Afrikology, Philosophy and Wholeness
An Epistemology
Publication Year: 2011
Published by: African Books Collective
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
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pp. v-
Introduction
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pp. 1-3
Afrikology, as an epistemology of knowledge generation and application that has roots in African Cosmology, emerges at a time of extreme complexity in global economic and social relations, the physical environment and human history...
Afrikology and the African Heritage
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pp. 4-26
In this case, therefore, Afrikology seeks to retrace the evolution of knowledge and wisdom from its source to the current epistemologies, and to try to situate them in their historical and cultural contexts, especially with a view to establishing...
Greek and Western dualisation and abstraction of reality
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pp. 27-30
Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle are correctly blamed for having created a false hierarchisation of principles arising out of their search for ‘perfect’ knowledge due to their inadequate experiences in Egypt. Plato, in particular...
The implications of the quantum and relativity revolution for consciousness
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pp. 31-38
According to Diop, an attempt to restore balance in human self-understanding must begin with the creation of the contours of knowledge from their sources in order to create coherence in human cognitive powers. As far as those processes of knowledge creation are concerned...
Divination, shamanism and wholeness
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pp. 39-46
Before we get to address the issue of a new philosophy and epistemology, let us look at some of the theories and practices that are still to be found in African and other societies, but which help one to understand the integrated nature of reality and knowledge...
The African Chicane, witchcraft and divination
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pp. 47-60
According to Cornelius, the metaphor of the Chicane has ramifications for the study of hermeneutics, which enables us to extend our understandings beyond the traditional culture and the limits of divination itself. The Chicane, which on the one hand manifests...
Femininity, knowledge and Afrikology
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pp. 61-65
One of the cardinal requirements of Afrikology is the feminine principle in African consciousness and existence, which we must re-assert as we strive to rejuvenate African knowledge sources. This has been an aspect that Western epistemology has tried to undermine...
Dialogue between the ancient African worldview and the modern Western view
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pp. 66-67
The presentation of the experiences from shamanism and divination demonstrates the unity that still exists between human knowledge, human action and nature. This means that any attempt to erect a barrier between them leads to human disorientation...
The problem of reason and rationality
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pp. 68-74
The problem with the modern ‘hope’ is that its realisation has proceeded along the path in which reason has been understood in a spiral dialectical fashion, as understood by Hegel, and which Marx saw as being ‘upside down’. The conception turned what was conceived...
The problem of dialects and oppositionality
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pp. 75-81
One other area of contention which requires dialogue between the African ancient wisdom and the modern Western worldview is dialectics as a method, which ‘reason’ has promoted. It was in the 18th century that Emmanuel Kant developed his concept...
The central role of language
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pp. 82-90
One of the central areas of dialogue – and essential to the recreation of a holistic thinking – is the dialogue between the modern Western understanding of the role of language in the creation of knowledge and the ancient African understanding...
Towards Afrikology and a new philosophy
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pp. 91-110
In trying to answer the question as to whether an African philosophy exists, Diop points out that in the Western classical sense of the term, philosophical thought must bear out at least two fundamental criteria: it must be conscious of itself...
Afrikology, hermeneutics and understanding
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pp. 111-123
It is significant from the point of view of an Afrikology of knowledge that when the crisis of the modern scientific epistemologies began to manifest itself significantly in the consciousness of some of the mainstream thinkers, the only recourse...
Why Afrikology is different from other African approaches
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pp. 124-158
We have defined Afrikology as an epistemology – a philosophy of knowledge production – emanating from the Cradle of Humanity in Africa. We have demonstrated that it is not an ethno-centric philosophy but geographical in that it was first...
Afrikology as a universal emancipatory epistemology
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pp. 159-165
Based on the inspiration and epistemologies from the Universal Cradle of Humanity in Africa, Afrikology seeks to build on the achievements of African people and the rest of humanity in order to emancipate themselves from the dehumanisations...
References
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pp. 166-170
Back Cover
E-ISBN-13: 9780798303217
Print-ISBN-13: 9780798302555
Page Count: 178
Publication Year: 2011
