Sagacity in African Philosophy

Frederick Ochieng’-Odhiambo is Professor of African Philosophic Sagacity at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. He earned his PhD at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, where he also taught for several years before relocating to the National University of Lesotho. He joined The University of the West Indies in 2003. His publications include Philosophical Reflections on Some Concerns and Values in African Societies (2023), Conversations in Philosophy: Knowledge and Freedom (2015), Trends and Issues in African Philosophy (2010), and African Philosophy: An Introduction (2002).

• Dedication - Acknowledgements - Introduction - Part I: The Thesis of Philosophic Sagacity - Chapter 1: Western Rhetoric on Africa - Skin Color and Rationality - On the Periphery of History - The Primitive Mentality - The Politics of Color - Chapter 2: African Response to Western Rhetoric - African Origin of Philosophy and Civilization - Approaches to African Philosophy - Conclusion - Chapter 3: An African Savant: H. Odera Oruka - Brief Personal History and Peculiar Passage to Philosophy - Philosophic Sagacity - Odera Oruka on the Nature of Philosophical Dialogue - Other Activities, Achievements and Honors - Chapter 4: Reason and Sagacity in Africa: Odera Oruka’s Contribution to Philosophy - Introduction - Perversion of Reason by Ethnophilosophy - The Copy-Paste Frame of Professional Philosophy - The Partisanship of the African Philosopher - Emancipation through Philosophic Sagacity - Chapter 5: The Tripartite in Philosophic Sagacity - Introduction - The Four Trends in African Philosophy - Aims of Philosophic Sagacity - Three Trends in Philosophic Sagacity - Conclusions - Part II: Relevance (Utility) of Philosophic Sagacity - Chapter 6: African Sagacity and Education - Introduction - Some Practical Relevance of Philosophic Sagacity - Education and Society - Educational Philosophers versus Philosophers of Education - Hegemony of Western Philosophy - Model of African Philosophy of Education - Analogy of Plato’s Philosopher Kings - Philosophic Sagacity and African Philosophy of Education - Banking Education versus Problem-Solving Education - Two Types of Sages - Pedagogy of Sagacity: Folk Teacher versus Philosophic Teacher - Conclusion - Chapter 7: Climate Ethics: The End of Development or New Paradigm through African Sagacity? - Introduction - The Western Concept of Development and Climate Change: Can We Sustain More Development? - Climate Change: Ethics, Rhetoric and Politics - What are the Alternatives to the Conventional Development Model? - The African Perspective: Communalism and Personhood in African Cultures - African Sagacity as Climate Ethics - Conclusion - Chapter 8: “Widow” Guardianship among the Luo People: Contemporary Challenges - Introduction - Widow Inheritance: A Colonial Nickname - Marriage and Levirate Union - The Cultural Practice of Lako and the Spread of HIV/AIDS - Predatory Materialism and the Institution of Lako - The Tradition of Lako and Freedom of Choice - Conclusion - Chapter 9: Communalism and the Naming System among the Luo of Kenya - Introduction - Part I - Communal Spirit in African Cultures - African Ontology - African Ethics - African Marriage - Notion of Greeting - Eating as a Social Event - Part II - The Naming System among Joluo - Names Given to Infants - Names from Dreams or Ancestral names - Names Depicting Kinship and Homeland - Conclusion - Part III: Interviews with Ochieng’-Odhiambo - Chapter 10: African and Africana Philosophers in Conversation: Interview with Professor Frederick Ochieng’-Odhiambo - Biographical Note - African Philosophy: Its Definition and Challenges - Relevance of African Philosophy - Role of Philosophy in National and Social Issues - Chapter 11: Interview with Frederick Ochieng’-Odhiambo conducted by Marcos Carvalho Lopes - Road to African Philosophy and Listing of some African Philosophers - Identity Search and African Philosophy - Pertinent Questions in African Philosophy - Womanism and Feminism in Africa - African Philosophy in Brazil - References - Index