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African Intelligence and Philosophy, Part One

By Dr. Josef Ben Levi 

Presented by Omni-U Virtual University



As a teacher of philosophy for 18 years at Northeastern Illinois University, I am very well aware of the questions fundamental to philosophical inquiry- which is sometimes referred to as “doing philosophy.” Those questions are centered around theology, ontology, theodicy, hermeneutics, politics, morality, psychology, critical thinking and ethics to name a few. Africa has always had systems of thought that addressed these crucial questions. What is unfortunate is that, since there has always been an African philosophy, its exclusion from Western academic departments of philosophy can be attributed to the way that  Georg Wilhelm Frederich Hegel formed the Western historical and philosophical conceptualization of Africa.


In addition to this philosophical exclusion, Western models are being used as the “norm” for qualification and  the lack of study among Western traditional philosophers of traditional African thought embedded in their own recognized texts compounds the problem.  Just as it is impossible to study Western philosophy,academically, without knowing classical Greek and Latin, so, too, one cannot comprehend African philosophy without facilities in African languages.


Philosophizing is a universal experience (Bell, 2002). There is no agreement among philosophers- particularly those who view themselves within the continent lists, or Western European and American sphere- which focuses on the works of the enlightenment and post-enlightenment thinkers, on the definition of philosophy (Leiter & Rosen, 2007). Protagoras, on the other hand; speaking for the Sophists, derived the etymology of the word “philosophy” from the Greek words “philo” (ϕιλο) meaning "love" and "sophos”. From the first part of the word, "philo," we get one of the words in Greek for “love” in the abstract sense. From the second word "sophos" (σοφος) meaning “wise man,” we get the word “sophisticated” or ‘‘worldly wise.’’ Combined, the word philosophy, "philosophia" ,(φιλοσοφια) is often translated as “love of wisdom.” I tend to differ with that definition slightly. I would argue that a more correct definition would come closer to ‘love of the “lady wisdom”’ since the word for wisdom in Greek is a feminine word and as far as I know, there are no men named “Sophia!”


What is generally agreed upon about philosophy, however, is that it seeks to establish order among the various phenomena of the surrounding world, and it traces their unity by reducing them to their simplest elements (Onyewuenyi, 2005). Philosophy is a factor in the life history of the human experience.


What, then, is the reason rhat whenever African philosophers are mentioned, they are grouped into some version of “ethno-philosophy”? Why is European philosophy called philosophy outright, yet African philosophy is designated as “ethnophilosophy?” It is obvious that, By using this clever fallacy of logic, the facts of African philosophical speculation are obfuscated in the public intellectual domain thus perpetuating the assumption that "abstract thinking" and “reasoning” are  exclusively European enterprises.


European, American and ,sometimes, African and African American, academic philosophers as well do not acknowledge the contributions of ancient Egypt as a seat of African philosophy to early Greek and European “continentalists” philosophy. Part of the problem- besides sheer arrogance- is that they have not engaged the African texts in such a way as to even consider the depth of their philosophical inquiry. This, of course, can be understood since the fundamental barrier to their understanding is a failure to comprehend African languages and a stubborn desire, generally, NOT to learn them. But, Africans of every persuasion- continental and Diasporan- who desire to engage in a serious academic study of Greek philosophy find that it is mandatory to have at least some reading facility in classical Greek. The same thing is true for an in depth understanding of the sparse Roman literature- one has to know classical Latin. This is a requirement for continental Africans and African in the Americas who are serious about pursuing academic studies and careers in Western philosophy. African philosophy, however, is perceived as different and on the margins of speculative inquiry.


The argument, then, is that there is no African philosophy to be found. However, these Western European and American philosophers do not acknowledge that Plotinus, who wrote works on philosophy and opened a school in Rome, was from Lycon- in Egypt.


Names like St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, in Carthage, Origen, Cyprian, and Tertullian, the greatest q in the early years of Church history were all Black Africans (Ben Jochannan, 1970/1991; DeGraft-Johnson, 1954/1986; O'Brien, 1964).


The greatest rhetoricians of the Roman period were all Africans. In fact, if you wanted to win a case in ancient Rome over disputed property, for example, it was virtually mandatory that you got an African jurist from Carthage. Marius Victorinus was one such renowned jurist (Brown, 1969). There was also Marcus Cornelius Fronto, an African Stoic philosopher who was the teacher and best friend of Marcus Aurelius. Had it not been for the instruction of Marcus Cornelius Fronto, the "Meditations" may not have ever been written by Marcus Aurelius (Pagels, 2012). We cannot forget the African Aesop who is referred to in the writings of the Athenians Aristophanes, Xenophanes, Plato, Aristotle and others (Handford, 


The first woman philosopher recognized in the history of philosophy in the West, Hqypatia, was from Alexandria, Egypt.  She was murdered by Christians for her views  


Recommended Viewing

“European Philosophy: FromTheory to Practice” Featuring: Dr. Josef Ben Levi 



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