FOOD FOR THOUGHT!!!

It is exasperating to see African pseudo-intellectuals, on this platform and elsewhere, trying to interpret and estimate African philosophy using Western philosophical frameworks. Some are so hopeless that, they attempt to reduce African philosophy to idiomatic expressions, proverbial statements and strophic compositions. No, idiomatic expressions, proverbial statements and strophic compositions are not African philosophy. If you don't understand African philosophy, you better ask somebody.

First of all, every human and animal society has its own philosophy. Philosophy, as a subject area, is not universal; rather, it's localized to its region of conception, for it evolves from the regional epistemology.

Anyway, I can't tell you about the philosophy of every African society, but I can surely tell you about Yoruba, dogon and ancient Egyptian philosophies. However, time and space would only permit me to introduce you to Yoruba philosophy.

The totality of Yoruba philosophy is reposited in Odu Ifa. In other words, Odu Ifa is the repository of Yoruba spiritual, moral and natural philosophies. First off, Yoruba spiritual philosophy acknowledges that, everything descends from one universal source called Olodumare (I.e. the godhead), who, in turn, manifests visibly in the material plane in different aspects called the Orisas (misnomer deities).

Furthermore, Yoruba moral philosophy teaches us about Yoruba ethical values and moral relativism. In the holy Odu Ifa, we're taught about the concept of Iwa (character), Omoluabi (good character), Suru (patience), ebo ruru (sacrifice) to name a few.

Lastly, Yoruba natural/scientific philosophy deals with the concept of Ori (the initial condition), Ayanmo (hard determinism), Akunleye (soft determinism), "two-truths" (I.e. the idea that reality is a union of opposites), binary logic, geomancy, probability, uncertainty, chaos dynamics, recursion, ethnomathematics to name a few.

Anyway, African philosophy is vast, but majority of Africans have been brainwashed to relinquish their own philosophy in favor of foreign philosophical ideas they barely understand. I would advise you to study and develop your own philosophy. You can never use foreign philosophical ideas to uplift yourself, for they're incompatible with your local realities.

By Ifa Dare