What is African Philosophy? Let’s Talk About an Unpopular, Most Times Misunderstood Idea

Is it History? Literature? Traditional customs? What exactly makes philosophic thought African? Geography or identity? Academics cannot seem to decide.

Defining philosophy has proven to be a difficult task generally. Aside this difficulty, there is the task of defining labeled philosophies—Eastern, Western, African, etc. First, we want to know What is Philosophy? Then we further delve into the discourse of what to name [a] philosophy done by a particular people. This is Philosophy we are talking about, so there arguably should not be a wrong or right answer to the question—since thinking is an integral part of philosophy. And in thinking it is sort of hard to determine which thoughts are right or wrong; considering the possible antithesis of thinking and dogma. The field dubbed African Philosophy has caught the attention of many and defining it has been an intriguing exercise. Another interesting thing in all this is how that the process of defining an African Philosophy, is at its core a matter of forming an identity for Africa (and Africans). Defining African Philosophy is not simply a matter of academic elitism, but its results connect to how a Craftsperson (in Africa) gets her/his hands dirty. It is a question of how Africans (ought to) think and live. Nonetheless, it is also a highly intellectual business and needs such attention...