PLS1502 ASSIGNMENT 3 OPTION A & B COMPLETE
ANSWERS STUDY GUIDE 2025/2026 VERIFIED
SOLUTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS ||
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Section 1: Defining African Philosophy
1. What is the central problematique explored in the discourse on African philosophy?
Answer: The central problematique is whether philosophy, as a rational and critical
discipline, can exist in a culture that is often stereotyped as pre-logical, mystical, and communal,
thereby lacking individual critical thought.
2. According to Bodunrin, what are the four trends in African philosophy?
Answer: The four trends are: 1) Ethnophilosophy, 2) Philosophic Sagacity, 3) Nationalist-
Ideological Philosophy, and 4) Professional Philosophy.
3. Who is considered the "father" of the debate on African philosophy and why?
Answer: Placide Tempels, with his book Bantu Philosophy, is often cited as the starting
point. He initiated the debate by attributing a coherent, albeit implicit, philosophical system to
the Bantu people.
4. What is the primary criticism leveled against Ethnophilosophy by professional
philosophers like Paulin Hountondji?
, Answer: Hountondji criticizes Ethnophilosophy for being a collective, uncritical folklorism
that treats African thought as a unified, monolithic worldview rather than a critical, individual,
and text-based enterprise.
5. How does Philosophic Sagacity differ from Ethnophilosophy?
Answer: While Ethnophilosophy focuses on the collective worldview of a people,
Philosophic Sagacity focuses on the critical reflections of individual wise persons (sages) within
a community who can engage in rational debate.
6. What is the main goal of Nationalist-Ideological philosophy?
Answer: Its main goal is to combat colonialism and cultural imperialism by reclaiming
African identity, fostering mental liberation, and providing ideological frameworks for post-
colonial nation-building (e.g., Négritude, Pan-Africanism, Ubuntu).
7. What does the "Professional Philosophy" trend emphasize?
Answer: It emphasizes that African philosophy must adhere to the universal standards of
philosophy as a critical, rigorous, and text-based discipline practiced by individual thinkers.
8. Define the term "Particularism" in the context of African philosophy.
Answer: Particularism is the view that African philosophy is unique and distinct from other
philosophical traditions, grounded in the specific cultural, historical, and existential experiences
of Africa.
9. Define the term "Universalist" in the context of African philosophy.
Answer: Universalism is the view that philosophy is a universal discipline of rational
, inquiry, and African philosophy should be judged by the same critical and logical standards as
Western or Eastern philosophy.
10. What was the significance of Oruka's "Four Trends" in African philosophy?
Answer: Oruka's typology helped to categorize and clarify the different approaches and
movements within African philosophy, providing a framework for understanding its development
and internal debates.
Section 2: Key Thinkers and Their Ideas
11. Who is credited with the philosophy of Négritude?
Answer: Léopold Sédar Senghor, along with Aimé Césaire and Léon Damas.
12. What is the core principle of Senghor's Négritude?
Answer: The core principle is the affirmation of a distinct African identity and worldview,
characterized by emotion, intuition, rhythm, and a symbiotic connection to the world, often
summarized as "emotion is African, reason is Hellenic."
13. How did Frantz Fanon's philosophy contribute to the liberation struggle?
Answer: Fanon provided a psychological and philosophical analysis of colonialism's
dehumanizing effects, advocating for violent revolution as a cathartic and necessary process for
the colonized to achieve genuine liberation and a new humanism.
14. What is the central argument in Julius Nyerere's Ujamaa philosophy?
Answer: Ujamaa (Familyhood) argues for an African form of socialism based on traditional
African family values, communal living, shared resources, and self-reliance, as opposed to
Western capitalism or doctrinaire Marxism.
ANSWERS STUDY GUIDE 2025/2026 VERIFIED
SOLUTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS ||
100% GUARANTEED PASS <LATEST VERSION>
Section 1: Defining African Philosophy
1. What is the central problematique explored in the discourse on African philosophy?
Answer: The central problematique is whether philosophy, as a rational and critical
discipline, can exist in a culture that is often stereotyped as pre-logical, mystical, and communal,
thereby lacking individual critical thought.
2. According to Bodunrin, what are the four trends in African philosophy?
Answer: The four trends are: 1) Ethnophilosophy, 2) Philosophic Sagacity, 3) Nationalist-
Ideological Philosophy, and 4) Professional Philosophy.
3. Who is considered the "father" of the debate on African philosophy and why?
Answer: Placide Tempels, with his book Bantu Philosophy, is often cited as the starting
point. He initiated the debate by attributing a coherent, albeit implicit, philosophical system to
the Bantu people.
4. What is the primary criticism leveled against Ethnophilosophy by professional
philosophers like Paulin Hountondji?
, Answer: Hountondji criticizes Ethnophilosophy for being a collective, uncritical folklorism
that treats African thought as a unified, monolithic worldview rather than a critical, individual,
and text-based enterprise.
5. How does Philosophic Sagacity differ from Ethnophilosophy?
Answer: While Ethnophilosophy focuses on the collective worldview of a people,
Philosophic Sagacity focuses on the critical reflections of individual wise persons (sages) within
a community who can engage in rational debate.
6. What is the main goal of Nationalist-Ideological philosophy?
Answer: Its main goal is to combat colonialism and cultural imperialism by reclaiming
African identity, fostering mental liberation, and providing ideological frameworks for post-
colonial nation-building (e.g., Négritude, Pan-Africanism, Ubuntu).
7. What does the "Professional Philosophy" trend emphasize?
Answer: It emphasizes that African philosophy must adhere to the universal standards of
philosophy as a critical, rigorous, and text-based discipline practiced by individual thinkers.
8. Define the term "Particularism" in the context of African philosophy.
Answer: Particularism is the view that African philosophy is unique and distinct from other
philosophical traditions, grounded in the specific cultural, historical, and existential experiences
of Africa.
9. Define the term "Universalist" in the context of African philosophy.
Answer: Universalism is the view that philosophy is a universal discipline of rational
, inquiry, and African philosophy should be judged by the same critical and logical standards as
Western or Eastern philosophy.
10. What was the significance of Oruka's "Four Trends" in African philosophy?
Answer: Oruka's typology helped to categorize and clarify the different approaches and
movements within African philosophy, providing a framework for understanding its development
and internal debates.
Section 2: Key Thinkers and Their Ideas
11. Who is credited with the philosophy of Négritude?
Answer: Léopold Sédar Senghor, along with Aimé Césaire and Léon Damas.
12. What is the core principle of Senghor's Négritude?
Answer: The core principle is the affirmation of a distinct African identity and worldview,
characterized by emotion, intuition, rhythm, and a symbiotic connection to the world, often
summarized as "emotion is African, reason is Hellenic."
13. How did Frantz Fanon's philosophy contribute to the liberation struggle?
Answer: Fanon provided a psychological and philosophical analysis of colonialism's
dehumanizing effects, advocating for violent revolution as a cathartic and necessary process for
the colonized to achieve genuine liberation and a new humanism.
14. What is the central argument in Julius Nyerere's Ujamaa philosophy?
Answer: Ujamaa (Familyhood) argues for an African form of socialism based on traditional
African family values, communal living, shared resources, and self-reliance, as opposed to
Western capitalism or doctrinaire Marxism.
