
with the African worldviews.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY

We shall discuss the historical origin of African philosophy; which talks about the beginning of
African philosophy from the ancient Egyptian mystery schools, the expansion of the philosophy
to other nearby locations like Ethiopia and Sudan, the Africanness of African philosophy, which
simply implies the definition of whose philosophy should constitute African philosophy and what
extent of Africanity is acceptable as adequate for African philosophy. We shall also examine the
Egyptian origin of Greek philosophy, and to a large extent world civilization, for Egypt
influenced some of the most celebrated Greek philosophers of the ancient times. Lastly, we shall
analyze how the colonial experience of African intellectuals has led to the birth of what we now
know as contemporary African philosophy.

THE EGYPTIAN ORIGIN OF AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY

The historical origin of African philosophy can be traced to the cradle of African and world
civilizations. Since civilizations determine the trajectory of philosophy, the origin of African
philosophy is the African civilization and the ancient worldviews of the African peoples. The
history of African philosophy is synonymous with the Egyptian civilization, as Egypt’s history is

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traceable to 10,000 BC, as early farming in Africa is said to have developed around the valleys of
the Nile River. Ancient Egyptian civilization is said to have been a Negro civilization, and the
history of African civilization will remain suspended in the air if ancient Egypt is not connected
to it. Azenabor stresses that the fact that ancient Egyptians were African is only obscured by
racism because there exists a link between ancient Egyptian culture and contemporary African
culture. He goes further to argue that just as the study of Western philosophy includes ancient
Greek philosophy, the study of African philosophy cannot be said to have happened when
ancient Egyptian philosophy has not been included. Afrocentric philosophers have also observed
that African traditions, myths, folklore, proverbs, superstitions, and religions are the evidence of
ancient African philosophy.

William Dubois, an American-born African philosopher and one of the great campaigners for
ancient African civilization noted that:

…it was in the valley of the Nile that the most significant continuous human culture arose,
significant, not necessarily because it was the oldest or the best, but because it led to that
European civilization of which the world boasts today and regards in many ways, as the greatest
and last word in human culture (Dubois 1972: 98).

This simply implies the fact that ancient Egyptian philosophy was the background of African
philosophy. Afrocentrism is the concept that evolved by African American scholars like Dubois,
to drive home the point that Africa has an ancient civilization which has also imparted the entire
world one way or the other. It shows the primacy of the authenticity of African traditions and
civilization. If the ancient Egyptian civilization could be said to be the cradle of world
civilization, then it is common sense that it is also the origin and cradle of African philosophy
and civilization. It was this ancient Egyptian philosophy that spread to other parts of Africa and
the world; thereby creating the philosophical traditions we have today, even those attributed to
the Greeks. African philosophy is not a philosophical tradition that could be dismissed, because
that would mean the dismissal of an important aspect of world and African history. The ancient
Egyptians made “stunning contributions in geometry, science, philosophy, architecture, writing
and organized religion, the ideas of governance, medicine, education in the mysteries, geomancy,
and the arts”. The history and origin of African philosophy is the history of Africa in a special
way because it will help to show the various areas of connectivity among areas of interest in

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African philosophical space. Nwala goes on to state that the argument against Egypt being part
of Africa as made by some of the detractors of African philosophy was unfounded. This is
because, it was the Nubians who originated what was later known as Egyptian civilization, but
dispersal caused by Alexander the Great and the Arabs interrupted this civilization. These
Badarians from Nubia were blacks who brought religion, monarchy and science to ancient
Egypt. Herodotus and Aristotle also described ancient Egyptians as “black-skinned and woolly-
haired.” Herodotus described them as the descendants of the Ethiopians.

The history of African philosophy is also important because it has the possibility of charting a
roadmap to what should constitute African philosophy in this contemporary period. As has been
noted, one of the major problems of ancient African philosophy is the scanty nature of recorded
materials that could be referenced, but many African philosophers and Afro-centrists have argued
that the fact of non-availability of these written references does not rob Africans of their pride of
place in the history of world civilization, and cannot dismiss the fact that ancient Egyptian
civilization was a precursor to the contemporary African philosophy. This means that philosophy
is not only qualified by writing because it has to do with wonder and curiosity. The ancient
Greek philosopher, Socrates, did not write anything down. He existed as a sage whose writings
were later made popular by his student, Plato, in his Dialogues. Against the argument of some
Western-influenced scholars, African philosophy is not new on the world stage. It is as old as the
civilization of the world.

Godwin Azenabor in his book Modern Theories in African Philosophy contends that some
Greek, Western and Christian doctrines were not original to them, but are native to Africa. He
cites Innocent Onyewuenyi, who holds the view that Greek philosophy, medicine, mathematics,
geography, and the sciences were taken from the Egyptian mystery system. This view has it that
the West tried to appropriate African philosophy.

According to Nwala Socrates was a graduate of the Egyptian Mystery System, the reason why
he did not write anything on his own, following the rules of the system. The Egyptian Mystery
Schools had a rule of secrecy which was aimed at avoiding adulteration (Azenabor 2010: 28).

Nwala (2010: 14) has also buttressed the fact that before the emergence of Greek philosophy in
the 6th century B.C., African philosophy had been established as the cradle of a great
philosophical legacy to mankind. Nwala (2010: 15) has gone further to argue that:

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 The world’s first philosopher in history was Imhotep (2800 BC), and he was African;

 Imhotep, who lived 2000 years before Hippocrates was known as “The god of Medicine” by
the Greeks;

 The oldest philosophical schools of thought originated in Africa, namely, at Heliopolis.

Hermopals, Thebes and Memphis; and

 Monotheism, the idea of one God, was first expounded by Pharaoh Ikhanaton (1375-1358 BC).
He was the teacher of Moses, who was also a black Egyptian.

The most influential among all the ancient Egyptian philosophies or Greek philosophy was the
Memphite Theology. Nwala notes that it was the source of modern scientific knowledge (Nwala
2010). According to him, the Memphite Theology now lies in the British Museum in London.
This Theology contains the theological, cosmological, and other philosophical views of the
ancient Egyptians. The influence the Alexandrian science and philosophy had also helped to
groom the civilization of the world from the third century BC up to AD 400 (Nwala 2010: 16). It
formed the intellectual capital of the world between 300 BC and 400 AD. The Alexandrian
Academy hosted most of the progenitors of modern science and philosophy. Alexandra was the
cradle of the development of Hellenic philosophic tradition as has been observed by Nwala
(2010: 176). Makumba (2007) cites Africanus Horton (1886), as having observed that some
eminent ancient Greek figures like Solon, Plato, Pythagoras, and others came to Egypt to listen
to the instructions and wise sayings of Euclid, who was the head of the most celebrated
mathematical school in the world as at then; a school that flourished 300 years before Christ
(Makumba 2007: 26). The ancient Egyptian Mystery System was highly influential on the Greek,
and by extension, western philosophy. The fact that some of the celebrated figures in Egyptian
philosophy came to Egypt to study in the schools is a bold testament to that, Nwala (2010)
insists. Egyptology is the aspect of learning which seeks to connect the ancient Egyptian
civilization to world civilization. This intellectual movement tries to establish the influence the
ancient Egyptians had on Greek and Western thought. However, the technological advantage
gained by Western Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries has led them to encourage their cultural
writers to malign and derogate Africa (Nwala 2010, p38).

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If Egypt has been said to be the cradle of civilization, and since philosophy is one of the main
aspects of civilization, it then means that Egypt is the origin of philosophy. Having said that, the
major difference between the two systems of philosophy (Egypt and Greece) is the ability to
write down something. However, this idea of the Egyptian origin of Greek philosophy has been
criticized by claiming that Egyptians never named what they were doing “philosophy”, and that
it was the Greeks who first used that word to describe the enterprise of philosophy (Azenabor
2010: 33). It might also be argued that while the Egyptians were busy contributing to the area of
knowledge and civilization, the Greeks could be given the credit for rational inquiry which
involves thinking, questioning, analysing, and trying to purify the original thought initiated by
the Egyptians. Also, history has shown us that cultural overlap is a part of human civilization.
The Egyptian and Greek traditions met at one point or the other in the history of the ancient
world, to borrow and learn from each other. It is quite natural for a particular culture to
understudy and borrow from other cultures. But one important thing is that such cultural overlap
should be recorded in history for it to be easier to make reference to and avoid intellectual
controversies. In contemporary times, the issue of who borrowed philosophy from who has
become increasingly controversial. What now confronts us in our contemporary world, and
especially in African Philosophy, is the best way to practice philosophy so that it can solve real-
life problems in Africa and around the world. Another major concern of African philosophy in
contemporary times is the relevance it is acquiring for itself. African philosophy cannot afford to
be isolated from the world or global community, whether it influenced Greek philosophy or not.
We have passed the stage of determining who and who influenced the other because the world
needs to wake up from this seeming cultural warfare and work together to move learning and
philosophy forward.

AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY AND THE COLONIAL EXPERIENCE

By African philosophy and the colonial experience, we mean the influence of colonialism on
African philosophy. Africa has been the most oppressed and exploited continent in human
history, and that experience of colonial exploitation, coupled with that of slavery, has helped to
shape African thought and philosophy in a certain unique way. We mean to explore what roles
colonialism played in shaping contemporary African thought. The philosophy which has
emerged from this experience is known as contemporary African philosophy. This contemporary

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African thought gives further enlightenment to the African worldview; it is a philosophy of self-
recognition. This was a search for African identity which was envisaged in the development of
African thought, an identity project of self-affirmation.

The influence of colonial exploitation was an assertive cultural nationalism which had to survive
in the face of cultural and ideological devaluation of the black race by the colonial masters. This
colonial suppression led some African intellectuals to develop a specific thought pattern aimed at
shaking off the shackles of colonialism and oppression. The feeling of superiority and cultural
hegemony which the whites arrogated to themselves, gave them this mindset that Africans, and
black people in general, do not deserve to be treated as equals to the white man.

The philosophy of a superior European culture was challenged by African thinkers, exploring the
contributions of Africa to the civilization of the world. This liberation struggle gave rise to many
liberation philosophies in Africa, including Ujamaa, Negritude, Consciencism, Neo-welfarism,
and so on. The derogatory nature in which some Western philosophers painted Africa contributed
to the racism and exploitation to which Africa was subjected for many years. Some respected
Western thinkers, like Hegel, wrote that Africans have no rationality., some African thinkers like
Nkrumah, Senghor, Nyerere, Azikiwe, and so others responded to their respective philosophies;
those philosophies are now regarded as liberation philosophies. Therefore, it is impossible to
envisage a contemporary African philosophy which was developed independently of the colonial
experience. The encounter between Western and African philosophy has influenced African
philosophy to assume a certain dimension and direction. The colonial experience and
contemporary African philosophy are closely related and connected. We can only talk about the
non-existence of this relationship in African countries that never experienced colonialism, and
perhaps, there are a small number of those countries. The nature of contemporary African
thought would not have been the way it is now if not for the encounter with the West in the form
of colonialism. An example of this, as we have noted before, is Negritude. Negritude is a theory
of black racial self-consciousness as well as the ethno-philosophical endowment of the black
race. The major quality of negritude is the issue of suffering which Africa has come to know
throughout her encounter with the West. It is a counter-argument to the Western idea of
portraying the Negro as uncultured and uncivilized.

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The contemporary African philosophy which emerged from the shackles of colonialism and
oppression does not seek to claim cultural superiority, but to allow Africa a suitable place among
respectable peoples of the world. As a response to cultural and ideological hegemony, it seeks
parity with other cultures of the world, insisting that Africa has what it takes to organize herself
and rule herself, accordingly. It is a philosophy of liberation; liberation from colonialism, racism
and exploitation against the black race. Contemporary African thought is a reminder to our
Western counterparts that no culture is ironclad; every culture has something to benefit and gain
from other surrounding cultures around. When there is intercourse between two or more cultures,
there must be something to gain that will tend to strengthen each of the cultures. As Fanon (1980:
169) rightly noted, there is nothing to be ashamed of in the African past. Rather, there are dignity,
glory and solemnity, to be savoured with spirits.” He goes further to note that in the African
worldview, spirits are real “like tables and chairs, peoples and places”

AFRICANNESS OF AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY

This simply refers to who and who can their philosophy be considered as “African”? What kind
of philosophy should be regarded as having come from Africa? It is an identity issue; it is a
question of culture and conception. The conception one has about who qualifies to be an African
will determine what he/she considers African philosophy to mean. To qualify as an African
philosopher, one does not only need to be born an African but must treat a theme unique to the
African culture and tradition; which means that one might be a philosopher born of African
descent but still fail to meet the benchmark of who an African philosopher is. The Africanness
being discussed here does not mean that such a philosopher must live within the boundaries of
Africa, but in as much such a person has sympathy and empathy for the plight of Africa, and
goes ahead to create a philosophy which, being distinctly African, identifies and expounds the
essence of African traditions and worldviews to world civilization. Such a philosophy should be
able to contribute to the development of Africa.

Three characteristics define what African philosophy is. They include that which was written and
compiled by a person born of an African stock, a philosophy written, conceptualized and
formulated in the African continent, the third is the philosophy which deals with African
problems or culture. These criteria overlap. Some have also defined Africa here to include those
who are Africans by law or association. Makumba insists that that is inflation. But he advises that

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a distinction should be made between those who are “expatriate Africans” and indigenous
Africans. Some people are Africans by relevance and enterprise, but that should be differentiated
from the indigenes of the continent. Again, some come from Africa and are living in Africa. Yet,
another group might come from Africa but based in the Diasporas. From the above, we can see
that the definition of who an African philosopher is is a very fluid one. But during all these
discussions, we should understand that African philosophy goes in search of identity in utter
disregard to the Western expectations, understanding and spirit of philosophy. African
philosophy cannot afford to be practised in isolation as the world has become a global village.

MEANING, NATURE AND STRUCTURE OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL THOUGHT

Introduction This topic attempts an analysis of the key concepts that could further provide in-
depth meaning into the concept of African traditional thought. The meaning, nature and structure
of African traditional thought x-ray the key issues such as the gods and goddesses, rituals and
sacrifices, and the value of myth in Africa; giving the student a broader perspective of the issue
of the subject matter of African philosophy Meaning of African Traditional Thought To refer to it
as “traditional” thought is simply an attempt to distinguish it from the Western thought which has
so far suffocated the African continent. The term “traditional” implies that this pattern of thought
has unique features which are native to Africa. In a thought system, the individual must
endeavour to key into the thinking of the society. Though they say is a child of culture. This
means that every civilization has its thought pattern which is peculiar to it and which other
societies may not be used to. They went further to insist that people from other cultural
affiliations may see and look at other cultures that they are not familiar with as nonsensical and
meaningless, but every thought system is useful, especially to those who conceptualize and
practice it. They expressed that these are the distinguishing factors that map Africans out and
differentiate them from other people of the world. This thought system encompasses all that we
do in Africa. As we have noted earlier, African traditional thought is the entirety of the system
and pattern of thought of the Africans. It includes medicine, myths, religion, values, morals, and
the whole belief system native to Africa. That system of thought and belief indigenous to
Africans is what is known as African traditional thought. The African concept of reality and time,
the human person, the environment, and so, on make up the whole body of African traditional
thought. As culture distinguishes a people, so do thought systems and patterns. Some of the

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values of African traditional thought include: social values, religious values, political values
moral values, aesthetic values, economic values, and so on. All these are products of thought.
Thought is systemic because it is the system of thought that helps to attach meaning to whatever
we think about. A thought system is an established system of rules and ways of thinking, to the
effect that individual thinking within the said society, usually aligns with the already established
system of thought. There is no best or perfect thought system anywhere. Therefore, we should
appreciate the African traditional thought and give it its deserved relevance. More so, the African
traditional thought is not inferior to the Western scientific culture, but the only difference is that
of approach and pattern. We will examine culture for a moment since we have noted that thought
is formed through it.

THE PLACE OF CULTURE IN AFRICAN TRADITIONAL THOUGHT

To further buttress the relationship between thought and culture, we shall look at the concept of
culture briefly here. Taylor describes culture as a complex whole of morals, knowledge, beliefs,
customs, arts, law or any other capabilities and habits required of man as a member of society.
Culture is a patterned way of life shared by a particular group of people that claim a common
origin.

Looking critically, we will observe that culture and thought have striking similarities in that they
are particular to a certain group of people. A pattern of culture and thought is always limited to a
particular set of people who have several things in common. It is when an individual is born in a
society that he/she begins to assimilate the cultures of that society, which in turn inculcates a
certain thought pattern in him. So, culture is very vital in the process of thought formation
because, without culture, we will not be able to form any kind of thought at all. Culture is a
major influence on the formation of thought and thought systems. Bello sees culture as the
totality of the efforts of a particular society to meet the challenges of living in their environment,
which gives order to their political, economic, religious and aesthetic norms, thereby
differentiating a particular people from their neighbours. This again, shows the influence of
environmental factors on culture and thought formation. It is the attempt by any society to exist
and create order out of the apparent disorder that gives rise to a particular culture and thought
pattern. Therefore, it is practically impossible for there to be identical cultures since our

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environments differ. Culture is simply a way a people have adopted to respond to their
environment and carve a living for survival.

NATURE OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL THOUGHT

Traditional thought is the same as traditional philosophy because thought gave rise to philosophy.
This simply means some characteristics of this thought system are native to Africans. What are
the basic features of this thought pattern? Thought should constitute the entirety of the beliefs,
folklore, religion and other concepts. The nature of African traditional thought is simply the way
and manner Africans perceive and view reality. The human person, time, community, economics,
democracy, and governance; are all perceived by Africans differently from their European
counterparts. Some of these features include: Africans are emotional, we are spiritually oriented,
and we respect our ancestors.

The African is spiritually oriented because he believes that the spirit world controls everything;
there are no fundamental differences between the spiritual and material because they are simply
parts of the whole reality. We are subject to the repercussions of our deeds, a reason why the
average African is afraid of offending against spiritual principles. The ancestors are revered in
the African thought system because they encompass the religion and spiritism of the Africans.
They are dead tribesmen who lived and died at ripe ages and are believed to be watching over the
clan, and providing guidance from the spirit world. Libations and sacrifices are made to appease
and seek the favour of the ancestors and the gods. Also, it is to commune and acquire some
spiritual ability which the traditional African craves so much. The African is also communal.
Things are done in common and the idea of individualism which the West is familiar with is alien
to the African traditional thought system. The traditional African does not think about himself
alone, divorced from society. The community apportions roles to its members accordingly. We
shall discuss the African idea of time and the human person briefly. So, in essence, what is it
about time and personality among Africans? Babalola & Alokan (2013) argue that even before
the dawn of Western education in Africa, traditional Africans had an idea of time. The traditional
African society considers time as a socio-cultural phenomenon which must be lived and
experienced. The African traditional thought sees time in three dimensions; about events which
have occurred, those which are taking place now and those which are immediately waiting to
occur. Whatever has no likelihood of taking place falls in the category of “no time”. This means

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that traditional African thought sees time-based on events. The African conception of time has to
do with planting time, harvest time, rainy season, and so on. So, when it is not time to do any of
the things that should be done, the foreigner in our midst might think that we are lazy. The event-
oriented concept of time in the African traditional thought system is a direct opposite of the
mechanical concept of time they have in the West. It should be noted that Mbiti’s account of
African time has been criticized because it is doubtful whether it is a correct representation of
how time is conceived in Africa. It is said, for example, that the claim that Africans have no
sense of the distant future cannot be correct about a people who value and cherish heirs and
successors, who are valued as those to carry on with the family lineage. This is nothing but
concern for the distant future. Anthony (2015) has also argued that the African conception of
time which Mbiti (1969) narrated might be the reason why Africa continues to suffer
underdevelopment and backwardness. According to him, that idea of time means that the vision
of Africa about the future is very limited since there is no clear conception of the distant future in
the African idea of time, and a people without vision will likely not witness any form of
development.

The African idea of the human person is another aspect of the thought system we shall examine.
The conception of man in the African traditional thought system is simply to determine his worth
as a human person, and his relationship with others in the society. Man is not individualistic, but
a part of the whole. The African therefore sees a human person as a person who commits himself
to the community and performs the functions that the community gives him. That is where the
idea of kinsmen comes in, one is nothing without the community of his kinsmen. He cannot go
against the community, because the community is bigger than everybody. Therefore, when an
African says that somebody is not a “human being”, it is not the literal human being, but that
such a person has not performed the functions of a human person according to the African
traditional thought system.

THE GODS AND GODDESSES IN AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY

The nature of gods and goddesses in African philosophy is very important; this is because the
African way of life is more or less a religious and spirit-oriented one. So, the gods and goddesses
occupy prominent space. These gods and goddesses form a hierarchy. They are conceived as
God’s earthly messengers in the creative and executive functions. Natural phenomena like

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weather, sunshine, mountains, seas, lakes, rivers and boundaries are all associated with one
divinity or the other. No one wants to offend the gods or goddesses, as they are revered as the
agents of reward and punishment. The African pours libation and appeases the gods and
goddesses for gratitude and the purification of the land whenever one does something against the
gods. These gods and goddesses have their priests and priestesses who attend to them and serve
as the intermediaries between them and the people.

The traditional religion of the Africans cannot be complete without due reference and regard to
the gods and goddesses who are believed to play some roles in keeping and securing the
community against evils and atrocities. There is no aspect of life in African tradition that has no
god or goddess overseeing it. This means that the total of the life of the African is spiritual, and
these gods set moral codes in the society which every member of that society must abide by. The
ancestors are messengers of the gods; the gods use them to deliver crucial messages directly to
the clans and families where the priests and priestesses are not used. The African believes that
he is not worthy to approach God directly, which is why he decided to do that through
intermediaries who are lesser gods, to not incur the wrath of God. In the hierarchy of beings, God
is at the top of it, followed by the lesser gods and goddesses, then the ancestors, and the human
beings. In this pattern, the flow of information can either be vertical or horizontal. That is, the
human being can approach the gods for a favour by appeasement, and the gods can pass
instructions to the human being through the ancestors and the priests and priestesses.

RITUALS AND SACRIFICES

Rituals and sacrifices are used to appreciate and appease the gods and divinities in African
tradition. Accordingly, all religions centre their power on sacrifices and rituals; African tradition
is not an exception. Rituals and sacrifices are ways by which Africans express their happiness or
sadness. They are ways of worship in African religion and provide authenticity to the worship of
the person. This is done through music, singing, moving from one place to another, clapping, and
beating of drums, to express the feeling of joy, sorrow or thanksgiving. When a member of the
clan commits abomination, these rituals and sacrifices are needed to sanctify and cleanse the
land; to avoid being punished by a malevolent spirit. The diviners are charged with the
responsibility of informing the people of the particular ritual needed for a particular ceremony,
whereas some forms of rituals and sacrifices are performed periodically and routinely. This is

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done to either invoke the anger of the spirits on someone or to attract blessings, cure sicknesses,
or appeal for progress for one’s self. The idea of sacrifice is also done to one’s god in his home.
Some traditional African peoples have their shrines in designated places in their homes, where
they go every morning to pour libations and perform rituals and sacrifices to their gods and
goddesses. For instance, it is believed that any sickness which defies ordinary and conventional
medicine, might be a punishment from the gods, hence, efforts are made through the diviners to
find out the nature of sacrifice and rituals to perform by the relatives of the sick person. In a
situation where the afflicted person cannot afford the items of the ritual, his relatives and
kinsmen rally around to help him out, to remove shame from their family.

THE VALUE OF MYTHS

Myths are essential aspects of the African traditional thought system. A myth is a way of
explaining some imaginary or actual reality which is properly understood, and cannot be
explained through normal description. Myths are literal because they are not the same as facts.
Myths form a part and parcel of African traditional religion and philosophy. Myths are beliefs
that cannot be sufficiently explained within the ambits of reason and evidence. Many things are
simply unexplainable by the Africans; ranging from social, spiritual, environmental, and even
family issues. Myths are used to offer explanations for such occurrences. People at the level of
traditional thought systems are barred from questioning the authenticity of these myths. This is
because the African seeks to preserve and keep whatever his ancestors left behind in order not to
incur their wrath and indignation. Some myths have been in place for thousands of years, and
people are born into that particular society to meet, learn and believe such myths. Myths are
sacred sayings which are said when rites, ceremonies, rituals, or moral rules demand
justification, warrant of antiquity, reality and sanctity. So, one can say the other way round, that
myths are used to appropriate authenticity on the actions, history, ceremonies, rules and social
norms in Africa. And these myths are always attached to the ancestors and spirits, without which
they will be denied acceptability. So, myths keep African philosophy going. These myths are
used to explain reality; ranging from the origin of man to the essence of taboos, customs and
traditions, and so on. Some of them are carved on wood, clay, ivory and stone, to show their
ancient origins. Without the use of myths, many things in the African tradition cannot be
explained. So, myths are veritable ways of passing information about certain practices and

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traditions to the next generation. Through myth we can dig into the psychology of the human
past, helping us to understand how our ancestors thought and how they were able to navigate our
society.

Myths vary in importance and age. They can also be about institutions, God, creation, the origin
of man, values, death, heroes and leaders, kings, chiefs, animals, natural forces, objects, various
habits of living and the behaviour of things around us. These myths exist to answer questions of
“how” and “why” something exists, and also to respond to issues about man’s quest for eternal
rest. Therefore, myths are very important in African tradition. But the question remains how
Africans can manage to reform this body of myths and make them relevant in the contemporary
world? Besides, since human understanding grows, there is a need for Africans to seek a clearer
and deeper understanding of these myths, and to discard anachronistic ones.

APPROACHES IN AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY

The issue of the approaches to African philosophy was made popular by the late Kenyan
philosopher, H. Odera Oruka. He conceptualized these approaches as ethno-philosophy,
philosophic sagacity, nationalistic ideological philosophy and professional philosophy. He
propounded these approaches to African philosophy to respond to the question of whether there
is an African philosophy or a philosophy that can be regarded as indigenously African. To Oruka,
anyone doing African philosophy must do it using any of the above approaches. These he called
the four trends of African philosophy, and they can also be referred to as methods of African
philosophy.

Ethno-Philosophy

What precisely is ethno-philosophy? Ethno-Philosophy is the approach made popular by Pauline

Hountondji. It is a method adopted by African philosophers who rely on the hybrid of ethnology
and philosophy in their conception and definition of philosophy. Bodunrin (maintains that ethno-
philosophy is the activities of those anthropologists and ethnographers who have examined and
interpreted the collective worldview of Africans, their folk wisdom and myths as constitutive of
African philosophy. In other words, this method of African philosophy is more or less ethno-
cultural. Ethno-philosophy is the conviction that the starting point of philosophy is the traditional
religions, sayings, myths and customs of the Africans. Ethno-philosophy sees African philosophy

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as a communal thought. Ethno-philosophy is based on the idea that there is an ideology that can
be seen in African tradition, and that ideology can be referred to as philosophy. As we can see
from other traditions of philosophy namely, Western philosophy and Eastern philosophy, every
philosopher is influenced by the culture prevalent in his time among his people and his society.
That is where ethno-philosophy comes in, it is a total of the communal way of thinking prevalent
within a particular society, based on how the philosopher can philosophize. Ethno-philosophy
can also be referred to as culture philosophy, and this means that it is different from philosophic
sagacity which has to talk about individuals. The major proponents of ethno-philosophy are John
Mbiti, Placide Tempels and Alexis Kagame. Ethno-philosophy is the African approach to the
world and realities. We have earlier observed that culture is an integral part of a people’s
philosophy, ethnophilosophy is that cultural aspect of African philosophy. It could be described
also as the cloud of unreflective magico-religious claims which contain evidence of philosophy
that can be extracted and converted into a body of knowledge. Ethnophilosophy advocates that
the raw material for philosophy in Africa should be the culture of the Africans. Aside from these,
what are the other core features of ethno-philosophy?

Ethno-philosophy believes in the uniformity of the diverse cultures of the African peoples and
refutes the idea that the community cannot philosophize. It is attracted to the African past, by
studying and analyzing it critically to extract some form of philosophy from it. Ethnophilosophy
believes in, the communal nature of the African way of life, and believes that the people can
collectively practice philosophy. Ethnophilosophy has its origin in the belief that Africans reason
differently from the West (Oruka, 1987, p10). The study of ethno-philosophy has helped a great
deal in proving the Western denigration of African philosophy wrong, and giving out the proper
education about the African culture and peoples to the wider world Ethno-philosophy found
expressions in the works of Senghor and Temples, Kagame, Mbiti, and Mudimbe. This
underlines a form of a unified African philosophy; which is called Bantu Philosophy as espoused
by Tempels. This philosophy identifies African peoples as a unified, collective organism. It
leaves no room for individualism of any kind and calls on all Africans to come together and have
unity and oneness to fight against the cultural degradation by the West. This kind of philosophy
deals with the communal worldviews of the people and draws data from the materials of
ethnology available to the people. The school of ethno-philosophy is a variant of the traditional
philosophy.

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PHILOSOPHIC SAGACITY

A sage is a wise individual who lives in a community. In the African setting, sages are not hard to
come by. The sage has a good knowledge of the culture, customs and beliefs of the people and
can reproduce them in proverbs and wise sayings. This method was made popular by Odera
Oruka in his Philosophical Sagacity, where he is said to have interviewed the sages in Kenya.
The sage exudes knowledge, traditional knowledge which is also philosophic. Those who
propounded this method of African philosophy believe that when we begin to listen to the
sayings and talks of the old wise people in our traditional African environment, we will be able
to extract some philosophy from them. The sages do not write anything, they only talk based on
their experiences in the traditional setting. Socrates, renowned for his exploits in Western
philosophy can be categorized as a sage in this context, because Socrates himself did not write
anything, but mainly moved about seeking to correct the ills of his society.

There are two types of sagacity as Makumba (2007) has identified: the folk sagacity and the
philosophic sagacity. The folk sages are generally dogmatic and do not wish to question the
veracity of their cultures and traditions. They are ‘die-hard faithful of traditions’ and do not want
to be involved in anything that seeks to dethrone their traditional beliefs and customs. Folk
sagacity is the first-order level of philosophy which zealously and jealously seeks to justify and
preserve a particular culture. It is the uncritical method that simply avoids the critical questions
about the current way of life of the people. This kind of sagacity could lead to a mental blockade
because it does not welcome any form of external ideas, no matter how good such ideas might
be. It does not encourage cultural encounters which help to improve cultures. The folk sage is
only interested in what his people say, and not in anything the other people are saying. But we
know that philosophy has the attribute of comparison, and comparative philosophy is healthy
because it helps different cultures and philosophies to learn from one another. With the
recognition of sage philosophy as a form of philosophy, the argument against traditional
philosophy grew weaker.

Another type of sage philosophy in the approaches in African philosophy is the philosophic
sagacity. The philosophic sage can make critical and independent assessments of what the folk
sage will naturally take for granted and hold on to, despite reasons to the contrary. This is the
stage Oruka referred to as the second-order level of philosophy. He does not repeat folk ideas but

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has broken the walls of uncritical traditionalism, to question ideas and cultures systematically,
using the tool of reason. Sage's philosophy is aimed at repudiating the idea that Africans are not
capable of reflective and rational thinking; an impression the Europeans have had for centuries.
While the Europeans could claim that African sages did not write anything down, we also know
that neither Thales nor Socrates wrote down any of their sayings. It was done by other people.
So, the African sage philosophy is an important way of hearing from the wise elders of Africa,
just like the Greeks heard from Thales and Socrates.

Oruka insists that the sage philosophy should be treated as an important trend in the development
of philosophical thought in Africa. This is because the thoughts of the sages are philosophical in
counselling; especially in issues of nature and human life, as the thought of the sages provides
answers to questions that bother on metaphysical and moral issues. Secondly, their thoughts form
significant raw data for professional philosophical reflections. It is an erroneous idea that sages
are illiterate and technologically backward old people who live in communities far removed from
civilization. A sage can also be a technologically literate person who understands the workings of
his community and relates those ideas philosophically.

NATIONALISTIC-IDEOLOGICAL PHILOSOPHY

This approach emanates from the ideas of leaders of national liberation movements. These
leaders put their ideas down in one way or the other for the entire people. This usually leads to a
political philosophy for such a people; a philosophy that could potentially give them
independence. This kind of trend in African philosophy comes from highly regarded freedom
fighters who also produce a philosophical ideology for their countries. Examples of these kinds
of persons in Africa may include Nkrumah, who advocated an ideology of decolonization based
on consciences, Nyerere, who propounded the Ujaama (education for sustenance and liberation),
and Senghor, who advocated the Negritude. What then is the underlying feature of this strand of
doing African philosophy? This way of practising African philosophy is mainly for liberation
purposes and to fashion an ideology for the people as a launch pad. Nationalistic- Ideological
philosophy preaches for the return to core African humanism, and the idea is that independence
will not come unless there is some form of mental liberation. Essentially, Nationalistic
philosophy seeks to de-westernize Africans, to achieve independence using the approach of the
African value system. The idea behind this form of African philosophy is that Western ideology

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has failed in Africa, so we should be coming home by adopting the native African models,
especially in politicking and governance. Nkrumah (1978), in his Conscience, argued that for us
to begin to make any form of progress, we must incorporate the outside influence on Africa,
which is represented by Christianity and Islam, with the point of departure which is the African
traditional way of life. Nationalistic- Ideological philosophy is a way of departing from
unhealthy imitation by the Africans, the desire to restore the African dignity socio-politically and
otherwise. Nationalistic philosophers are characterized by their struggle against colonialism and
oppression. They do this by calling on all to return to the African values to unite in one voice and
umbrella. They desire to find a solution that is uniquely African, tackling African challenges with
African ideas and techniques. Nationalistic ideological philosophy helps to raise people’s
consciousness against oppression and political misrule. It is a political weapon in the hands of
the native Africans, to help them fight against denigration and colonialism. It was this
nationalistic philosophy that African nationalists used and rallied the entire continent against the
banditry of colonialism and oppression. The philosophy could also be very important today for
Africa against neo-colonialism. Nationalistic philosophies are ideas of liberation and
emancipation, Africa can adopt more of this philosophy today to help create for herself a place of
honour in world affairs.

PROFESSIONAL PHILOSOPHY

Professional philosophy is practised by professionally trained philosophers, who have imbibed

the Western way of practicing philosophy. The first generation of academic philosophers in
Africa began the trend of professional philosophy; the likes of Peter Bodunrin, Kwasi Wiredu,
Oder Oruka, Pauline Hountondji, and so on. This is the stage of academic philosophy. The
professional philosophers are those who have studied philosophy in the universities, adopting
Western methods to practice it. Professional philosophers, study and analyze the other three
trends of African philosophy to ascribe meaning to them and make them more lucid for easy
understanding. The professional philosophers “purified” the discipline of philosophy to make
sure that just anything does not pass as philosophy in Africa. Professional philosophy establishes
a standard for a thought system to pass as philosophy; it must be able to meet the Western
universal standard of philosophy. To professional philosophers, philosophy should be practised
by those who have studied it and understood it very well.

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The sages and ethno-philosophers are not professionals, neither are the nationalistic
philosophers; so, it is the duty of the professional philosophers to give philosophical meanings to
whatever they say or do. Socrates was not a professional philosopher, but a Greek sage, but it
was Plato who later ascribed meaning to what Socrates had to say. Refers to it as “systematized
philosophy”, in which pioneers in Africa are intellectual products of alien cultures, who have to
philosophize also in alien languages. The professional philosophers argue that African
philosophy must take a universal conception and align with the universal way of practising and
doing philosophy if it is to be accepted as philosophy indeed. They believe that African
philosophy should not be practised in isolation; it should move side by side with other
philosophical traditions. To them, African philosophy could be any inherited body of thought (be
it Western or Eastern) which has been assimilated and nurtured within the African cultural and
traditional context. Such philosophy may not have originated in Africa but may grow in the
African philosophical tradition. How do professional philosophers argue their point?

Professional philosophers argue that just like physics, chemistry, and medicine etc., are the same
universally, philosophy should be philosophy everywhere. There should not be cultural
demarcations in philosophy, but a philosopher should be able to practice anywhere in the world.
Professional philosophers argue that philosophy is different from religion and mysticism because
it has reason and logic as tools. Therefore, reason, logic and the sciences are not the exclusive
preserve of the Europeans. Reason is a universal human trait, so African philosophy must be
practised with reason also. It must have a universal approach and compete favourably with other
traditions of philosophy around the world. African philosophy, according to this school, is
beyond folk worldviews but entails critical reflection on issues. Those who subscribe to this
trend of African philosophy are referred to as the Universalists.

The professional philosophers are mostly men and women who have studied in Western-
influenced universities in Africa and around the world. They have taken philosophy as a
profession and practised it according to the Western style, using the tools of logic and reason.
The professional philosopher contends that African philosophy, if it must be practiced, must be
able to meet the universal standards of doing philosophy which has been established by the
Greco-Roman movement. But one criticism of professional philosophy is that it does not guide
against extreme universality which is at the expense of the particularity of the African experience

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and philosophy. According to Sogolo (1993), a philosophy that is said to be African must be able
to reflect the cultural experience of the African people.

AFRICAN ONTOLOGICAL NOTIONS

This unit introduces you to the African ontological notions of force, spirit, being and God. It
analyses how the traditional African society views and understands these concepts. These notions
underlie the basic beliefs and practices in African philosophy, and Africans draw their faith in
these things from myths, traditions and customs which are influenced by our physical
environment. One of the philosophers whose work we are going to study extensively in this unit
and the entire module is Placide Tempels, who gave popularity to the African ontological notions
through his work on Bantu Philosophy. The views Africans attach to these notions are quite
different to what the West view them to be. To the African; force, which he calls vital force, is a
very important component of reality and being. It is a reality which might be invisible but is
supreme in man. The vital force according to Temples, refers to the quality of life. Azenabor
(2010: 39) cites Tempels that force is tied to the notion of being, the reason why they are
identical in their definitions of being. Mbiti (1982: 78) has described spirits in African
philosophy as the most common populace of spiritual beings. Azenabor (2010: 68) quotes
Idoniboye as having noted that “the ontology of any distinctively African worldview is replete.

AFRICAN ONTOLOGICAL NOTION OF FORCE

Ontology in philosophy is the study of being, and in African philosophy, this being is a force.
The Africans’ understanding of ontology is a hierarchical ordering of being and force. Placid
Tempels calls it a vital force and argues that it is the theory that can explain everything about the
thinking of an African. Azenabor continues by saying that Tempels made a comparison of both
the Bantu and Western philosophies; and while maintaining that the West holds a static idea of
being, he credits dynamism to the Bantu (African) idea of force. Tempels believed that Africans
conceive entities or beings as nothing more than essential energies or vital forces. The African
believes that without the element of force being cannot be conceived as force is inseparable from
being. Azenabor (2010: 40) notes the following characteristics of Tempel’s vital force as follows:

• Vital forces are dynamic and there is no permanent hold anywhere;

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• Vital forces are in hierarchical order, from God who is the supreme vital force to the ancestors,
to the living generation, to animals, plants, minerals, and other non-living things. There is
therefore ontological relationship in the universe, as there are no isolated forces. That is why
lineage is said to be a major aspect of African worldview;

• A weaker force is at the service of the stronger, as the stronger one influences it directly. That
is why Africans are not permitted to see things in isolation; nature is believed to be ordered since
all forces are inter-dependent and related;

• Vital forces can be active and communicable, they can also be diminished or increased;
depending on the influence of a superior being or evil forces; and

• Vital forces can be good or evil, hostile or friendly, benevolent or malevolent, since unknown
and unforeseen intervene in the course of events.

These attributes of vital force can only be known by experience and intuition, according to
Tempel. Tempel portrays force as an essential property of being, it means that force can be a
necessary attribute of being but not a sufficient condition, which means that being could possess
some attributes and properties rather than that of force. Tempel Bantu Philosophy set the pace for
the study of African philosophy and religions because it properly interpreted the African mind
which is known to be able to tap the forces of nature. Ngangah (2019) has also described the
vital force as a peculiar trait of African philosophy and cosmology. He narrates that the
environment from which the Africans derive sustenance is an integral aspect of force. Vital force
holds the interpretation for the fused nature of the concepts of personhood and community in the
African worldview. Since the community may be described as the superior and strong force in
African traditional settings. Force is life, and vital energy and is the object of prayers and
invocation to God and the ancestors. What then are the philosophical implications of this idea?
However, Kaphagawani (1998: 172) has criticized Temples by stating that though Tempels made
efforts to steer away from the Western conception of being, he surreptitiously employed the very
distinctions used to differentiate humans from other entities in Western philosophy. This he did
by claiming that humans are differentiated from other beings in Bantu by their properties of
reason and volition. The same properties are used in Western philosophy to distinguish between
humans and animals. Some African scholars like Pauline Hountondji, have also criticized
Temples on the basis that he was not a professional philosopher but a Christian missionary; and

25
that his philosophy does not qualify as African philosophy but as scholastic and ecclesiastic.
Secondly, they argue that Tempels is not an African and as such could not have been able to
present an African philosophy (Azenabor, 2010: 43).

AFRICAN ONTOLOGICAL NOTION OF SPIRITS

Mbiti describes spirits in African philosophy as beings beneath the status of divinities and above
the status of man. The spirits have no definite origin as some of them are said to have created
themselves. Africans believe that spirits are what remains of human beings after their physical
deaths, which means that it could be said that spirits are the ultimate status of man.

In Igbo ontology, most of the spirits are particular, but some, especially Ala (the earth spirits) are
universal throughout the land. Africans address most of these spirits in their prayers and libation,
and every human endeavour is said to be governed by the spiritual powers that reward or punish
people; depending on one’s behaviour and attitude in that sphere of life. The spirits are above the
status of man and below the Supreme Being. The African does not hope to become a spirit, for
just as a child will one day become an adult, so will man one day become a spirit. Spirits “are
seen in the corporate belief of their existence” and being physically invisible, no one knows
where they are and where they are not. Yet their activities are experienced by people and many
folk stories are told about spirits described in form, activities and personalities, even if it is with
some element of exaggeration. “Spirits are normally invisible and intangible, though they can be
seen at will by diviners who have undergone the proper rites, they also materialize sometimes.” It
is by the joining of the spirit to a material body that all things are created, and it is by the
separation of the spirit from the body that they are destroyed…spirit is real. It is real as matter.
Its reality is primordial, and it is, if not superior, at least, as primitive as that of matter. In its pure
state, it is unembodied. Spirit is the animating, sustaining, creative life force of the

universe. In human bodies, it becomes the mind of the soul….

The spirit world differs from the human world as it is invisible to the physical eyes of men.
People only know and believe that it is there, and they are ontologically nearer to God in terms
of communication. The spirits are saddled with the responsibility of conveying human sacrifices
or prayers to God as intermediaries. Africans hold their living dead in high regard because
becoming a spirit is a form of social elevation. As we have earlier noted, spirits can be either

26
malevolent or malicious, depending on the situation they are responding to. In African ontology,
it is also believed that spirits can possess a person either negatively or positively; a negative
spirit possession is caused by any act that attracts the anger of the spirit, while a positive spirit
possession happens when a certain spirit wants to use an individual as an instrument or a
mouthpiece to correct some anomalies in the community. Spirits may possess people in the form
of mental disorders or one ailment or the other. Sacrifices and libations in the shrines of such
spirits are used to appease them to liberate such a person from negative spiritual possession.

AFRICAN ONTOLOGICAL NOTION OF THE HUMAN PERSON

While there are biological, anthropological, religious and psychological methods of defining
personhood and man, the African conception of the human person is quite different from these
because it is more of a cultural and communal conception of man. In African philosophy, the
notion of the human person is irrevocably tied to that of the community. This means that the
African people have a communalistic understanding of the human person and the self. The
African conception of man is not in the sense of the universal characteristics which all men
possess, but the certain way in which a given community conceives personhood. This simply
implies that in Africa, a person is regarded and viewed not by the physiological and biological
characteristics of personhood, but by what he/she is capable of achieving and the impacts he
makes on the larger community. Personhood or man has far more serious implications in Africa
than in the West. The conception of man that is used here is suggestive of potentiality and
actuality at the same time. This means that it involves both what man is at a point in time and
what he is capable of becoming in an ideal human society. One can lose his personhood even
while he remains alive by isolating himself from the community of his kinsmen and brethren.
Personhood is achieved by socialization; by the process of creating an identity for one’s self.
When one becomes so immoral and unjust, such a one is described as “heartless” and an
“animal” because it is not the biological heart that essentially describes an African person, but
the ability to treat others the way he/she would want to be treated. Personhood is the ability to act
within the values and ethics of the community; values which are established for the sake of
equity and fairness in the society. Mbiti (1982: 80) argues that only in terms of other individuals
does the individual man become conscious of his existence. There is a communal feeling both in
suffering, and rejoicing, and the individual performs his responsibilities and duties to the society

27
and community. Issues of marriage, burial, and childbirth are treated among the entire kinsmen
and community and nobody has anything alone on his own, apart from the community (Mbiti
1982). This idea of personhood in African traditional society has also made sure that there is a
high value on human life among Africans in the traditional society, whatever is done is usually
for the maintenance of lives. No one has the power over life and death. The community decides
what a person becomes and the individual man exists only to the extent of the community.
Personhood in the African traditional sense grows as long as one’s communal responsibility
grows;

it is constituted by the community and expressed in relationships that one has with the
community. Africans also believe that the human person has two main elements; the physical and
the spiritual. This idea of personhood is quite different from the Western idea of a person which
is individualistic and mechanical. The African is more concerned with the well-being of his
society than his selfish well-being because it is all about the community and not about the person
(Mbiti 1982). So, in the African traditional thought system, a man cannot have everything
economically while his kinsmen suffer in penury. A man’s wealth is measured by the comfort of
those around him. However, some criticisms have been directed towards this African idea of
personhood in the sense that it does not create an environment for personal freedom, since the
fate of the person is tied to the fate of the community as a whole. Age has a role to play in moral
maturity and personhood in Africa, and even in other parts of the world. It is this moral attribute
which is geared towards enriching the community that counts for the qualification of personhood
in Africa. This is the reason why the adults hope for the maturity of the children and for them to
join the community of persons. Menkiti (2004: 326) argues that the movement of the individual
child to full personhood is a journey which is determined by age and ends in ancestorship. To
him, personhood is not an automatic achievement by anyone in Africa, but a process which
begins at birth to various stages like puberty, marriage, and childbearing, taking of titles, old age,
adulthood, elderhood, and ancestorship. Ancestors are still part of the living community as the
personhood gained through this process will end when the person becomes a ‘nameless dead”. At
the stage of a nameless death, the person who began from it returns to it. That is why Menkiti
posits that personhood in African philosophy is a journey from it to it. This is an interesting
theory which should merit more research from the student. Gyekye (2002) has argued that since
a community implies an association of individuals with common interests, goals and aspirations,

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it then follows that the community exists to establish the priority of the individual rather than the
other way around. The human person, he maintains, is not self-sufficient, he needs other people
to flourish, which is the essence of a community. However a community consists of persons
sharing interests and values; therefore, the community is there to serve the individual interest.
The interest of the individual is prioritized against the interest of the community, as long as the
community is made up of individuals whose interests it is meant to serve. The community
existentially derives from the individual who is there primarily to protect his interests, since the
community is not a mere association of individuals without purpose. This idea is also worth the
student’s consideration as it opposes the idea that individual interests are subsumed under the
interest of the community in an African traditional setting. A tree cannot make a forest, but there
can be no forest without individual trees. So, there can be no community without the person.

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