A SHORT EXPOSE ON THE HISTORICAL TRAJECTORY OF AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY

NAME: EKENEME VINCENT CHIBUKE

PAPER TOPIC: A SHORT EXPOSE ON THE HISTORICAL TRAJECTORY OF AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY

INTRODUCTION
Africa has definitely had her own share of man’s historical developments and travails. After blazing the trail of evolving cultures and civilizations for mankind, she has gone through an eclipse, decadence and backwardness, conquest, colonialism and slavery, resulting in her loss of dignity and respect.
What has been said of African history is also true of Africa philosophy by the western scholars. In fact, philosophy was denied of Africans who are considered to be an inferior primitive mentality and incapable of rigorous, logical, systematic and coherent reflection of reality. The misrepresentation and the misconception of African history have eventually affected existence of her philosophy in extension. The western scholars and philosophers claim their stand that there is nothing called African philosophy, but when analyzing this statement, can it be true?
Indeed, African philosophy has passed through a trajectory moment in the cause of her history. However, for the purpose of this work, it will be fitting to elucidate more on the historical trajectory of African philosophy using the following pattern.
The nature of the history of African Philosophy
The epochs in Africa Philosophy
Evaluation.
Conclusion
THE NATURE OR THE HISTORY OF AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
What have been said about the meaning of the word ‘history’ is very simple. Ordinarily, history is conceived as the record of the past events. This definition perhaps may be too narrow because it does not encapsulate what history is all about. However, the definition of history according to Olatunji Olourntimleyin shall be considered. According to him “history is the study of society in time perspectives”. This definition presupposes that history makes us to construct a body of knowledge about the past, the present and how to live the future.
Let us start by setting in place what this might mean by ‘African philosophy’ philosophy as an academic discipline, like many other discipline in the western system of education, has a definite history of origin and development to which Africans have in various ways made immerse contributions. Taking into consideration the definition of philosophy by Joseph Omoregbe, he defined philosophy as “a rational search for answers to the question that arises in the mind when we reflect on human experience”. This implies that every rational being can be engaged in philosophy whether in strict or loose sense of it. Philosophy or act of philosophizing is thereby not restricted to any being. In fact, we are all obliged to participate in rational thinking.
Going down to African philosophy, it is the critical and systematic reflections or ruminations on the problematic bothering the minds of African on the continent of Africa. This means that Africans are expected to be at least in the minds of African governments and the founding fathers of our university departments of philosophy, a derivation of the western philosophy. What existed before African philosophy was philosophy in a loose sense, one characterized by minimal use of critical reason, personal reflection or insight. On the one hand, by many unquestioned assumptions dogmatism, religious myths, at times magical, super naturalistic, explanation of event and others. From this perspective, the movement of thought of the African can be said to be Folk or ethno-philosophy to African philosophy.
THE EPOCHS OF AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
It is clear that different criteria are used in the division of the various philosophies into periods. Similarly, Africans have had a different and unlike history of kings, dynasties, of empires, of religious, of literature, art and of science and technology. Therefore, African philosophy history does not necessarily have to follow the same trend with the western philosophy because of it dynamism. It is fitting therefore to dazzle into African philosophy historical epochs using the following:
Ancient period
This period lasted for 10,000 BC to 700BC. In this philosophical period, the ancient world became definitive with the black Egyptians who developed centres of leaning and civilizations between 5000 and 3300 BC. This period lasted for long before the advent of the Greeks philosophy. Initially their speculations were couched as an overtone like most primitive peoples. Five main scholars are developed in this ancient Egyptian world they are; Hermopolitan, Helipotian, Memphite, Thebean and rebel. Armema thought systems. All these schools commonly thought what can generally be described as the basic elements of Egyptian philosophy namely, cosmology Anthropology and Theology
Greek Period
This period can be described as that age when as a result of the decline in Egyptians power in world affairs makes the Greek trooped in masses into Egyptians centres of learning such as Hermopolis, Memphis Thales in search of knowledge or technology and were thought by the Egyptian masters.
Consequently, when the Egyptian knowledge was made known outside word, it has been discovered that Greek philosophers like Thales and Pythagoras traveled out to acquire this philosophical knowledge in Egypt and then return to Greek to start their own schools. No wonder why Cheik Anta Diop described some giant of western philosophers as plagierisers since the fail to acknowledge the Egyptian source of their doctrine.
Early Christian
This period also lasted from 1-6AD and it witnessed the growth and flowering of the mixed cultures of the Greek, Romans, Egyptians and Persians. While the Romans conquered the Greek, the language and the thought of the Greeks, who had learned most philosophic and scientific knowledge of Egyptians, dominated the intelligentsia. Some philosophers that featured in this period were St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.
Islamic West African period
     This period lies between 7-13AD and was characterized by intellectuals. At this time, universities were just beginning to develop in countries like Ghana, Mali and others. Also, this period was characterized by Islamic religion, thereby ensuring the complete eclipse of Egypt. The kind of studies that was predominant in this period were, law, politics philosophy and theology.
Early African Contact with Europe to Modern period
       The contact with Europe since 14-5AD marked the beginning of destruction of the souls and loss of identify in the sub-Sahara Africa. In fact, Africa, before the arrival of the white men developed culture and civilizations, beside the advent of European civilization bought about the misconception and misrepresentation of Africa philosophy. The Africans gradually began to lose their extremely deep sense of brotherhood when they began to be trade partners with the Europeans. Sooner and surprisingly, their interests were now focused on acquiring slaves to work for them. Surprisingly again, Africans themselves facilitated their own slavery. This was indeed a period marked with negativity. Ridiculously, not too long from then and in the period of western colonialization, in the year 1885, Europe began to affirm that Africa had no history, culture and civilization; and thus forced the rule of the Africans by the western colonialists powers at the Berlin conference in the same year.
Contemporary Period
      The contemporary period started in the 20th century, to be precisely 1939 with Aime Cesaire’s return to my native land. The first “negritude” is used six times to conceptualize the dignity, the personhood or humanity of black people. The second ‘return’ which appears in the title of the poem itself gives the dignity, the personhood or humanity of black people historicity.
Contemporary African philosophy has gone through a stage of development. The first stage can be describe as western motivation, and paternalistic. The second is Africans orientation and the third is the historic-cultural reconstructivism.

EVALUATIVE CONCLUSION
      To say African have no philosophy is to say African’s do not exist and that will be the greatest fallacy one can commit. In Africa, many philosophical questions have been raised, such as, what is behind existence or life itself? Does God exist? Evidently, these questions concern the basic assumptions of the structure of reality, or the nature of the origin of things. These questions are contextual because they are meaningful to the African in so far they relate to her consciousness and experience. Hence, it is not just enough that African philosophy exist, but that is conceived historically as well.
Finally, African is a continent with a rich culture and logical and coherent thought and nothing can derive her of her philosophical thought.