Ethnophilosophy
Ethnophilosophy is the study of indigenous philosophical systems. The implicit concept is that a specific culture can have a philosophy that is not applicable and accessible to all peoples and cultures in the world; however, this concept is disputed by traditional philosophers. [1] An example of ethnophilosophy is African philosophy. The term ethno-philosophy was first used by Kwame Nkrumah and was coined by Pauline Houtondji who viewed it as a combination of ethnography and philosophy. Ethno-philosophy is based on the works of ethnographers, sociologists and anthropologists who interpret collective world views of African people's, their myths and folklores as a constitutive part of African philosophy. Ethno-philosophy is a study of ethnic Africans and their way of life. It has long been argued that Africans lack lacked culture and history and are illiterates, in the sense that the Africans were exposed to education by the missionaries (Basel, Wesleyan or Catholic) and colonial settlers. The study of ethno-philosophy aids Africans to know that they are rational thinkers and are not inferior as such arguments made by Westerners are false.
References
- Samuel Oluoch Imbo, An Introduction to African Philosophy (1998), pp. 38-39, ISBN 0847688410