African Philosophy should not be in question

To understand what African Philosophy is, we need to define the term "philosophy," which can be defined in multiple ways. Ludwig Wittgenstein defines it as “a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language,” implying that we might be misguided. I propose, conjecturally, that this also suggests life itself is a puzzle. Regardless of this definition, the existence of African Philosophy is highly debated. Some scholars deny its existence, while others affirm it, often based on how they define philosophy. Rather than delving into this debate, I am interested in using African Philosophy as an example to illustrate the concept of life as a puzzle waiting to be solved.

In the book "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa," Walter Rodney portrays the pre-colonial era with different societies that practiced very different ways of living (economically, politically, etc.), and his argument is to make us aware that each society had to develop at its own pace. This was to address the idea that "Africans were barbaric" when Europeans conquered it around the 17th century since they were not literate and had no technology that was deemed modern at that time. They were painted as though they were traditional and backward instead of being accepted as they were. Walter wants us to see that there was nothing wrong because development in Africa was taking place at its own pace.

This brings us to "African Philosophy," a term coined by African scholars in recent decades because they realized that every region has its own recorded philosophy except Africa. Philosophy is treated as though it is the backbone of any region, which may explain why other disciplines are not questioned as much, such as African Science, African Mathematics, African Psychology, and more. It is as if Africa must compete with other continents in terms of having its own philosophical system. This is why a few concepts were developed to be considered as African Philosophy: ethno-philosophy, philosophical sagacity, nationalist-ideology philosophy, and professional philosophy. I will not delve further into their definitions but will provide context in relation to why we should accept Africa as it is instead of trying to apply names influenced by outsiders. Therefore, we will use "African Philosophy" holistically.

Philosophy is a very vague and ambiguous word, and as I said, the perceived existence of African Philosophy depends on the definition of the word. Let us compare it to Western and Eastern philosophies since they are well established. Western philosophy was developed in the 6th century BCE by Zeno, while Eastern philosophy emerged around the 6th century BCE by Buddha. These philosophies revolve around different concepts that might intertwine at some points. Both philosophical systems were recorded by thinkers at different stages. This brings us to what was possibly happening in Africa more than 2,000 years ago when progression was taking place in those two philosophies.

This is where my opinion of life being a puzzle waiting to be solved comes in. It seems like we have lost touch with the pieces of the puzzle. Imagine the idea of continents being puzzles with very different structures, and then one continent conquers another and tries to turn it into a totally different structure. We are now made to think that Africa was wrong for not having anything recorded in books. What was happening in ancient times is now perceived through the lens of our conquerors, who tore apart what we had and changed us. Just as every piece of the puzzle is meant to be in a suitable spot as it is, what if every ethnic group was designed to be as it is in order to solve the bigger picture as time progressed?

I am trying to show that there might have been nothing wrong with Africans not having their own recognized philosophy, and maybe the debate over whether there is an African philosophy is not worth it. We are already approaching this matter using foreign views. Instead of accepting and embracing what was already developing in Africa, we try to run away from it and change it. I think Africa was progressing at its own pace, just like every other continent, but Europeans disrupted the whole process and left us in a state of confusion.

We are having this argument because of them; they saw us as uncivilized simply because we did not live like them, so they tried to change us into their likeness. Maybe we needed to learn from them, and they also needed to learn from us, but they denied our validity and promoted their own agendas structured to exploit us and our resources. In the end, they tried to turn us into what they are because they thought they were the only valid beings. Surprisingly, they have partially succeeded because we now live like they do, even though some elements of our indigenous knowledge systems, such as our cultures, languages, and traditions, are still being passed down from generation to generation.

The main aim of this article is to trigger the thought that Europeans might have destroyed a process intrinsic to us, which could have been one of the best possible ways of addressing our identity and existential crisis. We can view this from the perspective of a growing tree. Imagine someone trying to change the appearance of that tree by using chemicals that redefine and reshape it into another kind of tree, even though the process was yet to reveal the true nature of the tree as it was progressing. This act of redefining and reshaping the tree is driven by the ideology that the tree is not proper in its current form and needs to be transformed, even though it was already on the path to becoming a very proper and attractive tree. Now it is hard for the tree to revert to its original form since it is a synthesis of chemicals and its natural state.

However, I believe that anything is possible, which is why I wrote this article. I think there are still some traces of our originality as Africans. Since we were not globally recognized for who we are but were transformed in the name of helping us perform on a global scale and exploitation, it is wise to look into our roots. We should not try to define them using what we already know but rather view them from a scientific perspective that allows us to see them as they are, rather than what we think they are based on our existing knowledge.

In summary, I am unsure about the validity of African Philosophy, but I believe that attempting to define it might be futile. The real essence lies in seeing ourselves as we truly are and accepting ourselves as such. We are distancing ourselves from many of our roots, dismissing them as unnecessary in this era, even though they could provide insights into the processes and progress we were undergoing before European interference. Nowadays, we measure ourselves against Western standards rather than our own. It feels as though our puzzle has been disrupted in such a manner that some pieces now resemble each other, making it difficult to connect them cohesively anymore.