Western philosophers and anthropologists, for centuries argued that the African was inferior in intellect and was more inclined towards animal-like instincts. For example, Hegel said the African is devoid of consciousness or intellectual awareness and as result was sub-human or could not be said to exist in meaningful sense. This is recent history, which has been ground for both dehumanization of Africans in form of slavery, colonialism and dispossessing them of their land and cultural identity. Because the African is not fully developed and incapable of intellectual reflection, this would imply that the African probably cannot philosophize. Therefore, African philosophy cannot exist, in a true sense, except as a hybrid of western concepts simply contextualized for Africa. Therefore, the question of whether there is an African philosophy, should not only be taken for granted, because its subliminal implications carry far reaching consequences. It is an assumption that carries deep political, social, developmental effects regarding the humanity of an entire continent’s people.
Given that background, initially I would like to conceptualize the notion of philosophy from a cultural perspective, re-conceptualize the notion of Ubuntu as a philosophy and further elaborate by application the concept of Ubuntu among the ovaHerero people, as evidence of the existence of African philosophy. It assumes that given the complexity of developing a culture, it cannot be unless such people engage higher thinking to be able to cultivate such a system of life. The Westerners have overlooked this form of intelligence and thinking, in search for mono-perspectivism and thinking that is grounded in Greek conceptualizations.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- CHAPTER ONE
- INTRODUCTION.
- Introduction and Background.
- Motivation of the Study.
- Statement of the problem
- Literature review.
- Research Questions.......
- Significance of the Study
- Objectives.......
- Research Methodology
- Structure of the Research.
- CHAPTER TWO
- LITERATURE REVIEW.
- Introduction
- What is Philosophy?
- African philosophy..
- OvaHerero Philosophy and Ubuntu.
- CHAPTER THREE.
- WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY.
- Introduction.
- Philosophy in western literature...
- Metaphysics...........
- Epistemology.
- Logic...........
- Ethics...
- Aesthetics
- Conclusion....
- CHAPTER FOUR.
- WHAT IS AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
- Introduction
- African Philosophy
- Ubuntu.
- Ubuntu Ontology.
- Comparative analysis: Western, Confucius and Ubuntu philosophies........
- Critique on Ethno-philosophy, Professional and Sage philosophies
- Conclusion....
- CHAPTER FIVE..
- OVAHERERO PHILOSOPHY AND UBUNTU.
- Introduction
- The OvaHerero.
- ovaHerero Philosophy
- African Ancestry of the OvaHerero
- Conclusion..
- CHAPTER SIX.
- CONCLUSION..
- Research Weakness..
- Recommendations.
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This research paper aims to examine the existence of African philosophy through the lens of Ubuntu, focusing specifically on the OvaHerero people. By challenging the notion of African philosophical inferiority and exploring the complexities of Ubuntu, the paper seeks to demonstrate that a rich and independent philosophical tradition exists in Africa.
- The historical and philosophical context of the debate surrounding African philosophy
- The concept of Ubuntu and its philosophical implications
- The OvaHerero people and their unique perspective on philosophy and Ubuntu
- The relationship between culture and philosophy, particularly in the context of Africa
- The potential of Ubuntu as a framework for decolonization and African identity
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
Chapter One presents a compelling introduction, outlining the historical context of the debate regarding African philosophy and highlighting the dehumanizing implications of Western perspectives. The chapter also introduces the research objectives, methodology, and structure of the paper. Chapter Two delves into a review of relevant literature, examining the nature of philosophy in general and exploring the concepts of African philosophy and Ubuntu. Chapter Three provides a comprehensive overview of Western philosophy, examining key areas such as metaphysics, epistemology, logic, ethics, and aesthetics. Chapter Four focuses on the concept of African philosophy, exploring Ubuntu and its ontology in detail. It further provides a comparative analysis of Western, Confucian, and Ubuntu philosophies. Chapter Five delves into the unique philosophical perspective of the OvaHerero people, examining their cultural practices and how they embody the principles of Ubuntu.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
This research paper explores the critical topics of African philosophy, Ubuntu, OvaHerero culture, decolonization, identity, and the historical discourse surrounding the existence of independent philosophical traditions in Africa.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Paulus Kapepu (Autor:in), 2020, Ubuntu as African Philosophy and the Ova Herero People, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/514283
