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That collaboration has always been the foundation of human development as well as the coping strategy of some animal species is a view widely shared by scholars. In fact, no individual, organization or nation can produce everything it needs without collaboration. Therefore, nations and organizations use the concept of the triple helix as a collaborative tool to find solutions for commercial and social challenges. However, the main challenge of the model when applied has always been how to ensure its sustainability and its outcomes. Central to this challenge is the rationalist paradigm adopted in its conception and implementation, especially in an African context where communal and collectivist values are features of the society. Therefore, this paper advances a different model of collaboration. The African philosophy of Ubuntu is used as the framework for the conception and application of the triple helix. Our approach is grounded on the assumption that "culture" is one of the key determining success factors in sustainable collaboration. The approach requires a change in mindset and organizational structure and culture. Our practical approach to addressing the needed change is supported by renowned scholars in management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ubuntugogy as a method of teaching and learning emerged from the African theory and philosophy called Ubuntu. Ubuntugogy was introduced by Bangura (2005) as a proposed strategy for teaching and learning in the African classroom. For almost three centuries Africa has been subjected to and/or implementing Western methodologies, thus suppressing the notions of Ubuntu in African classrooms. This paper aims to critically analyse the literature and attempt to portray the viability of Ubuntugogy as a feasible pedagogical construct in education. It is also important to take note of the limitations that come with Ubuntugogy as a pedagogical construct. Utilising the SWOT analysis framework, this paper discusses the strengths and limitations that come with the practice of Ubuntugogy in the African context. Literature has revealed that Ubuntugogy has the potential to promote communalism, collaboration, respect in the classroom and appreciation of African knowledge systems. In contrast, literature has also indicated that Ubuntugogy can face challenges like individualism, stereotypical mentalities, and lack of interest from the stakeholders. Taking into account the analysis, it is safe to mention that Ubuntugogy is a viable pedagogical construct to be utilised in the African classrooms. This paper recommends a change in stakeholders' mindsets, the practice of collaborative instruction and collaborations between the stakeholders and students. Taking into consideration the literature presented in this article, it is proposed that the teaching and learning paradigm should change from non-Africa philosophies to African-based theories and philosophies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how indigenous African communities have become critical for developing epistemologies of relation and entanglement in the dominant problem of contemporary resilience understandings of adaptation in the Anthropocene imaginary. Grounded in the indigenous African epistemological philosophies, this paper explores critical alternative futural framings that directly oppose the modernist epistemological understandings of resilience imaginaries in the Anthropocene. The analysis presented here is based on understanding indigenous non-modern ways of knowing as key in the context of ecological crisis in the Anthropocene resilience. This paper argues that reductionist modernist epistemology fails to fully acknowledge how alternative futural imaginaries of indigenous non-modern ways of knowing have become central to critical Anthropocene resilience approaches in the discipline of International Relations. In contrast, this paper explores indigenous African epistemologies of relation and entanglement as alternative futural imaginaries that better capture resilience climate adaptation in the Anthropocene. The paper concludes that focusing on resilience and understandings of adaptation in the Anthropocene opens other possibilities for the development of indigenous non-modern ways of knowing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Tsenay Serequeberhan's hermeneutics has been crucial to the development of African philosophy. Initially employed as a pathway through the ethno- and professional philosophical debates, scholars have engaged how Serequeberhan's hermeneutics grapples with one's own place within a socio-historical world in service of liberation/self-determination. However, this scholarship mainly has focused on his adaptation of Gadamer's 'effective-historical consciousness' for his own concept of heritage. This consequently leaves his concept of a 'lived existence' – which is equally crucial – under-examined. This paper probes what a 'lived existence' entails and its essentiality when explicating how one even begins to authentically think, which is the groundwork to Serequeberhan's hermeneutics. This deepens why his concept of heritage matters as a starting point for self-determination. Addressing this lacuna, this article asks, where does philosophy begin and where should it go, particularly when rationality has been historically denied? Serequeberhan's point of departure to answer this question proposes Heidegger's concept of thinking itself to arrive at a notion of existence; contrariwise to most African scholars who employ a Sartrean existentialism via Frantz Fanon. As such, this paper gives an in-depth exploration of Serequeberhan's initial reading of Heidegger, and then unfolds how he appropriates Heidegger to craft his notion of 'lived existence'. The upshot this is twofold: First, a broader understanding of Serequeberhan's project, its non-existentialist view of existence; Second, it describes how he specifically tailors his 'lived existence' to undergird his hermeneutical approach to heritage as a prescriptive, activist project which dynamically addresses the postcolonial situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ubuntu has been defined as a moral quality of human beings, as a philosophy or an ethic, as African humanism, and as a worldview. This paper explores these definitions as conceptual tools for understanding the cultural, educational, and philosophical landscape of post-apartheid South Africa. Key to this understanding is the Althusserian concept of state apparatus. Louis Althusser divides the state apparatus into two forces: the repressive state apparatus (RSA); and the ideological state apparatus (ISA). RSAs curtail the working classes, predominately through direct violence or the threat of violence, whereas ISAs function primarily by ideology, including forms of organised religion, the education system, family units, legal systems, trade unions, political parties, and media. This paper discusses the link between increasing inequality in post-apartheid South Africa and education, with specific reference to Althusser's ISAs and the abuse of Ubuntu as a subterfuge for socio-economic inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work seeks to examine the implications of Mbiti's Philosophy on African development as a way of tackling the problems of African development through the instrumentality of time. Mbiti's centres his philosophy on time which he sees as the key to African ontology. This paper uses this philosophy to examine the problems of development in Africa as Mbiti sees time as a key to understanding African ontology. This reveals that time has the capacity to reach every aspect of life in Africa as it is essential in explaining the beliefs, practices, attitudes and general way of life of the African people. Time also has overbearing influence in the politics, education, economic and religious aspects of life in Africa and addressing the issues in these areas tantamount to development in the society. Therefore, using the analytic method, this paper discloses the positive and negative implications of Mbiti's philosophy to African development. It observes that if Mbiti's concept of time is the way to comprehend African ontology, it can be used as a mechanism of understanding the problems of development in Africa. It contends that if due attention is given to the study of time in Africa; it has the capacity of tackling the problems of development in the continent. This paper concludes by recommending a model called an "Emo-Mechanical model" which is an African inspired developmental model that involves a strategic blending of African emotionalized time model and the western mechanical time category for an optimal results. This model of development will address the problems of development in Africa by appropriating the gains of western goal oriented model and at the same time retain African communual and relational values and peculiarities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deuteronomy 23:3, says: "No ... Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord". This verse is motivated by a discriminatory tendency embedded in the ontology of the Deuteronomist. Interestingly, Deuteronomy 23:3 was used by Ezra-Nehemiah to discriminate against the "Moabites" during the Second Temple. Such ontology is countered by the author of Ruth in the narrative of Ruth during the Second Temple. This demonstrates an ontological "war" within the Bible itself. The primary contestation lies in whether God is exclusive or inclusive. This development necessitates a hermeneutics of suspicion. In the course of history, the "theology" of Deuteronomy has been used to grossly violate the human dignity of many God-fearing African people and many other people of the South for colonial purposes. To exacerbate the situation, there were persistent attempts from some quarters to universalise such a discriminatory biblical perspective. This would feed into the centre–periphery arrangement, with the centre feeding the periphery with such hermeneutics. For this reason, African scholars are implored to be very vigilant against ardent pressures put on the biblical texts by ontological, epistemological, and contextual biases of interpretations. Accordingly, Andrew Mbuvi identifies African Biblical Hermeneutics perfectly when he says it seeks to undo "the very construct of the 'centre-periphery' binary by allowing the possibility of multiple centres"). Kenneth Ngwa, thus, rightly asserts that African Biblical Hermeneutics considers African epistemologies and conditions "to be invaluable and legitimate contexts and resources in biblical interpretation"), drinking from our own wells). In consequence, this paper intends to set a dialogue between Deuteronomy 23:3 and Ruth 4:18–22. This paper aims to examine the understanding of God behind these verses. This paper will then compare the two theologies with the African philosophical concept of God. Harnessing the African concept of Ubuntu, this paper will de-ideologise the two texts and thus will provide a recommendation concerning the two texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ethnophilosophy debate in African philosophy has been primarily concerned with the nature and future direction of African philosophy, but this paper approaches the debate in search of lessons about philosophy in general. The paper shows how this ongoing debate has been obscured by varying understandings of "ethnophilosophy" and that a de facto victory has long since transpired, since "ethnophilosophy," in the sense recommended here, is flourishing. The paper argues that the political arguments with which Hountondji and Wiredu initiated the debate in the 1970s supervene on the metaphilosophical view that ethnophilosophy, if philosophy at all, is of a poor standard. Showing that ethnophilosophy must indeed be philosophy, it argues that the critics' low opinions of it depend on unrealistic assumptions about how philosophy makes progress. The paper concludes that Africa is lucky to have ethnophilosophies and that the rest of the world should hope to develop some. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the underemphasised aspects of African Philosophy is how creative arts in Africa should be brought to bear in the effort to advance this tradition of philosophy. My aim in this work is to address this concern. I do this by exploring the basis for a synergy between African philosophy and artistic creativity in Africa. I discuss whether there is any relationship between the two and whether both can re-enforce each other. To do this, I (A) first clarify the ideas of philosophy and art implied and applied in this work and (B) apply this to address four questions, namely, (B1) Can wisdom be loved beyond pen and paper? (B2). How philosophical can or should creative arts be? (B3) How creative can or should African philosophy be? (B4). How philosophically African can creative arts be? I draw my claim from the above questions to argue that African philosophy can promote its course by heavily expanding philosophical wisdom through creative art and exploiting the art of wisdom in Africa, which is hugely embedded in creative art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decolonization, broadly construed, has to do with the cultural, psychological, and economic freedom of indigenous people to achieve indigenous sovereignty. At the core of decolonization is true independence from an alien way of life and influence. By proscribing colonialism and the racism that accompanies it, decolonization assumes a reversal of those norms, such as respect, empathy, and dignity, which shaped the relationship of peoples and states. Applying the method of critical analysis, this paper interrogates decolonization and African philosophy on the basis of the freedom it bequeaths and its task of bringing about the desired development to the African continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The African mind is generally in search of holistic existence. This quest sometimes appears to be somewhat hampered by the realistic living conditions in most African contexts, thus making it hard for the searching mind to attain its ideals. Nonetheless, the African mind learns to establish poise through substantial understanding. Although tossed between the daily experiential oscillations of the swift shift (move) from cultural amiable values to enigmatic secular tendencies, the African mind becomes enriched with wisdom rediscovered in the wider cultural milieu. Hence, the knowledge from the broader perspective empowers it to introduce needed changes for a positive upsurge in both the individual and society. The thomistic primordial notions of the "Habits of the First Principles" provide a framework for this sagacious embrace and transformation in a world still mutilated by injustice, corruption, intolerance and violence. According to this proposal, the quintessence of truth and integral existence is recaptured by the very nature of these conceptions. In Thomas Aquinas' viewpoint, these habits constitute the "act of being" (actus essendi) human. Because they have two principal aspects, the speculative - in the form of principle of non-contradiction (PNC) - and the practical, namely, synderesis, they name what constitutes the essence of the human person. In other words, the thomistic habits are not only essentially rooted in human nature, they also form the core of human actions. Invariably they redirect individual persons to wise fundamental human option: "to do good and avoid evil," albeit the contextual cultural varieties. In this paper, I demonstrate that the African mind shares in the wisdom of the rich resources of primitive philosophical notions geared towards individual and societal integral development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper does three interrelated things. First, it argues that the universalism that forms the target of criticism and attack by decolonial theorists from the Global South is a debased form of universalism, what might be termed ‘ethnocentric universalism’. Second, equipped with a conceptual grip on ethnocentric universalism, it shows that the picture on which ethnocentric universalism confers some innocuous epistemic privilege to members of dominant groups is not quite accurate – ethnocentric universalism is incompatible with the epistemic flourishing of members of dominant groups. And third, based on that claim, and the additional consideration that ethnocentric universalism equally undermines the epistemic flourishing of members of historically marginalized groups, it proposes an emancipatory framework for engaging with it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As with other world regions, free market capitalism or the neoliberal system has caused numerous individuals and families to lose access to viable income-generating bases in Southern Africa. This places them in a socio-economically abject and precarious position. Resource-poor and unemployed Southern Africans have for a long time been forced to migrate to less unstable economies within the region. South Africa continues to be the most attractive destination for most poor and destitute Southern Africans. These people are called 'economic refugees' in the dominant literature. Hitherto, the plight of the Malawian 'economic refugee' in South Africa has not attracted much scholarly attention. Drawing on the interdisciplinary methodologies of African social philosophy and African social history, we present the case of Malawian economic refugees in South Africa. Drawing upon ideas derived from Immanuel Kant's analysis in Perpetual Peace (1917), this paper argues for the promotion of the spirit of fraternity between South Africans and Malawian migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work argues that engaging Africa's cultural and epistemic resources as social imaginaries, and not as metaphysical or ontological "essences," could help practitioners of African philosophy overcome the cluster of shortcomings and undesirable features associated with "ethnophilosophy." A number of points are outlined to buttress this claim. First, the framework of social imaginaries does not operate with the false assumption that Africa's cultural forms and epistemic resources are static and immutable. Second, this framework does not lend itself to sweeping generalizations about Africa or large swathes of it. Third, the framework of social imaginaries remedies ethnophilosophy's problem of collectivism. Fourth, unlike ethnophilosophy, it does not romanticize and canonize a supposedly "idyllic" African past, which militates against a realistic and forward‐looking philosophizing. Finally, with the framework of social imaginaries, Africa's indigenous cultural and epistemic resources become amenable to being engaged with critical philosophical rigor. This not only enhances their potential for cross‐cultural philosophical conversation but also enhances their usefulness for addressing current sociopolitical issues affecting Africa. The discussion in this paper somewhat touches upon the question of method in African philosophy, using the ethnophilosophy problem to navigate the vast gamut of issues involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is an editorial titled "Transforming teacher education in Sub-Saharan African countries towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 by 2030: new opportunities, challenges, problems and prospects." It discusses the importance of inclusive education and the role of teacher education in Sub-Saharan African countries. The editorial highlights the need for teacher training programs to address the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for creating inclusive classrooms. It also emphasizes the importance of integrating inclusive education principles into the curriculum and providing opportunities for student teachers to critically examine their assumptions about diversity and disability. [Extracted from the article]

We argue in this paper that unveiling of concepts is a viable means of promoting the growth of African languages in contemporary African studies. We show that African languages face serious threat of extinction due to neglect from their users and undue influence of colonial languages. We contend that the ratio of indigenous languages used as official languages compared to colonial languages is poor and despicable. The growth of African languages has been stunted due to the multilingual nature of African continent. It has rendered the languages underdeveloped, thereby limiting their propagation and audience. We demonstrate how conversational thinking aids the growth of African languages and philosophy through conceptual articulation. Conversational thinking whose arumaristic approach aims at creating new thoughts and unveiling new concepts offers African philosophers a robust tool for expanding the vocabularies of African indigenous languages by creating concepts from underexplored African traditional wisdom and clichés. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ubuntugogy as a method of teaching and learning emerged from the African theory and philosophy called Ubuntu. Ubuntugogy was introduced by Bangura (2005) as a proposed strategy for teaching and learning in the African classroom. For almost three centuries Africa has been subjected to and/or implementing Western methodologies, thus suppressing the notions of Ubuntu in African classrooms. This paper aims to critically analyse the literature and attempt to portray the viability of Ubuntugogy as a feasible pedagogical construct in education. It is also important to take note of the limitations that come with Ubuntugogy as a pedagogical construct. Utilising the SWOT analysis framework, this paper discusses the strengths and limitations that come with the practice of Ubuntugogy in the African context. Literature has revealed that Ubuntugogy has the potential to promote communalism, collaboration, respect in the classroom and appreciation of African knowledge systems. In contrast, literature has also indicated that Ubuntugogy can face challenges like individualism, stereotypical mentalities, and lack of interest from the stakeholders. Taking into account the analysis, it is safe to mention that Ubuntugogy is a viable pedagogical construct to be utilised in the African classrooms. This paper recommends a change in stakeholders’ mindsets, the practice of collaborative instruction and collaborations between the stakeholders and students. Taking into consideration the literature presented in this article, it is proposed that the teaching and learning paradigm should change from non-Africa philosophies to African-based theories and philosophies.

Immigration ethics debates remain deeply Eurocentric in their assumptions and focus. Due to the dominance of a universalising, liberal perspective, the thought and experience of the global south continues to be excluded, except as 'senders' or 'transiters' of people. Not only does the debate thereby misrepresent the majority of the world, it also necessarily excludes that majority from having anything useful to say about ethical approaches to immigration. In this way, it offers a partial, parochial, local theory that mischaracterises itself as international and universal. By making common cause with decolonising approaches from Latin America, this article seeks to challenge this Eurocentrism by drawing on an example of African immigration ethics: postcolonial Tanzania's 'open door' era. Here, the combination of the OAU's expanded definition of a refugee, alongside the 'traditional' indigenous values of Julius Nyerere's pan-Africanism and native socialism (ujamaa), made for a generous, if highly restricted welcome for hundreds of thousands of people. This reveals the need for immigration ethics to dispense with the search for 'universal' norms that are limiting and exclusionary. Instead, it should explore pluriversality: the importance of local, creative, relational responses to mobile populations that are ongoing in the global south. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human nature in Africa, especially among the Yoruba, is a subject of contention in contemporary age. It is, however, important to mention that existing literature abound that suggests the Yoruba as a communalistic society. Thus, the is perceived as a corporate entity where communal living is placed above individual existence. Against this background, Segun Ogungbemi contends in his article "An Existential Study of Individuality in Yoruba Culture" that this age-long belief about Africans being communalistic in nature seems to have reduced the possibility of individuality in Africa because it is western-directed. Using the analytical method of philosophy, this study attempts a further interrogation of Segun Ogungbemi's perspective on the place of individuality in understanding human nature within the Yoruba cultural context. This is because, the challenge of this possibility has opened a new vista in the narrative of scholars of African studies. The idea of holistic communal nature of the Africa and Africans has been redirected such that we now have two camps on the belief system, namely radical and moderate communalism. In spite of the dichotomy and the contention of these two camps, each of them still recognises the place of community or sense of collectivity in Africa. While the radical school of thought places the community far above the individuals, the moderate school of thought is of the view that the individual makes up the society/community. Therefore, the claim is we are because I am, and since I am, therefore we are. This is against Mbiti's view that "I am, because we are; and since we are, therefore I am." While the latter represents the view of the radical camp, the former is a representation of the moderate camp. It is the contention of this discourse that Ogungbemi's postulation tends towards radicalising the individuality far above the communal nature of the essence of the individual in Africa society. Hence, a re-reading of his argument within the prism of the moderate communalism in which Ogungbemi's contention is considered western-centric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article details how Ubuntu was incorporated into each step of the research project, shares the authors' experiences and key learnings, and provides recommendations for researchers utilizing Ubuntu as a research paradigm. Ubuntu is an ancient African philosophy emphasizing a way of life grounded in interdependence, collaboration, harmony, and community. In recent years, researchers have incorporated Ubuntu as a research paradigm to decolonize research in a sub-Saharan African context. The present article used international collaborative qualitative research conducted virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic to demonstrate the application of Ubuntu as a research paradigm for conducting research in the African context. Some of the key takeaways include technological factors to consider, establishing connections during the planning stage, and ultimately nurturing productive collaboration within virtual groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores Kwasi Wiredu’s argument that personhood is a status to be obtained through one’s community instead of being given on account of being born a human. Therefore, a person becomes (or loses) their personhood through communal engagement. This makes personhood a moral and political concept with massive implications for how Western philosophy perceives the self and the other. I argue that these moral and political implications are much stronger than many want to realize. Wiredu’s account, if accepted, compels one to reconceive the notion of personal development, worldhood, and what decolonization entails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Philosophical counselling is typically conceptualised as a praxis going beyond academic and theoretical philosophy. However, two problems soon follow, namely the lack of agreed-upon methods and a substantial neglect of different philosophical traditions informing its practice. In this article, I propose reconceptualising philosophical counselling as a distinct method through which academic philosophy can be practised. This allows me to introduce an understanding of African philosophy, inspired by African philosophers Chimakonam and Serequeberhan, that might encourage the philosophical counsellor to render academic philosophy more applicable to the counselee. Moreover, it allows for embodied voices talking from an embedded African lifeworld to create new and more relevant concepts that emerge from that lifeworld. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]