Pls1502
INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
ASSESSMENT NUMBER 01
SEMESTER 01 – 2022
DUE DATE 25 March
Type: quiz/ mcq questions and elaborated answers
For more help call: 072439 6681/ email:
,Written by : koketso silas: 072 439 6681
Question 1. What does the fact that there are four or even more trends in African philosophy
indicate about the tradition?
a. That African philosophy is an impoverished philosophy.
b. That African philosophy is rich and full of diversity.
c. That African philosophy does not actually exist since there are so trends.
d. That African philosophy
vision and coherence.
Clear my choice
These approaches are indicative of the fact that African philosophy is a vast fi
eld of study. See page 23 of the study guide in 3.1.
Question 2. Tsenay Serequeberhan (1991) provides a definition of African philosophy
that emphasises which of the following traits?
a. African philosophy on the creation of dialogue between Western and
African of thinking.
b. African philosophy is a set of texts written exclusively by Africans and as
philosophical by the authors.
c. African philosophy must be written, it must reflect on the verities of history but can
be written by non- Africans.
d. African philosophy must establish a distinction between traditional African ideas
from those created within the academic setting.
Clear my choice
Tsenay Serequeberhan, an Eritrean philosopher, gives a more concrete defi
nition of African philosophy. He argues that the focal point of African
philosophy must be “… Africa’s own lived historicality and broken
heritage/tradition” (in African philosophy: the essential readings [1991:13]). He
further argues that such a philosophy must be textually based:
, In other words, the literature of African philosophy is a body of texts produced
by Africans (and non-Africans) directed at philosophically engaging African
problems and/or documenting the philosophies of African peoples (ibid).
Serequeberhan’s conception of African philosophy emphasises the following:
(a) African philosophy is philosophy if it is written. Thus, orality cannot be
philosophy. This point raises eye-brows especially for those of us who are
familiar with the Western philosopher, Socrates, who presented his philosophy
orally.
(b) African philosophy should not be abstract. It should reflect on verities of
history in an attempt to resolve and explain problems experienced.
(c) Authorship of African philosophy is broader. It is open to non-Africans. In
consideration that we live in a globalised world, this point makes more sense.
It also corroborates Osuagwu’s criteria for determining an African
philosopher. See page 10 of the study Guide.
Question 3. What are the five categories identified by Biakolo (2002)?
a. None of the above
b. Ethical, ontological, political, and juridical justifiable
c. Ethno-African, Geotemporal African, Lego African, and Techno- African
d. Savage vs civilized; pre-logical vs logical; perceptual vs conceptual; oral vs written,
religious vs scientific.
Biakolo’s approach is to study specific texts attributed to particular thinkers
from the Western world. The author identifies the categories of cognition that
each thinker or group of thinkers are associated with. Five categories are
identified: savage vs civilised; pre-logical vs logical; perceptual vs conceptual;
oral vs written; religious vs scientific. Then the study proceeds to show how
and why the specific texts are interconnected, even if they deal with different
categories of cognition or knowledge. See page 16 of the Study Guide.
INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
ASSESSMENT NUMBER 01
SEMESTER 01 – 2022
DUE DATE 25 March
Type: quiz/ mcq questions and elaborated answers
For more help call: 072439 6681/ email:
,Written by : koketso silas: 072 439 6681
Question 1. What does the fact that there are four or even more trends in African philosophy
indicate about the tradition?
a. That African philosophy is an impoverished philosophy.
b. That African philosophy is rich and full of diversity.
c. That African philosophy does not actually exist since there are so trends.
d. That African philosophy
vision and coherence.
Clear my choice
These approaches are indicative of the fact that African philosophy is a vast fi
eld of study. See page 23 of the study guide in 3.1.
Question 2. Tsenay Serequeberhan (1991) provides a definition of African philosophy
that emphasises which of the following traits?
a. African philosophy on the creation of dialogue between Western and
African of thinking.
b. African philosophy is a set of texts written exclusively by Africans and as
philosophical by the authors.
c. African philosophy must be written, it must reflect on the verities of history but can
be written by non- Africans.
d. African philosophy must establish a distinction between traditional African ideas
from those created within the academic setting.
Clear my choice
Tsenay Serequeberhan, an Eritrean philosopher, gives a more concrete defi
nition of African philosophy. He argues that the focal point of African
philosophy must be “… Africa’s own lived historicality and broken
heritage/tradition” (in African philosophy: the essential readings [1991:13]). He
further argues that such a philosophy must be textually based:
, In other words, the literature of African philosophy is a body of texts produced
by Africans (and non-Africans) directed at philosophically engaging African
problems and/or documenting the philosophies of African peoples (ibid).
Serequeberhan’s conception of African philosophy emphasises the following:
(a) African philosophy is philosophy if it is written. Thus, orality cannot be
philosophy. This point raises eye-brows especially for those of us who are
familiar with the Western philosopher, Socrates, who presented his philosophy
orally.
(b) African philosophy should not be abstract. It should reflect on verities of
history in an attempt to resolve and explain problems experienced.
(c) Authorship of African philosophy is broader. It is open to non-Africans. In
consideration that we live in a globalised world, this point makes more sense.
It also corroborates Osuagwu’s criteria for determining an African
philosopher. See page 10 of the study Guide.
Question 3. What are the five categories identified by Biakolo (2002)?
a. None of the above
b. Ethical, ontological, political, and juridical justifiable
c. Ethno-African, Geotemporal African, Lego African, and Techno- African
d. Savage vs civilized; pre-logical vs logical; perceptual vs conceptual; oral vs written,
religious vs scientific.
Biakolo’s approach is to study specific texts attributed to particular thinkers
from the Western world. The author identifies the categories of cognition that
each thinker or group of thinkers are associated with. Five categories are
identified: savage vs civilised; pre-logical vs logical; perceptual vs conceptual;
oral vs written; religious vs scientific. Then the study proceeds to show how
and why the specific texts are interconnected, even if they deal with different
categories of cognition or knowledge. See page 16 of the Study Guide.
