African Philosophy

Adherents to reconciliation, restorative justice, and related approaches to dealing with social conflict are well known for seeking to minimize punishment, in favor of offenders hearing out victims, making an apology, and effecting compensation for wrongful harm as well as victims forgiving offenders and accepting their reintegration into society. In contrast, I maintain that social reconciliation and similar concepts in fact characteristically require punishment but do not require forgiveness. I argue that a reconciliatory response to crime that includes punitive disavowal but not necessarily forgiveness is supported by an analogy with resolving two-person conflict and by relational facets of human dignity. I also specify a novel account of the type of penalty that is justified by reconciliation, namely, burdensome labor that is likely to foster moral reform on the part of wrongdoers and to compensate their victims, which would serve neither retributive nor deterrent functions. I illustrate this under-considered conception of punishment in contexts that include having cheated on an exam at a university, engaged in criminal behavior such as robbery, and committed atrocities during large-scale social conflict.

An exploration of the philosophical and mystical potential of the art of Victor Ekpuk and the Nsibidi symbolism of the Ekpe esoteric order of South-South and South-East Nigeria and South-West Cameroon which inspires his work, in the
context of Africana and global esotericism.

The 2nd Global African Indigenous and Derived Religions Conference provided a platform for scholars of African Indigenous Religions and African-derived religions to critically appraise the status, nature and role of global African Indigenous and Derived Religions, bringing together academics, practitioners and 'activists' in civil society, from Africa and the Afro-American diaspora with special emphasis on Brazil, as one of the major countries of African culture. This aimed to provide a forum for trans-Atlantic exchange, also in the southern hemisphere, which is very neccesary. The conference encouraged research and explored avenues for the documentation and preservation of African indigenous and derived religions, both as a matter of intrinsic value as with regard to their lasting influence on Christianity, Islam and on Esotericism in the 'West'. The special importance of the study of Africa Indigenous Religion - in the forms it has developed in Africa and in the Americas - for the affirmation and further development of African and Afro-Descendant identities, in terms of politics of identity in many fields has been recognized.

This paper covers the Pentecostal experience and theology of the Holy Spirit in comparison to Orthodox trinitarian theology, anthropology and spirituality with regard to aspects of doctrine, sacraments, spiritual practise and ecumenical dialogue. Cultural factors are taken into view such as African traditional culture, religion and philosophy as formative background of Pentecostalism, with the concepts of "spiritual power", "life force" and practises of spiritual trance in particular. Likewise common ground of Pentecostalism with Orthodoxy in view of Western Enlightenment rationalism is taken into view.
This essay is the revised edition of a paper presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a doctoral dissertation at the UNESCO Chair of Interreligious and Intercultural Studies, at the University of Bucharest

Britain, France and the rest. Similarly Portuguese retained it coastal in Guinea, Angola and Mozambique. While among some the African country whom resisted against colonial masters and live free are: Liberia, Ethiopia and Morocco. Though Europeans conquest of Africa continent was not achieved without heavy resistance. Most African whom were living in their tribal villages they were ignorant of the revolutionary changes that Christian missionaries brought, because they adhere to their Traditional Religious believes. Changing the pagans way of life into Europeans conceptions it was not until the vacancy of labors in the public works, mines, railways, buildings, farming and taxation methods was offered. Inevitable the recruitment affected able-bodied to the condition that people were not been able to do so. But police and soldiers enjoyed for better living the laborers. The conquerors considered Traditional custom and chiefdoms beside the colonial rules. Governments had to search for revenue from mining, farming, and companies. Above mentioned had impacted the African social life, that is why Europeans settle in the African land. Europeans set an indirectly rules which had affected the Africans lives. Education became important for the mission while economic left to the private sectors. The most important it's color prejudice, Africans often cherished the Europeans life styles and their way of life. Which affected the personality lives of the Africans and the character of the society. Thus; what we can figured out in that era it is that; there is lack of imagination, humility and compassion on the minds of Europeans. Though it was the era of medieval and dogmatism in Europe. while Africans perceived it as a science and technology era because they were wonderers of European sciences and developments. On the other hand it was brutality, barbaric, supernatural beliefs, customs and the cultural practices of the Africans Tribal which impressed Europeans to explore the continent of Africa. This is partially true that Africa is a multicultural diversificated continent, which is the real background of the Europeans exploration and colonization of Africa. Indeed Africa was blessed with natural resources, tribal handcrafts, politics, culture, philosophy and natural knowledge. but unfortunately Africans are lazy, lack of initiatives and they are lacking the sense of responsibility. Just few Africans realized the epidemic of colonial era. In fact many African communities recently resemble to the European medieval stone ages. Likewise many Africans are extremely superstitious because they lack the efficient of explaining the natural phenomena, brutal enemies of one another and victims of traditional practices, this is because they think little for the future plans, they had never embarked on the humanitarian

The definition of philosophy has remained a perennial philosophical problem and there is little agreement as to what it is. Rather, what many seem to agree on is the descriptions of philosophy, that is, what it encompasses which will provide the basis for our definition. In the same vein, it has been difficult to define what African philosophy is, rather most philosophers have contented themselves in describing what African philosophy is. According to Sogolo, “the controversy over what constitutes an African philosophy tends to dominate sometimes so much that it forms almost the entire content of the course” [1]. In this paper, the attempt is to say what African philosophy is, inspite of the seeming unending polemics in the sphere and practice of African philosophy. In doing this, we shall start by attempting to describe and possibly define what philosophy is. Subsequently we shall be in a position to define African philosophy by looking at the origin of the debate on African philos...

These poems, composed in Somali and in English, provide a poetic reflection of the recently emerged debate on the theme of Caddaan Studies which means "White Studies". The criticism and counter-criticism contained in the debate dug so deep into life nerve of Somali Studies that over a thousand people participated. The poems, under the title "Inaugurating Caddaan Studies" were composed with a critical observation of the debate.

Léopold Sédar Senghor is one of the most influential African poets of the modern era. He also left his mark as a controversial cultural theorist and president of his native Senegal from 1960 until 1981. The poet and statesman participated with Aimé Césaire and Léon Gontran Damas in founding the négritude movement during the interwar period in Paris. Négritude was a cultural revolution that affirmed black African culture across geographical borders, combining a political vision of social justice for all peoples of African origin with an innovative poetic idiom. Senghor’s distinctive contribution to this avant-garde effort was a set of inter-related concepts with which he developed his theory of black African culture. The first was a notion of cross-cultural creativity entailing an interpenetration of African and European cultures. The second was a selective assimilation of certain aspects of French culture into an African conceptual framework. The third was an African version of socialism that integrated a community-centred ethics with a traditional African spirituality. Senghor believed that African culture had unique contributions to make to European thought, and worked to define a theory of culture based on dialogue, reciprocity and an inclusive humanism, which would pave the way for Africa’s integration into a civilization of the universal. His philosophy of culture is unsystematic; it appears as a collection of insights derived from various sources on the central theme of négritude.

Müller, L.F. ‘Sophie Olúwolé: politiek filosofe (1935 -)’ [Sophie Olúwolé: a political philosopher’] In: C. Ceton, Burg, I v.d., Halsema, A., Vasterling, V. en Vintges, K. Vrouwelijke filosofen: een historisch overzicht [Female philosophers: a historical overview], Atlas, 441-446 (pp. 6.).

Politiek filosofe en kritisch traditionaliste, onderzocht Afrikaanse orale literaire tradities op hun filosofische betekenis. Maakt zich sterk voor een authentieke Afrikaanse filosofie. Sophie Oluwoles ouders waren beiden afkomstig uit de staat Edo in het zuidwesten van Nigeria. Oluwole zelf werd geboren in het dorp Igbara Oke in de naburige staat Ondo, waar zij ook haar lagere en middelbare school doorliep. In 1964 trouwde zij met een eveneens Nigeriaanse wetenschapper. Ze vertrok nog in hetzelfde jaar naar Moskou, waar haar man een baan kreeg aangeboden bij de Verenigde Naties. Vanwege taalproblemen vertrokken beiden na een jaar naar Duitsland, waar zij Duits studeerden aan de Universiteit in Keulen. Kort nadat zij in 1966 verhuisde naar de Verenigde Staten, scheidde Oluwole van haar man omdat deze haar verdere studies dwarsboomde. Oluwole keerde terug naar Nigeria waar zij aan de Universiteit van Lagos een studie filosofie begon. In de periode 1968-1970 doceerde Oluwole op een middelbare school in haar thuisstaat Ondo. Daarna keerde zij terug naar de universiteit van Lagos, waar zij werkzaam was als studentassistente en ondertussen afstudeerde. Oluwole werd als promovenda toegelaten op de universiteit van Ibadan. In 1984 behaalde zij als eerste student in sub-Sahara Afrika een doctorstitel in de filosofie. Hoewel Oluwoles filosofische carrière een aanvang nam met de studie van westerse meta-ethiek, besloot zij zich na het behalen van haar doctorstitel verder te ontwikkelen in de richting van de Afrikaanse filosofie. Zij doceerde filosofie aan de universiteit van Lagos, was decaan van deze universiteit en was voorzitter van de Nigeriaanse Vereniging voor Filosofie. Tegenwoordig is Oluwole actief als directeur van het Centrum voor Afrikaanse Cultuur en Ontwikkeling in Lagos, dat zich onder andere richt op de ontwikkeling van vrouwen in Afrika.

OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN POPULAR MUSIC. The creative process and the production of success; the political process and the control and management of musical production till it reaches the final consumer is a very topical issue for discussion and research as far as African Popular Music is concerned. This is because it is a very dynamic and evolving field of the study of Popular Culture and there are diverse narratives on the subject. My objective in this Paper is to study and analyse the evolving and changing relationship between production and consumption and the integral role the audience plays in the entire web of interrelationships. It is important to first of all appreciate Music in general and African Popular Music in particular as an effective communication tool. Every medium of communication involves two parties, the sender and the receiver of the message. Some linguists prefer the encoder and decoder of the message. The chain of communication is only complete when certain factors are present in the communication channel. A message must be transmitted using a specific medium (music is one of the media forms of communication). The transmitted message must be received by the interlocutor(s), who is the audience. The process does not end there. The receiver of the message, in this case the audience, after receiving the message, must respond or act in response to the message received. Often communication analysts tend to ignore the third part of the communication process. They stop at the second stage of reception but receiving a message and not responding to it puts the listener in Adorno's definition of passivity. The element of response is vital to make the communication process complete. I hold the cyclical pattern position and not the linear pattern position (discussed later in this Paper). The linear pattern means there is a direct link between the parties involved in the communication process. That is to say, the communication process is a straight line. So for example, the sender sends the message, the

A brief introduction to an open access Special Issue recently published by Theoria. The special issue traces the Azanian Tradition in its various guises and tries to work out its implication both for knowledge and action today. Beginning with the archeology , geography and history of Azania where the tradition gets its name. The issue then moves to political philosophy, the sociology of knowledge, the foundations of the social sciences, the politics of contemporary philosophy, Ideology and historiography of "South Africa" and concludes with an essay on aesthetics. The issue is an invitation to other researchers to move beyond the fields examined and of course to deepen the examination of what is here only just opened up. Please see https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/theoria/68/168/theoria.68.issue-168.xml where the entire special issue is available for free and includes essays by Athi Mongezeleli Joja, Felix Chami,  Anjuli Wesbster ,Bryan Mukandi, Terblanche Delport, Tsenay Serequeberhan and Joel Modiri,

This writing appears as Appendix I in my book, Transitions in Consciousness from an African American Perspective: Original Essays in Psycho-Historical Context.  The book was published in 2004.  Appendix I is a comprehensive Timeline of African American Life, focused on Five Historical Time Frames For African American Life, with Consciousness Transition Themes and Examples of Historical Events.  The five time frames are: 1517-1863 (6 Themes)--The Beginning of Slavery in the New World Up to The Onset of a Civil War and The Emancipation of Slaves; 1863-1896 (4 Themes)--Resistance to the End of the Civil War and the Force of the Reconstruction Era Up to Early Popularized African American Cultural Influences; 1896-1929 (5 Themes)--Creative Tension of Two Ideologies for Black Progress: Vocational Education vs. College-Trained Leadership Up to The Second Black Nationalist Movement; 1929-1954 (4 Themes)—The Condoning of a Segregated American Lifestyle and the Treatment of African Americans As “Objects” By the U. S. Government Up To Challenges To U. S. Segregated Cultural Life Through Music, Art, Publications, Inventions, Sports, and Civic Symbols; 1954-2002 (Themes)—The Struggle of the Civil Rights Movement, Sit-In Movement, and Freedom Rides to Promote the Ideas of Freedom, Desegregation, and Full Equality for African Americans Up to The Struggle to Shift Race-Related Consciousness and to Urge Cultural Transformations By Infusing African American Cultural Influences and a Search for the Meaning of Race and Ethnicity Into The Mainstream Via The Mediums of Music, Dance, Film, Television, Publications, Sports, and Civic Symbols.  Even though the Time Line ends at 2002, the Themes are very instructive for understanding what is happening in today’s reality (2017) regarding race relations in the United States.  The Themes mirror how the mind, body, and spirit has been dealt with in the United States over time in regard to the phenomenon of race.

English] This paper aims to discuss ten traditional and contemporary methodological paradigms in African philosophy, and demonstrates how they may apply to African environmental ethics research. The methods include: Ethno-philosophy, Sage Philosophy, Conversational Philosophy, Conceptual Mandelanization, Eco-Afrocentricism, Indigenous Language Analysis, Eco-Afro-feminism, Conceptual Decolonization, Storytelling Philosophy, and Cultural Adaptationism. The significance and limitations of the methodologies are highlighted. The concept and principles of African environmental ethics are analyzed and discussed to facilitate an understanding of the conceptual frameworks that underpin the methodologies. In conclusion, the discourse demonstrates that environmental ethics research in Africa should be based on African philosophical methodologies so as to facilitate production of research that will be relevant in African contexts.

Is Africa a non-racial continent inhabited by racially undifferentiated peoples unschooled in, and unfamiliar with, the power and privileges of whiteness? This article surveys the quotidian, conceptual, spatial, and symbolic landscapes of racialized privilege and prestige in postcolonial Africa. I analyze this salient but discernible architecture of racial tropes, perceptions, and continuities as a counterpoint to the popular myth of contemporary Africa as a place in which race is an unintelligible and invisible factor in social relations, a place in which the colonial work of race and racism purportedly expired with political independence. Using examples from across Africa, I argue that colonial racial signs have persisted in the postcolonial public space, inflecting elite aspirational cultures and marking social distinctions disguised with the language of class and culture. In addition, African elites and common folk alike have actively expanded and added to a vast, variegated system of socio-cultural valuation and devaluation that is rarely acknowledged as racial in origin or interpellation, and whose connections to contemporary transnational structures of racial privilege remain hidden beneath non-racial signifiers. Deploying the popular Anglophone African conversational idiom of “colonial mentality,” which is often advanced to designate a range of practices, behaviors, and ways of seeing, acting, and conceptualizing the world, I contend that postcolonial Africa is saturated with numerous social idioms of race and racism. Africans, I argue, have not been passively imbricated in this universe of racial meanings; rather, they have been active participants in it.

The term " development " has become mantra in the socioeconomic and political discourses in the 'third world' including Africa. Many are the continental and national policies whose target is the development of man in Africa. NEPAD, NEEDS, Peer Review Mechanism, and ongoing sundry politico-economic reform programs in many African nations, are just to mention but a few examples of such development strategies. This is, perhaps, due to the fact that development is one of the most needed things in the continent today. But often, the meaning of this development is either taken as self-evident or resolved to a mere aspect of it. This paper seeks to clarify the meaning of development in the light of the integral understanding of man. It investigates the popular man-on-the-street understanding of development with a view to exposing its reductionist and diminished connotations. It is equally the aim of this paper to critically delineate the lines which integral development in Africa should toe. Note that on the whole, our study is built on the premise that the notion of development often sold to Africa and, which most African governments dangle as carrots before their citizens and for which they spend huge resources to arrive at is, at best, perspectival. This paper is capped with outlines of the path of the schemes of integral development for Africa.

Through the vehicle of Nicolas Sarkozy’s so-called “Dakar Address,” we will analyze the West’s persisting lack of insight into the need for Western decolonization. We will attempt to identify the dangers that come from this refusal, such as the continued adherence to colonial patterns, the enduring self-understanding as being superior compared to Africa, and the persisting unwillingness to accept colonial guilt. Decolonization must be understood as a two-fold business. Decolonization means overcoming endured and perpetrated violence. It is not only important that the colonially oppressed regain strength, it is equally important that the perpetrators of colonial violence understand their excess of violence and work on rendering its return impossible. We explain how Western thinking remains dangerous and untrustworthy if it rejects its own decolonization. Finally, we will draw attention to a fundamental pattern of Western thought that clashes with the fundamental values of the West: contempt. In a final step, we suggest how this contempt can be overcome through desuperiorization and the establishment of elative ethics.

Proposta de tradução do livro "Flash of the Spirit: African & Afro-American Art & Philosophy" de Robert Farris Thompson, Professor Emérito de História de Arte e Estudos Afro-Americanos da Universidade de Yale. Excerto traduzido: Índice e Introdução.

"""CONSPECTUS OF THE EXPLANATIONS OF THE IDEAS, BOTH AS CONCERNS THE SUBJECT AS WELL AS THE PREDICATE OF THE THESIS    AS CONCERNS THE SUBJECT 
What of spirit in general? C. I m. I. §.  I.
II. What of the human mind in particular? § 3. 

As concerns the Predicate 

I. What of the opposite of the predicate, namely (a) what of sense, (b) what of the faculty of sensing? m II.
II.
III. What of this predicate itself, or, apathy? ibid. m. III. III. What, finally, of this proposition itself, i.e., of this apathy of the human mind?
With these fundamental matters explained, we pass to the state of the question and to the thesis.

I. The negative thesis: the human mind does not sense material things, with proofs.
II. A second negative thesis: Nor is sensing a faculty of the human mind.
III. A third, affirmative thesis: But rather it is a faculty in our organic and living body, with proofs.

Proof of Thesis, I. Whatever senses, lives; whatever lives, is nourished; whatever lives and is nourished, grows; whatever is of this sort, is in the end resolved into its first principles; whatever is resolved into its first principles, is a being constituted from principles; every being that is constituted from principles has constitutive parts; whatever is of this sort, is a divisible body; therefore if the human mind senses, it follows that it is a divisible body. 

Proof of Thesis, II. No spirit senses material things; and yet the human mind is a spirit; therefore, it does not sense material things.
Proof of the Thesis, III. "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul" (Matthew 10:28); next, therefore: whatever is killed and can be killed, necessarily lives. (For to e killed is to be deprived of life by another through violence.) If therefore the body is killed and can be killed, it follows that it lives; if it lives, it senses; it follows that it takes profit of the faculty of sensing. Indeed, to live and to sense are perpetually joined in one and the same subject and principle."""

The creation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973 has significantly altered the dynamics of trade in fauna and flora. Despite this effort, curbing of criminal trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora has remained a key challenge for some countries. The objective of this study was to identify and establish the trafficking routes of illegal wildlife and forest products, analyzing the patterns and trends of wildlife and forest crime including their drivers, actors and modus operandi, and assessing the criminal justice response including the legislative, enforcement, prosecutorial and judicial systems. The analysis was based on the methodologies and principles embedded in African environmental ethics. It was concluded that African ethics allows for 'sustainable poaching' under the framework of Eco-Afrocentricism; but condemns poaching done for trafficking purposes. Five canons of sustainability were developed to guide 'sustainable poaching'. African capitalism thesis was used to support the analysis from political and economic perspectives.

In 1989 the Nigerian Universities Commission (N.U.C) made the study of “Philosophy and
Logic” compulsory for all Nigerian undergraduates, irrespective of their major areas of study in
Nigerian Universities. After more than a decade it is necessary for professional philosophers,
teachers of the subject, to take stock and access whether or not the teaching and learning of
philosophy has significantly impacted on the intellectual, moral and political concerns in our
culture and environment.
It is my view that academic philosophy in Nigeria in the last decade and a half is widely perceived
to have become significantly separated from other intellectual, moral and political concerns in our culture.
Academic philosophy is generally perceived as irrelevant, and held in low esteem in its isolation. The
central object of this paper then, is to explore ideas about some of the factors behind that isolation, primarily
with a view to understanding how such factors must be dealt with if one wishes to encourage a more
substantial contribution from professional philosophers in the solution of cultural, social, political and
environmental problems as well as an appreciation of the role and relevance of professional philosophy in
Nigeria.
In this introductory section the evidence for my assertions that “academic philosophy in
Nigeria ... is widely perceived to have become significantly separated from other intellectual and
moral concerns in our culture”, and that “academic philosophy is generally perceived as irrelevant,
and held in low esteem in its isolation” is briefly reviewed. I proceed to explain what “academic
philosophy” involves and then argue that why academic philosophy in this country has become
isolated is as a result of how some of its practitioners have practiced professionally. It is my view
that the challenge of relevance faces us as professional philosophers and that in general our
isolation will not be overcome unless professionalism in philosophy and its teaching come to be
reconceived and its professional standards restructured. We need to re-evaluate our role in
relation to contemporary relevance.
In the final analysis I advocate the humble descension of philosophy from the “ivory tower” to the “market
place”.

In recent years the seventeenth century Ethiopian philosopher Zera Yacob has been championed as a modern rationalist philosopher and forerunner of human rights, whose work uniquely preempted concepts traditionally attributed to European Enlightenment figures such as Locke, Descartes, Hume, and Kant. This interpretation of Yacob has proved particularly useful to scholars arguing for the recognition of Ethiopia's indigenous philosophical tradition in reaction to historical Eurocentrism. In contrast, Belayneh Girma (2017), argues that Yacob's reputation as an Enlightenment rationalist has no credible basis, a provocative dissent which does not appear to have been engaged in the literature. This article examines scholarly claims for both Yacob's apparently unique philosophical contributions and his relationship to the Enlightenment, using both an original assessment of Yacob's work, and application of Belayneh's critique. It concludes that despite being an innovator in his own environment, and despite his intellectual independence from the European philosophical tradition, Yacob was neither a precursor to, nor a participant in, the distinctively rationalist continuum of Enlightenment thought.

Thi Essay sould be understood as an Introduction to the African ancestral political Philosophy showing that the ideological assumptions about the lack of Democracy in African pre-colonial societies do not rely on any systematic and empirical Investigation in situ within these African Societies.

Traditional African societies are noted for their religiosity and so one would naturally expect that when it comes to matters of morality they will appeal to some divinities or gods for their moral jurisdiction and interpretation of their moral codes. Yet, according to Wiredu (1992) and Gyekye (1996), this is not true of traditional African societies when it comes to finding the source of their moral codes. For the two, an appeal to religion as a source of African moral values is a mistaken position. This paper challenges their position by showing the defects in their arguments and argues that the fabric of traditional African morality may tumble if God or religion is removed as either the source or part of the source.

This essays considers the formal and format choices in the work of three emerging installation-sculptors, Igshaan Adams (South Africa), Ibrahim Mahama (Ghana) and Moffat Takadiwa (Zimbabwe), who embrace an Africa-centric approach to abstraction and installatino  and their connection to the aspects of African philosophies.

The demand of philosophising in Africa has faced a history of criticism that has been particularly Eurocentric and strongly biased. However, that trend is changing with the emergence of core philosophical thinking in Africa. This paper is an attempt to articulate a singular issue in this evolution—the originality of African philosophy, through Ancient Egypt and its influence on Greek philosophy. The paper sets about this task by first exposing the historical debate on the early beginnings of the philosophical enterprise, with a view to establishing the possibility of philosophical influences in Africa. It then goes ahead to posit the three hypotheses that link Greek philosophy to have developed from the cultural materiality of Ancient Egypt, and the Eurocentric travesty of history in recognising influences of philosophy as from Europe alone, apart from Egypt.

In a world where Africans are trying to make their philosophies and their modes of thought known to the Westerners under the umbrella of African philosophy, here comes another umbrella notion that accounts for the philosophies of the diasporan Africans especially in the New World. This umbrella notion as I said is called Africana philosophy. It puts into account all the articulations, speeches, writings etc. of these philosophers. It is also important to note here that some philosophers spearheaded this Africana thought in one way or the other but not under this notion. We shall see this as we move on in this paper. This is because the notion is of very recent origin even though traces of it were found in the philosophies of people that lived long ago.

Of the ideological traditions which have dominated the political imagination in the history of " South Africa " , two in particular are associated with the indigenous peoples conquered in the unjust wars of colonisation. The one tradition is commonly referred to as the Congress Tradition owing its name to the South African National Native Congress (later and more famously the African National Congress (ANC)). The other, although it traces its history to the resistance of the earliest wars of colonisation in the mid-seventeenth century, is commonly referred to as the Azanian tradition, owing its name to the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) formed in 1959 by a group of Africanists who left the ANC due to ideological differences in 1958. The name Azania 1 together with some other aspects of the tendency were also to be adopted by the Black Consciousness Movement of Azania (BCMA) 2 in the late 1960s after the banning of both the ANC and PAC following the Sharpeville Massacre 3 which came about in response to protest action organised by the PAC in 1960. The 'new' South Africa, sometimes referred to as post-apartheid South Africa, can be seen largely as the fulfilment of the telos of the Congress tradition. The Congress Tradition can be characterised as a species of liberalism, the proponents of which have been said to subscribe to a " broad-minded nationalism ". The ANC is often described as a " broad church " to mark out its accommodation of various ideological strands and political communities. It has indeed in its lifespan absorbed and, according to some views, been absorbed by and admitted into its leadership and membership communists, liberals and even Afrikaner (white) Nationalists. It ushered in an era of universal franchise and the adoption of a liberal democratic constitution with strong protection of private property rights after more than three centuries of racially determined legal measures regulating ownership which to date have meant that 1 In the PAC's postulation Azania is the true name of the territory which has been called South Africa since the South Africa Act 1909 of British parliament that established the Union of South Africa in 1910. This political event came about after the end of the Anglo-Boer war, a war between two European invading communities over the title to territory and sovereignty over South Africa they had usurped from the indigenous people after conquering them. These constitutional origins of South Africa reveal that it had its basis on the loss of title to territory (it so described) and sovereignty over it by the indigenous people conquered in the unjust wars of colonisation. In the PAC's understanding it was necessary, if the title to territory and sovereignty over it were sought, that South Africa itself be repudiated, even epistemologically. Azania was understood as the end to which the repudiation was directed, it was a signifier of the will towards the restoration of full and unencumbered political as well as epistemological sovereignty. 2 There are of course many other examples of political organizations sharing this tendency who adopted this name such as the Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) in 1961, the Azanian People's Organization (AZAPO) founded in 1978 and the Socialist Party of Azania (SOPA) in 1998, among others. 3 It is not insignificant that the ANC existed for almost half a century before the PAC was formed and remained unbanned during that entire period whereas the entire liberation movement was banned less than a year after the PAC's formation and no more than 2 weeks after its first protest campaign.

A simplified go-to document that shall the give the reader an overview of the pillars of African Traditional Religion. It also promises to be a book that urges the reader to find out more about African Traditional Religion because it demystifies a religion shrouded in secrecy and persecution from the major religions of the world. The Axioms of Kemet are advices and instructions from Ancient Egypt.

Anton Wilhelm Amo, an 18th Century African slave who lived, studied and taught philosophy in Germany, formulated a considerable critique of Descartes’ mind/body distinction. The history of philosophy has neglected to a fault Amo and his role in-and-for the history of philosophy. I strive, here, to remove this omission and to present a clear explication of Amo – the philosopher, the African, the unnoticed.

*This is a translation of Amo's dissertation.

The introduction and translation are meant to be a resource (PLEASE CITE &/OR INVITE ME TO PRESENT MY RESEARCH) until Justin E. H. Smith and Stephen Menn Critical Edition of Amo’s first two works is published in the next year or two.

The idea of witchcraft is a phenomenon that have being embedded in the consciousness of Africans. Witchcraft is not merely legendary, it was and is real. It is not extinct, it is alive and prospering. Witches have been able to come out into the open and show themselves for what they are. And what are they?  “Witches,” therefore, are typically people who selfishly want more than they ostensibly deserve, their aspirations and desires are judged excessive and illegitimate. They are intelligent, community-conscious, thoughtful men and women of today. Witches are typically seen as particularly active after dusk, when law-abiding mortals are asleep. According to traditional Navajo belief, when a witch travels at night, he wears the skin of a dead animal in order to effect a transformation into that animal. In some African cultures witches are believed to assemble in cannibal covens, often at graveyards or around a fire, to feast on the blood that they, like vampires, extract from their victims. If they take the soul from a victim’s body and keep it in their possession, the victim will die Witchcraft is a religion far more relevant to the times than the vast majority of the established churches. It is the acceptance of personal and social responsibility. It is acknowledgement of a historic universe and a means towards a raising of consciousness. The vast majority of covens (group of witches) are still wary enough that they do not throw open their doors and welcome all and sundry. There are many misconceptions about the existence of witches. They are happy to strengthen the misconception, but they do not proselytize. In this paper we shall discuss about witchcraft in detail and many practical cases of witchcraft.

In this article I critically discuss Professor Oladele Abiodun Balogun's reflections on the proper final ends of doing philosophy and related sorts of abstract, speculative, or theoretical inquiry. Professor Balogun appears to argue that one should undertake philosophical studies only insofar as they are likely to make a practical difference to people's lives, particularly by contributing to politico-economic development, or, in other words, that one should eschew seeking knowledge for its own sake. However, there is one line of thought from Professor Balogun, about philosophy being able to make life meaningful, that I argue ultimately-perhaps contrary to his intentions-entails that it can be appropriate to some degree to pursue philosophy that is unlikely to ameliorate poverty and similar social ills. My central aims in this article are to identify Professor Balogun's strongest argument against pursuing any knowledge for its own sake and to argue that an appeal to meaningfulness constitutes a strong, competing reason to seek out some of it.