Sage Philosophy Research Articles

Trends in African philosophy and their implications for the Africanisation of the South Africa history caps curriculum: a case study of Odera Oruka philosophy

A Kenyan philosopher, Henry Odera Oruka (1944-1995), conceptualised and articulated the six trends in African philosophy. These are ethno-philosophy, nationalistic-ideological philosophy, artistic (or literary philosophy), professional philosophy, philosophic sagacity and hermeneutic philosophy. In this article, we maintain that the last three of these trends, namely professional philosophy, philosophic sagacity, and hermeneutic philosophy, are useful in our attempt to contribute to Africanising the school history curriculum (SHC) in the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in post-apartheid South Africa. Against this background, we make use of Maton's (2014) Epistemic-Pedagogic Device (EPD), building on from Bernstein's (1975) Pedagogic Device as a theoretical framework to view African philosophy and its implications for the Africanisation of the SHC in CAPS in post-apartheid South Africa. Through the lens of Maton's EPD, we show how the CAPS' philosophy of education is questionable; untenable since it promotes 'differences of content'; and is at the crossroads, i.e., it is stretched and pulled in different directions in schools. Ultimately, we argue that Oruka's three trends form a three-piece suit advertising one's academic discipline (professional philosophy); showing South Africa's rich history told in the words ofAfrican elders (sage philosophy); and imploring school history learners to embark on a restless, unfinished quest for knowledge in the classrooms in post-apartheid South Africa.

Pedagogy of Sagacity

Philosophy of education is a compulsory course in teacher education in Africa. African scholars have observed that this course is predominantly approached from Western pedagogical perspective hence alienating African students of education. There is lack of African pedagogy responsive to the African context of education as noted by a national commission on education in Kenya. This calls for a search for African pedagogy to instigate paradigm shift from Western pedagogy to Afrocentric pedagogy. Sage Philosophy,a trend in African Philosophy is analyzed in this study in attempt to develop African pedagogy. The method used is philosophical argument based on critical conceptual analysis. The study findings result in an African pedagogy described as ‘pedagogy of sagacity’ which is proposed as an African approach to philosophy of education. The thesis of this essay is that trends in African philosophy should influence pedagogical theorizing of education in Africa.

Philosophical sagacity as conversational philosophy and its significance for the question of method in African philosophy

In this study, I aimed to carry out a comparative analysis of the methods of conversational philosophy and sage philosophy as contributions towards overcoming the problem of methodology in African philosophy. The purpose was to show their points of convergence and probably, if possible, their point of divergence as well. I did not intend to show that the method of one is superior or inferior to the other. The objective was to provide an analysis to show that the two methods are essentially the same with little variations. Thereafter, I highlighted their significance as methods of doing African philosophy and discussed their problems as well. I used the methods of analysis and hermeneutics. From the study, I concluded that conversational philosophy is an extension or a modified form of sage philosophy. The implication of this conclusion is that sage philosophy and conversational philosophy should overlap each other in research and purposes.Keywords: Sage Philosophy, Conversational Philosophy, African Philosophy, Philosophical place, Philosophical space, Methodology

A Critique of Foucault’s Conception and Predictions of the Author-Function

In this paper, we appraise the thoughts of Foucault on the relationship between the author, work, and text, and the future of that relationship. In Foucault’s view, the text points to an author who is anterior to it, but this relationship is more complex than ‘traditionally’ understood because of the asymmetrical relationship between the concepts of author/writer and text/work. Although the author-function entails a form of individualization of text and ideas, Foucault argues that this has varied across disciplines, cultures, and time. In any case, the author-function determines the process of authentication, mode of circulation, and valorization. From the analysis of the relationship between the author and text in the premodern and modern eras, Foucault extrapolates that in the postmodern era the author-function will be transformed and diminished because language assumes the dominant role of determining the form and content of viable discourse. Foucault’s conception of the author-function is post-modernist and consequently eschews the author-figure, grand narratives, progressive and systematic evaluation of texts, values and ideology, and temporality. However, contemporary trends in the understanding of the author-function do not fully bear out his predictions. Besides, intellectual property rights are more institutionalized and the boundary between authorized and unauthorized valorization and modification is intensely contested. The contestations are over valuable creations and, whether originating from an author or authors, this affirms the viability of projects such as Sage Philosophy. Key Words Author-function, work, text, discourse, postmodernism, valorization

Did Philosophy Originate in Greece? An Africanist Response

The article aims to subvert the Eurocentric taken-for-granted assumption that philosophy originated in Greece. It shows, first, that long before Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle gained prominence, Chinese philosopher Confucius was already an established sage who was dispensing pearls of wisdom on virtue, moral excellence, righteousness, human nature, humane consideration, perfecting oneself, and benevolence. In fact Socrates was only ten years old when Confucius died. Second, the assumption in question fails to account for the historical fact that the Kemetic culture and civilization in present-day Egypt predates Greek civilisation. Indeed Plato visited Egypt around 390 BC to learn about Kemetic culture and civilization. Finally, the paper touches on research on Sage Philosophy in Kenya. The sages were old members of their respective communities who had no prior contact with or exposure to Western formal education and yet they were found to be philosophically rigorous and logical in their engagement and reasoning. All these considerations taken into account, the paper’s central view is that philosophy is a bastard, hybrid, grafted, multilinear, and polyglot discipline that cannot be reduced to a single origin. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n23p1302

Attempts to create an Inter-ethnic and Inter-generational ‘National Culture’ in Kenya

AbstractThe challenges of building community based on a common identity that also respects differences has two different kinds of chasms to cross. There is the division of ethnic groups, and there is also the generational gap. Given recent problems of ethnic violence that broke out during the December 2007 elections, can contemporary Kenyans build community, coming to common understanding with others on issues such as value and identity? This is not a new problem. It has often been expressed as the need to develop a common Kenyan “national culture.” After a survey including Okot p’Bitek, Frantz Fanon, Bethwell Ogot and Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s contribution to the topic in the context of the 1960s and 70s, I will then go on to discuss the contribution of Kenyan Philosophy professor Henry Odera Oruka, who was greatly influenced by the ongoing discussions regarding national culture when he began his sage philosophy project – a project he clearly described as being able to play a role in the creation of Kenyan national culture. I explore some of Odera Oruka’s unpublished work on this topic. Chaungo Barasa has continued this project. I move on to survey how current academics in Kenya are working to describe and forge national values as a meaningful alternative to Kenyan government ongoing endeavors to promote culture as a tourist commodity.

How student teachers understand African philosophy

The question ‘What constitutes African philosophy?’ was first raised with the publication of Placide Tempels’s seminal work Bantu philosophy in 1959. Tempels’s book inevitably elicited considerable critical response from African philosophers, which culminated in a wide range of publications such as Wiredu’s (1980) Philosophy and an African culture , Hountondji’s (1983) African philosophy: Myth and reality , Oruka’s (1990) Sage philosophy: Indigenous thinkers and modern debate on African philosophy , Shutte’s (1993) Philosophy for Africa , Masolo’s (1994) African philosophy in search of identity and Gyekye’s (1995) An essay of African philosophical thought: The Akan conceptual scheme . It has been over 60 years since the publication of Temples’s book and there continues to be serious debate about African philosophy. This article sought to contribute to the debate on the various conceptions of African philosophy, but with a focus on the challenges of teaching African philosophy to Philosophy of Education students at an open distance learning institution in South Africa. This article discussed the tendency amongst undergraduate Philosophy of Education students to conflate and reduce African philosophy to African cultures and traditions, and to the notion of ubuntu , and sought to understand the reasons for students’ inclination to treat African philosophy in this way. It examined students’ background knowledge of African philosophy, their critical thinking skills and whether their official study materials are selected and packaged in a manner that, in fact, adds to the challenges they face. Finally, the article explored the ways in which Philosophy of Education lecturers can adapt their pedagogy to provide students with a better understanding of African philosophy.

Bâtir une « culture nationale » interethnique et Intergénérationnelle au Kenya

The challenges of building community based on a common identity that also respects differences has two different kinds of chasms to cross. There is the division of ethnic groups, and there is also the generational gap. Given recent problems of ethnic violence that broke out during the December 2007 elections, can contemporary Kenyans build community, coming to common understanding with others on issues such as value and identity? This is not a new problem. It has often been expressed as the need to develop a common Kenyan “national culture.” After a survey including Okot p’Bitek, Frantz Fanon, Bethwell Ogot and Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s contribution to the topic in the context of the 1960s and 70s, I will then go on to discuss the contribution of Kenyan Philosophy professor Henry Odera Oruka, who was greatly influenced by the ongoing discussions regarding national culture when he began his sage philosophy project – a project he clearly described as being able to play a role in the creation of Kenyan national culture. I explore some of Odera Oruka’s unpublished work on this topic. Chaungo Barasa has continued this project. I move on to survey how current academics in Kenya are working to describe and forge national values as a meaningful alternative to Kenyan government ongoing endeavors to promote culture as a tourist commodity.

Sage Philosophy: Revisiting Oruka’s African Ideology

The term African philosophy is considered by Western philosophy either as a subgenre or as an improbability. The findings of Kenyan philosopher H. Odera Oruka provide substantial proof of a major nature that negates this attitude toward African philosophy. This essay demonstrates how Oruka’s Sage philosophy has the consistency and coherence to alter forever any notion of Western superiority in philosophy. Indeed, Oruka, much like Cheikh Anta Diop in the field of anthropology and history, transforms the way we think about African philosophy by taking it away from the Western schools’ perspective to show that oral and proverbial wisdom has a long and noble tradition in human reflection.

The Epistemology of African Philosophy

This essay critiques the ontology and epistemology of African philosophy, with particular attention to Odera Oruka's sage philosophy project, one of the most influential schools of thought in African philosophy. Oruka posits an absolutist ontology that holds to a conception of epistemology as presuppositionless and transcendental. Against this, I argue for a critical contextual epistemology that proffers a view of epistemology as embodied, linguistically performed, social, ideological, rhetorical, and contextual. I argue, ultimately, that a critical contextual epistemology is not only useful for charting new directions in African philosophy but also may illuminate productive intersections between African philosophy and Western philosophy.

Sage Philosophy: Criteria That Distinguish It from Ethnophilosophy and Make It a Unique Approach within African Philosophy

Sage Philosophy: Criteria That Distinguish It from Ethnophilosophy and Make It a Unique Approach within African Philosophy

Sage Philosophy and Critical Thinking

In critical thinking we learn the importance of being fair, and opening up closed and biased minds. In practical philosophy we must learn how to find our happiness in a world where others act with evil intentions. In contemporary Kenya one major challenge is how to react to those who might use witchcraft to try to harm oneself or one’s family. Regardless of whether witchcraft is “real” or not, it is possible to discern the root cause of witchcraft practices as due to jealousy and selfishness. By addressing the root problem, cases of witchcraft practice will diminish. The paper uses Kenyan philosopher Odera Oruka’s “sage philosophy” methodology, to interview rural sages who have reputations as being wise in their communities, so that professional philosophers can learn from their wisdom. For example, Saulo Namianya sees his role as helping to “level tongues” that had been high-pitched in their anger, so that people can discern the cause of a dispute and have it resolved. Adala Otuko emphasizes controlling one’s fear when one first sights a charm. Ngaimarish ole Mulo explains how to encourage parties who are sparring with each other to stop and consider the perspective of the other party. The sages are shown to be wise counselors who encourage critical thinking in their communities.

Understanding African Philosophy: A Cross-Cultural Approach to Classical and Contemporary Issues

Preface Acknowledgements 1. Understanding Another Culture: Understanding others and ourselves A procedure from an aesthetic point of view 'Found in Translation' 2. Foundations in Modern Philosophy: Ethnophilosophy and the 'negritude' movement Critical, scientific philosophy Sage philosophy 3. Liberation and Postcolonial African Philosophy: African humanism and socialism Postcolonial African thought The question of 'race' 4. African Moral Philosophy 1: Community and Justice: Persons, individualism and communalism Suffering and injustice Poverty and human development 5. African Moral Philosophy II: Truth, Justice and Reconciliation: Linking communalism, ubuntu and 'restorative justice' Understanding the grammar of justice after apartheid 'Not all storytelling heals': Criticisms of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process Justice and political transformation 6. Narrative in African Philosophy: Orality and Icons: The philosophical significance of oral narratives Rational dialogue, democracy and the village palaver Finding pictures and fictitious narratives 'surprising' Iconic forms and the aesthetic consciousness revisited Some Concluding Remarks Bibliography Index

African Sage Philosophy and Socrates

African Sage Philosophy and Socrates

On a Mission to Morally Improve One’s Society

This paper explores Odera Oruka's sage philosophy project, focusing on his insistence of the parallels between Socrates and the rural Kenyan sages whom he interviewed and who he considered to be orally philosophizing. Sages, he explained are those who possess wisdom, insight, ethical inspiration, and who use their talents for the benefit of the community. Key parallels between the sages and Socrates are: Socrates' criticisms of conventional morality; his insistence on the moral virtues of practicing temperance; his emphasis on dialogue and his methods of guiding dialogue; and his guiding individuals as well as the community. Socrates says he is called by the god to challenge individual Athenians to become morally better; this descriptor, while fitting some contemporary academic philosophers, accurately reflects the convictions and actions of most African sages. Socrates often depicted his wisdom as listening to a voice within him that came beyond himself; similarly, Kenyan sages interviewed attributed their wisdom to God. But both Socrates and the Kenyan sages assess the truth of insights communicated spiritually, and are able to explain the ideas to others using reason.

The wisdom of African sages

The paper explores the role of sage philosophy, founded by Professor H. Odera Oruka of the University of Nairobi, within African philosophy and philosophy in general. It is argued that considerations of sage philosophy raise the larger issue of the relationship of wisdom to philosophy. An early literature of wisdom philosophy, dealing with the art of living, has been marginalized by modern philosophy, where concerns for wisdom are peripheral. Kekes and Blanshard argue, however, that the reflectiveness and judgment involved in wisdom are key philosophical virtues and abilities. Heidegger likewise redefined philosophy as a more meditative, not calculative, activity. Kenyan critics Wanjohi and Masolo, perhaps under the influence of modernist ideas of philosophy, argue that philosophy in the second sense, “commitment to investigation,” is more precious than philosophy in the first sense, commitment to opinions; and they argue that while philosophy in the first sense can be found in traditional Africa, they are not sure that the second sense can be found. Gyekye shows that the marginalization of “commitment to opinion” in philosophy is a distortion, and the idea that today's commitments do not belie a previous investigation is ungenerous. The paper continues by giving an account of some of the wisdom of four Kenyan sages: Makindu, Masero, Manguliechi, and Ayoo. Their insights into the need for love and generosity, and their understanding of the range of human emotions, are found to be insights helpful not only in their Kenyan contexts, but also containing a message for Western countries as well. The paper concludes by referring to the cautionary notes of Kai Nielsen regarding the appropriateness of speaking of “wisdom” in our times, but concludes with Godlovitch that sages help embody the “truth in truisms” while checking our tendency for denial and forgetfulness.

H. Odera Oruka (ed.): Sage philosophy: indigenous thinkers and modern debate on African philosophy. (Philosophy of History and Culture, Vol. 4.) xxxi, 281 pp. Leiden, etc.: E. J. Brill, 1990. Guilders 130, $68.42.

H. Odera Oruka (ed.): Sage philosophy: indigenous thinkers and modern debate on African philosophy. (Philosophy of History and Culture, Vol. 4.) xxxi, 281 pp. Leiden, etc.: E. J. Brill, 1990. Guilders 130, $68.42. - Volume 56 Issue 3

Sage philosophy: indigenous thinkers and modern debate on African philosophy

Sage philosophy: indigenous thinkers and modern debate on African philosophy

Claude Sumner’s “Oromo Wisdom Literature:” An Attempt at Understanding their Philosophical Content

In his lifelong work at the Department of Philosophy of Addis Ababa University, Sumner initially worked on the written sources of Ethiopian philosophy. It is after the production of multiple volumes on the written sources that he turned to the oral sources. The major ones are contained in three volumes titled, “Oromo Wisdom Literature.” By developing an approach that looked at philosophy in the broader and strict senses Sumner studied the different oral sources of Oromo philosophy. His approach to philosophy was that, while writing is a very important aspect of doing philosophy, this does not, however, mean that oral sources cannot have philosophical content. This is what has been demonstrated by H. Odera Oruka’s sage philosophy. Sumner used proverbs, songs, folktales, riddles and similar oral materials to distill philosophical content out of some of them. The paper will try to show how oral sources could be considered as philosophy in the broad sense, while there is also a possibility that such material could be changed into philosophy in the strict sense by philosophers. By briefly analyzing Sumner’s position on this, I will try to show the significance of oral wisdom/literature not only for philosophy but also other types of intellectual activity.