Seminar: African sages, identifying the oral sources of philosophy in Africa

Sage philosophy is one of the important trends of African philosophy developed by Henry Odera Oruka (1944-1995, see photo). It is a philosophy practiced by rural and largely illiterate African sages (wise persons). It has made a significant contribution in identifying oral sources of philosophy. It has attracted a number of scholars owing to the fact that it could be a rich source of African philosophy that could also have wider implications for a philosophy that could be done in an intercultural manner. In this seminar ASC visiting fellow Bekele Gutema from Addis Ababa University will explore the nature and essence of sage philosophy. Sages have rational and critical ideas about fundamental human questions. They examine prevalent views on norms, values and also more abstract questions. They can be considered as people capable of producing the self-consciousness of their cultures. While it is an important trend in African philosophy, its extraverted approach to its sources, namely that it rejects a good part of the sages as ‘folk sages’ due to an unnecessary commitment to Eurocentric paradigms, has limited its contribution. Disentangling itself from loyalty to a narrow and impoverished notion of philosophy, sage philosophy can make significant contributions to African philosophy if it is able to approach its sources with the hermeneutics that focuses on making meaning from different sources and symbols.