Intercultural Philosophy as Philosophy of National Unity: An African Perspective

Abstract

Why is it that 68 years after the Bandung Conference, philosophies of national unity are still contested, and the challenges of ethnicity, tribalism, bigotry, social exclusion, and religious cleansing persist? The situation points to the fact that it is either that these philosophies of national unity have not sufficiently addressed the problem of national unity, or that they lack the capacity to address it. It is possible that, instead of these philosophies of national unity focusing on national integration and inclusiveness, they have promoted disunity and exclusivity. One could argue that each philosophy of national unity is birthed from an exclusivist angle, projecting a particular narrative to serve as philosophy of national unity. It is on this note that we present intercultural philosophy as a philosophy of national unity. Intercultural philosophy, in this sense, goes beyond the Global South’s quest for epistemic inclusion, against the Global North’s epistemic dominance or hegemony. Africa is multi-ethnic and multi-religious as well as multi-cultural; with this in mind, a potent philosophy of national unity must take into consideration all the above superlative factors. Using philosophical methods of analysis and hermeneutics, we propose intercultural philosophy as philosophy of national unity.