User:ScottsdalePrincess/sandbox

Edit 2

"There is some debate in defining the ethnophilosophical parameters of African philosophy and identifying what differentiates it from other philosophical traditions. One of the implicit assumptions of ethnophilosophy is that a specific culture can have a philosophy that is not applicable and accessible to all peoples and cultures in the world, however this concept is disputed by traditional philosophers. Furthermore, in A Discourse on African Philosophy: A New Perspective on Ubuntu and Transitional Justice in South Africa, Christian B. N. Gade argues that the ethnophilosophical approach to African philosophy as a static group property is highly problematic. His research on ubuntu presents an alternative collective discourse on African philosophy ("collective" in the sense that it does not focus on any individual in particular) that takes differences, historical developments, and social contexts seriously. According to Edwin Etieyibo and Jonathon O. Chimakonam in their article “African Philosophy: Past, Present, and Future”, historical context plays an important role African philosophy. History provide the framework in which we can inspect philosophical problems. In terms of African philosophy one must look at the whole picture through the lens of African history.  “There are no facts with out history”

African Philosophy Edit due 2/21

"The subject of African philosophy pertains to the philosophical discourse produced by indigenous Africans and their descendants, including African/Americans. African philosophy presents a wide range of topics similar to it's Eastern and Western counterparts. African philosophers may be found in the various academic fields of philosophy, such as metaphysics, epistemology, moral philosophy, and political philosophy. One particular subject that many African philosophers have written about is that on the subject of freedom and what it means to be free or to experience wholeness[1].

Wiki Article and Citations

I will be editing the Wiki article on African Philosophy[2]

This article is not a very thorough look on African philosophy and it seems to have a lot of opinions because there is a lot of things said that are un-cited. The author starts off by asserting that African philosophy can be broader in scope than just those living in Africa and I feel that this is unnecessary. No one preferences Greek philosophy by making a similar claim. Furthermore, the article doesn't talk enough about the the theories that have come from African philosophers. For example, it does mention Zera Yacob but it doesn't mention how he came up with similar theories as Descartes before Descartes realized that his thoughts proved his existence. And lastly, this page on African philosophy completely ignores contributions made by American philosophers of African descent ( WEB Dubois would fall into this category and so would the writings of enslaved Africans living in America).

People have been searching for freedom both in meaning and in practice since the dawn of humanity but few have been as engaged with the concept more than the people of Africa and their descendants. The African people have endured many hardships such as slavery, colonization, and degradation and as such have been called to theorize and practice what it means to be free and what it means to be whole. What it means to be free, what it means to be human, and what responsibilities come with being a rational being are some of the concepts you’ll find hidden in African philosophy.

Sources

The Libertarian Paradigm in Ngoenha: A Contribution to the African Philosophy.

African Philosophy: Past, Present, and Future.

African Philosophy and Proverbs: The Case of Logic in Urhobo Proverbs.

Article Evaluation

This article does little to further the topic of African philosophy. First of, it acts as if the only value in so-called African philosophy is to educate people on African culture and that's just not true. While no one should deny that there are cultural differences, African philosophy is just philosophy by Africans that discuss a lot of the same theories that Western philosophy and often before ( Zero Jacob & Descartes). ~~~~