ANCIENT AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY- Solved Possible Exam Questions
N.B: This course is simply all about “IDENTIFY”. Except you are asked to explain (which is very rare) simply “IDENTIFY” as has been done below. These are some questions which usually do repeat themselves year after year. So, study them well. However, pay attention to your lecturer and find out if he might be going in a different direction this time. But if not, GOODLUCK!
N.B: This course is simply all about “IDENTIFY”. Except you are asked to explain (which is very rare) simply “IDENTIFY” as has been done below. These are some questions which usually do repeat themselves year after year. So, study them well. However, pay attention to your lecturer and find out if he might be going in a different direction this time. But if not, GOODLUCK!
1. Identify five reasons why philosophy does not have a univocal (a single general-universal) definition.
i. Culture (e.g. Chinese)
ii. Age i.e. era, epoch or time (e.g. medieval age)
iii. School of thought (e.g. idealism)
iv. Area of perspective (e.g. epistemology)
v. Ambition of the philosopher (e.g. Descartes rebuilding of philosophy)
2. Identify what makes a philosophy ancient?
· A philosophy is ancient, if it is based on the anchorage of thoughts in long time past.
3. Identify what makes a philosophy African?
· A philosophy is African, if it is centered within the existential life and orientation of the Africans.
4. Identify two differences between Ancient and Modern African philosophy.
i. Ancient African philosophy asks and answers fundamental questions; while, modern African philosophy seeks to find out the meaning of these questions and answers by clarifying and analysing them.
ii. Ancient African philosophy is a first order (holistic) activity; while, modern African philosophy is a second order (atomistic) activity.
iii. Ancient African philosophy is oral; while modern African philosophy is written.
iv. Ancient African philosophy is all about philosophizing; while modern African philosophy has philosophers.
5. Identify two reasons for and three reasons against the idea of African philosophy in African language.
· 2 Reasons for:-
i. One cannot critically explain human experience well enough to an African by using a foreign language.
ii. It is in African language that African philosophy can be best formed and expressed.
· 3 Reasons against:-
i. Most African languages are local, whereas philosophy is an international discipline.
ii. There is no unity of language, as we do not possess a lingua franca in Nigeria, talk more of Africa.
iii. Most indigenous languages are not taught in schools, (especially in Nigerian schools) and where taught, they are done so in colonial languages.
6. Identify two reasons for and two against the question, whether or not we can have an African philosophy without a written tradition.
· 2 Reasons for:-
i. Apart from the written tradition; discussions, debates, conversations, cultural, social and political settings at any given time and place are part of a philosopher’s work.
ii. Socrates (a Greek philosopher) never wrote anything down and he is still one of the world’s acclaimed philosophers.
· 2 Reasons against:-
i. There is no philosophy without a written tradition.
ii. People in traditional African societies are illiterate; and such people cannot really have a philosophy.
7. Identify in which senses, Ancient African philosophy can be said to be rational.
i. It is a philosophy found upon rational evidence.
ii. It is a philosophy found upon observation of reality.
iii. It is a philosophy found upon deductions drawn from human experience.
8. Identify four senses of logic in Ancient African philosophy.
i. Harmony of discourse.
ii. Logic of understanding (logic of aesthetics).
iii. Dynamic logic as against static logic.
iv.
9. Identify the importance of the myth of God’s withdrawal in Ancient African philosophy; or, identify four importance of mythology in ancient African philosophy.
i. It is geared towards the teaching of moral values.
ii. It justifies the culture of the people.
iii. It teaches virtues like moderation, obedience e.t.c.
iv. It justifies the reason why people worship lesser gods, since God is withdrawn from man.
v. It helps us to understand and explain the universe.
vi. It justifies and describes human actions.
vii. It contains metaphysical, epistemological, ethical and logical dimensions.
10. Identify the advantage of myths and proverbs over philosophy; or, identify six importances of proverbs in African philosophy.
i. Proverbs constitute a relevant area where African philosophy can be extracted (especially ancient African philosophy) because it is un-written.
ii. Proverbs serve as an authority and a point of reference to ancient African philosophy.
iii. Proverbs serve as a scale of placement in learning.
iv. Proverbs has important ethical, spiritual, psychological, epistemological, metaphysical e.t.c. dimensions.
v. Proverbs are indispensable to conversations, discussions, arguments, ideas, feelings, beliefs and so on.
vi. Proverbs are highly symbolic and metaphorical.
vii. Proverbs are useful indicators and pointers to human behaviour.
viii. Proverbs are the infant stage of philosophy i.e. they are infant philosophy.
ix. The mode of communication of proverbs is more accessible to the uneducated masses as its wisdom can be easily shared by all.
11. Identify three levels or senses of African philosophy.
i. Traditional African philosophy un-written
ii. Traditional African philosophy written
iii. Contemporary African philosophy
12. Identify four reasons why African philosophy is better defined via a metaphysical concept
i. Philosophy is rich in metaphysics
ii. Metaphysics has been generally accepted as the core and fundamental area of philosophy.
iii. African philosophy is spiritual.
iv. Metaphysics is a deductive system of which other areas of philosophy flow from it.
13. According to C.S. Momoh, there are two types of logic. Identify them.
i. Logic in natural language.
ii. Logic in artificial language.
14. Identify the five senses of the critical question in ancient African philosophy.
i. The sense of self-criticism.
ii. The sense of other scholars criticizing one’s own views.
iii. The sense of ancient African philosophy being not analytical.
iv. The sense of ancient African philosophy being rational.
v. The sense of ancient African philosophy being mythological.
15. Identify five reasons why writing cannot be a pre-condition for African philosophy
i. Philosophy is basically thinking.
ii. There is a wealth of concepts, idioms and verbal sayings in African languages that are philosophical.
iii. There are many sources and forms of doing philosophy e.g. orally via tales, fables, proverbs e.t.c.
iv. Writing is not a prerequisite for doing philosophy.
v. Literacy is not a pre-condition for philosophy.
vi. Divination is also a mode of philosophy.
vii. The essence of philosophy is metaphysics and not writing.
viii. Writing is only a modern way of preserving thought.
16. Identify 3 reasons for and against the belief in reincarnation.
· 3 Reasons for:-
i. Atonement for previous misdeeds.
ii. Family resemblance and behavioural patterns.
iii. Memory transfer or retro cognition.
iv. Divination.
· 3 Reasons against:-
i. It raises the challenge of personal identity.
ii. It does not explain the increase in population.
iii. It contradicts and is incompatible with the belief in the ancestral world.
17. Identify 3 reasons for and against the belief in witchcraft.
· 3 Reasons for:-
i. A justification of witchcraft can be found in an African basic assumption about reality.
ii. Various testimonies have been given and cited about the experience of witchcraft.
iii. Similar concepts like clairvoyance, psycho-kinetics and telepathy show that witchcraft could also be real.
iv. The idea of witchcraft is highly relevant in African metaphysics and it touches on the mind-body problem.
· 3 Reasons against:-
i. There is no epistemological, logical and empirical justification for the belief in witchcraft.
ii. Confessions, beliefs and testimonies cannot be taken as basis for the reality of witchcraft; as such individuals could be psychologically disturbed.
iii. Since witchcraft is a mysterious phenomenon, its “modus operandi” (mode of operation) may not be known.
18. According to D.E. Idoniboye in his mind-body theory of spiritism, the mind is capable of being in two states; identify them.
i. The unembodied state.
ii. The disembodied state.
19. D.E. Idoniboye’s mind-body theory of spiritism credits the mind with two parts; identify them.
i. The active principle.
ii. The quiescent counterpart.
20. Identify five principles in the African basic assumption about reality.
i. Reality is beyond space and time.
ii. Reality is charged with life forces or spirits which are in hierarchical order.
iii. There is a constant interaction and ontological relationship among life forces.
iv. Superior forces can directly influence the lower ones while lower ones have only indirect influence on the superior forces.
v. Life forces are active and can be good or evil, friendly or hostile, benevolent or malevolent.
vi. Secret, unknown or unforeseen forces can intervene in the course of events, even in those consciously planned.
vii. Life forces can be strengthened or weakened, increased or decreased.
21. Identify the two main problems of the concept of God in (both) African (and western) philosophy.
i. God’s attributes and the ways in which he can be known.
ii. God’s relationship with the world.
