African Philosophy and Education in Zimbabwe
MKOBA TEACHERS COLLEGE
THEORY OF EDUCATION
AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
PREPARED BY O. MUTOVOSI (Principal Lecturer) MEd (Phil of Ed); B Tech - Ed Mgt; Bed (Pry Ed); DipEd (Pry Ed)
QUESTIONS: What is it? Does it exist? Do Africans have a philosophy? Can Africans philosophise?
• Because of a legacy of denigration that portrays Africans as incapable of abstract thought, the question, ‘What is African Philosophy?’ is the first that occurs to those outside the field of philosophy.
• There has been extensive undermining or negative thinking about abstract thought among the Africans.
• Hegel and Kant (Western philosophers) have massive negative statements about Africans.
• The legacy is reinforced by the assumption that requires a tradition of written communication which is foreign to Africans.
• According to Coetzee and Roux (Eds) (2002) African philosophy can be identified as constitutive as a post-colonial question for African identity for a uniquely African identity which has been lost amid the brutality of the European rape of the African continent.
Basic Tenets/Philosophical Principles of African Philosophy
African Philosophy has its own philosophical foundations namely, African holism, communalism, essentialism, instrumentalism (functionalism) and humanism (humanness).
1. African Holism
• Is based on the African philosophic thought of community living.
• The term is derived from the African metaphysic that states that reality is whole and there are no parts to it.
• Atkinson (1991) further alludes that African holism is a belief that the collective influence of social movements and social groups is more important than that of the individuals within them.
• I.e. African holism is a belief in the interconnectedness of social, religious, political and economic aspects of life.
• Thus, reality is whole, a unitary entity and not fragmented and the African view of education was of a unitary entity rather than a compartmentalised curriculum.
• The same view is
THEORY OF EDUCATION
AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
PREPARED BY O. MUTOVOSI (Principal Lecturer) MEd (Phil of Ed); B Tech - Ed Mgt; Bed (Pry Ed); DipEd (Pry Ed)
QUESTIONS: What is it? Does it exist? Do Africans have a philosophy? Can Africans philosophise?
• Because of a legacy of denigration that portrays Africans as incapable of abstract thought, the question, ‘What is African Philosophy?’ is the first that occurs to those outside the field of philosophy.
• There has been extensive undermining or negative thinking about abstract thought among the Africans.
• Hegel and Kant (Western philosophers) have massive negative statements about Africans.
• The legacy is reinforced by the assumption that requires a tradition of written communication which is foreign to Africans.
• According to Coetzee and Roux (Eds) (2002) African philosophy can be identified as constitutive as a post-colonial question for African identity for a uniquely African identity which has been lost amid the brutality of the European rape of the African continent.
Basic Tenets/Philosophical Principles of African Philosophy
African Philosophy has its own philosophical foundations namely, African holism, communalism, essentialism, instrumentalism (functionalism) and humanism (humanness).
1. African Holism
• Is based on the African philosophic thought of community living.
• The term is derived from the African metaphysic that states that reality is whole and there are no parts to it.
• Atkinson (1991) further alludes that African holism is a belief that the collective influence of social movements and social groups is more important than that of the individuals within them.
• I.e. African holism is a belief in the interconnectedness of social, religious, political and economic aspects of life.
• Thus, reality is whole, a unitary entity and not fragmented and the African view of education was of a unitary entity rather than a compartmentalised curriculum.
• The same view is
References: Atkinson, A.D. (1991) Readings in Philosophy of Education, Harare: UZ Dept of Educational Foundations. Banana, C.S. (1991) Theology of Promise: The Dynamics of Self-Reliance, Harare: College Press. Coetzee, P.H. and Roux, A.P.J. (2002) the African Philosophy Reader: A Text With Readings (2nd ed.), London: Rutledge. Gyekye, K. (1987) An Essay on African Philosophical Thought, Cambridge: University Press. Louw, D.J. (2006) Ubuntu, on www.louw@pixle.co.za, Accessed on 15/08/2007. Mbiti, J.S. (1990) African Religions and Philosophy, (2nd ed.), London: Heinemann. Njobe, M.W. (1996) Education for Liberation, London: Skotaville. Zimbabwe Education Act (Chapter 25:04) Revised Edition (1996)