African Literature as Political Philosophy looks in particular at Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah and Petals of Blood by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, but situates these within the broader context of developments in African literature over the past half-century, discussing writers from Ayi Kwei Armah to Wole Soyinka. M.S.C. Okolo provides a thorough analysis of the authors' differing approaches and how these emerge from the literature. She shows the roots of Achebe's reformism and Ngugi's insistence on revolution and how these positions take shape in their work. Okolo argues that these authors have been profoundly affected by the political situation of Africa, but have also helped to create a new African political philosophy.
African Literature as Political Philosophy looks in particular at Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah and Petals of Blood by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, but situates these within the broader context of developments in African literature over the past half-century, discussing writers from Ayi Kwei Armah to Wole Soyinka. M.S.C. Okolo provides a thorough analysis of the authors' differing approaches and how these emerge from the literature. She shows the roots of Achebe's reformism and Ngugi's insistence on revolution and how these positions take shape in their work. Okolo argues that these authors have been profoundly affected by the political situation of Africa, but have also helped to create a new African political philosophy.
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Overview
African Literature as Political Philosophy looks in particular at Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah and Petals of Blood by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, but situates these within the broader context of developments in African literature over the past half-century, discussing writers from Ayi Kwei Armah to Wole Soyinka. M.S.C. Okolo provides a thorough analysis of the authors' differing approaches and how these emerge from the literature. She shows the roots of Achebe's reformism and Ngugi's insistence on revolution and how these positions take shape in their work. Okolo argues that these authors have been profoundly affected by the political situation of Africa, but have also helped to create a new African political philosophy.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781842778951 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Publication date: | 06/01/2007 |
| Series: | Africa in the New Millennium |
| Pages: | 176 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.40(d) |
About the Author
M.S.C. Okolo was educated at the University of Calabar, and then at the University of Ibadan where she received her Ph.D in Philosophy. She also has a PG.D in Public Relations. A Civitella Ranieri Fellow, she is the author of Winds on my Mind, Leaps of Faith and has contributed to many short stories and poetry anthologies. Her short story 'Those Days' won a Liberty Merchant Bank Prize. Her Ph.D thesis won the CODESRIA Doctoral Prize, 2005.
Read an Excerpt
African Literature as Political Philosophy
By MSC Okolo
Codesria Books and Zed Books Ltd
Copyright © 2007 CODESRIAAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-84277-895-1
CHAPTER 1
Introduction: a neglected benefit
§ The recognition that there is an affinity between literature and philosophy and, by implication, political philosophy, is not new. As theoretical disciplines concerned with raising social consciousness, philosophy and literature engage in similar speculation about the good society and what is good for humanity. They influence thoughts about political currents and conditions. They can, for instance, lead the reader to critical reflections on the type of leaders suitable for a given society and on the degree of civic consciousness exercised by the people in protecting their rights. Philosophy and literature, equally, offer critical evaluation of existing and possible forms of political arrangements, beliefs and practices. In addition, they provide insights into political concepts and justification for normative judgements about politics and society. They also create awareness of possibilities for change.
Yet the benefits of the interface between African philosophy and literature are not frequently explored. The search for orientations in African philosophy neglected the importance of literary works in the construction of African ideology. This neglect is evident in the kind of recognition accorded to philosophy and literature as a course in philosophy departments in African universities. When it is taught at all, it is often offered merely as an option.
The quest for a dialogue between philosophy and literature is timely, given the political crisis confronting African societies and the consequent need to re-establish the basis of order in these societies. The imaginative writer, through his or her work, can offer critical appraisal of the existing political situation and in this way can mould or redirect the actions of society, its beliefs and values. As such, ideas contained in literature can influence people's perception about politics and about the best means of effecting political change.
By prompting people to seek justification for and to criticize their political situation, literature also performs a normative function. The imaginative writer through his or her work can set an ideal standard for society and the state. An imaginative writer can thus perform the function of political philosophy: to disseminate ideas significant for the understanding of politics in a given socio-cultural context. Achebe expresses this idea thus: An African creative writer who tries to avoid the big social and political issues of contemporary Africa will end up being completely irrelevant' (Achebe 1975: 78).
It is the aim of this book to show how a philosophical reading of literature can be of immense benefit in promoting African self-understanding by providing an intellectual and analytical framework within which the African experience can be conceptualized, interpreted and reorganized. To effect this, literary works dealing with political issues, specifically, Chinua Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah (Achebe 1987), hereafter referred to as Anthills, and Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Petals of Blood (Ngugi wa Thiong'o 1977), hereafter referred to as Petals, have been chosen for study.
The choice of Achebe and Ngugi is based on recognition of the fact that they have explored the African experience within the context of ideas that can be discussed and analysed. Equally, Anthills and Petals have been singled out for particular attention because of their insightful portrayal of the political situation in Africa. They also offer views on political reconstruction, a search for a new order in Africa.
Achebe, in Anthills, identifies the dominant problems preventing Africa from achieving social transformation, ascribing them to internal factors initiated and perpetuated by Africans themselves. In his work the activities of civil servants, urban employees of public corporations and students contribute more to perpetuating underdevelopment in African societies than do external factors. The solution is to adopt a political ideology that welcomes different ideas, a reformist agenda that aims at a gradual but consistent approach. Leaders must also act as role models. Ngugi, on the other hand, identifies imperialist capitalism as Africa's bane. As a solution, he suggests transformation of African societies in line with Marxist ideology, which accepts revolutionary violence as entirely justified, and proposes socialism and a classless society as means of resolving Africa's problems.
The differences in these writers' respective positions serve to highlight the inadequacies of each and to underscore the complex nature of the African political predicament. Appeal is made to a higher synthesis that transcends and harmonizes the essentials of their divergent views and goes beyond them to incorporate what both may have missed, providing a new course of social reconstruction for Africa.
It is hoped that the present work will contribute in the following areas: helping to highlight the immense benefit that might accrue from a philosophical engagement with literature; pointing up how the exploration of African philosophy through African literature might help to enrich African philosophy; assisting in showing how the investigation of literature can promote African self-understanding; and helping to provide insight into the relationship between literature and society in Africa. It is hoped, too, that it will add to the knowledge of how literature, specifically Anthills and Petals, throws significant light on the possibilities for social change in Africa, and also that it will add to the increasing demand for a practical mission for African philosophy in the contemporary world. Finally, it is hoped that it might serve to promote intellectual cross-fertilization between disciplines.
Outline of the book
The book is divided into seven chapters, the first this Introduction. Chapter 2 serves to establish a theoretical basis for the study. The following issues are discussed: first, a characterization of the senses in which philosophy and literature are employed; second, the affinity between philosophy and literature; and finally, a discussion on literature as political philosophy.
Chapter 3 focuses on Chinua Achebe and Ngugi wa Thiong'o as political thinkers, providing a theoretical basis for judging their works as political philosophy, and giving the rationale for a subsequent critical examination of Anthills and Petals as works of political philosophy. Two tasks are undertaken here: first, a discussion on the political thinkers in general, and second, a discussion on Achebe and Ngugi as political thinkers.
Achebe's reformist agenda in Anthills is the subject of Chapter 4. Achebe's portrayal of Africa's political situation and his ideas concerning the sort of ideology considered most appropriate for reordering African society are evaluated.
Ngugi's Marxist aesthetic is explored in Chapter 5, which aims to show how Petals functions as a fictional account of Marx's ideology of class struggle; the organization of workers through unions; the transformation of society through an inevitable revolution that will sweep away capitalism and all the oppressive tools it has used to enslave, divide, disunite, suppress and exploit the proletariat; and the eventual triumph of communism, presented as the ideal ideology to pursue in the transformation of African societies. Of course, with the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, Marxism faces a great challenge: to demonstrate its continued relevance as a political creed. Ngugi's ideology is also evaluated in this light.
Chapter 6 offers comparative analyses of Achebe's and Ngugi's perspectives on the African condition. Their opposing views on some key issues – class analysis, dependency and leadership – are also critically assessed.
The conclusion, Chapter 7, is a reflection on how the essentials of Achebe's and Ngugi's divergent views can be harmonized and what they failed to include incorporated in an attempt to find a new course for social reconstruction in Africa. My point is that an aggregate acceptance of either Achebe's or Ngugi's ideology will obscure important differences across the continent. What is needed is an open-minded, analytical approach that allows for serious interrogation of the process, the institutions and agency that make up Africa's political life in such a manner that individual African states are allowed the freedom to make necessary subtractions, additions, remodifications and, even, divisions.
CHAPTER 2Literature as philosophy: a theoretical framework
§ In building a theoretical framework for this book, it is necessary to start with conceptual clarifications, to prevent any misunderstanding, especially in the case of philosophy, where there is little consensus as to what it means. To achieve this, this chapter will attempt to establish the senses in which philosophy and literature are employed, it will define the affinity between philosophy and literature, and lastly, it will undertake a discussion on literature as political philosophy before examining pertinent examples.
Philosophy
It is a general belief that the word 'philosophy' has no universally accepted definition; philosophers are not in agreement about what the enterprise of philosophy should be – its nature, scope, method, limitations and so on. Nevertheless, there is a useful way of attempting to understand what philosophy is: an examination of some of its key concerns. These are the love of wisdom; the formulation of a worldview; a clarification or analysis of concepts and/or arguments; and a critical evaluation of ideas.
The love of wisdom This conception of philosophy is based on its etymology, the word 'philosophy' being derived from the Greek word philosophia, which means 'love of' (philo-), and 'wisdom or knowledge' (sophia). Western philosophy is said to have started with the Greeks because they are reputed to have been the first civilization to demonstrate this love of knowledge by posing the fundamental questions about the basic 'stuff' of all things.
Equally, Socrates is regarded by many as the model of a philosopher because of his relentless pursuit of knowledge. He openly confessed that he was ignorant but willing to learn. Even when the Delphi oracle declared him the wisest man in Greece, he still interpreted this to mean that he was wiser than other wise men because he was aware of his ignorance. Philosophy understood from this standpoint is the pursuit of knowledge – an attempt to probe underneath the surface of things.
The formulation of a worldview Among the common issues that engage philosophers are the following questions. What are the meaning and purpose of life? Is reality something physical or something grasped by mind alone? What is the relationship between the mind and the body? What is the true nature of justice? Can mankind be both free and subject to authority? These questions can be summed up as an examination of the basic questions concerning mankind and the purpose(s) of existence. What distinguishes a philosophical worldview is its generality and the use of reason, the rigour, the conscious or reflective effort that philosophers put into its formulation in an attempt to get at the real nature of things in so far as mankind can apprehend them.
Some of the distinguishing features of a philosophical worldview are worth highlighting. The first is that issues discussed in philosophy are of a general nature. This means that when philosophers are engaged in an issue, for instance, the mind-body problem, their interest is not limited to, say, Mr A's mind and body but to the relationship that exists between the mind and body of mankind in general. Socrates' concern with virtue, likewise, is not addressed to a particular man but to mankind in general.
The second point to highlight is that philosophers rely on reason in order to advance their points of view; philosophy is a rational inquiry and so philosophers do not admit superstitious beliefs, dogmas, supernatural revelation or any form of 'given truth' into their enterprise.
The third point is that the philosophic enterprise is a rigorous and conscious or reflective one. Philosophers strive to account for the real nature of any given thing as far as mankind can apprehend it. Philosophers are not easily satisfied with an answer, nor do they accept a view they know is inadequate. So long as it is reasonable to offer alternative explanations to a given phenomenon, philosophers will continue probing. Some examples will help to illustrate this point.
Plato's idealism follows from a systematic reasoning that the world can be bifurcated – the world of Forms and the world of Appearance (Plato 1941: 179–89). The world of Appearance imitates the world of Forms and the essence of philosophy is to reconnect the mind to reality. Aristotle disagreed with this on the basis that the Forms do not exist independently of physical things. If physical things imitate the Forms, then it follows logically that the Forms exist in things (Aristotle 1965a). Reality becomes not a transcendental Form but the physical objects manifesting Form.
Descartes employed a more stringent approach in carrying out his philosophical inquiry. For him, reality is neither Form nor the physical objects manifesting Form, but rather something that a rational agent will regard as indubitable (Descartes 1997). Thus, by a conscious denial of all knowledge he had acquired, he was able to arrive at a basic truth that he could not deny: the fact that he thinks.
Locke rejected the notion that the human mind can arrive at a basic truth by critically assessing the intellectual powers of man (Locke 1947). He reasoned that knowledge is based on the objects we experience. As such, the origin of ideas is not Plato's esoteric Form or Cartesian mind divested of all experience, but experience itself, which manifests in two ways, sensation and reflection. It is through the senses that we first get our ideas before the mind can reflect on them.
For Marx, all the above efforts to interpret the world, although important to philosophy, are not the whole of it. Accordingly, he declared that although philosophers may have interpreted the world in many ways, the point is to change it. Marx arrived at his view following a keen observation of historical processes. He reasoned that the economic well-being of mankind is all-important because this is what guides consciousness.
A clarification or analysis of concepts and/or arguments A main concern of philosophy is with ideas. In order to assess these ideas to find out if they should be accepted, modified or rejected, it is necessary to understand clearly the terms used in conveying them.
For instance, our present attempt to show how philosophy is to be understood in this book underscores the necessity for clarification. Without embarking on this exercise, a reader can interpret 'philosophy' in whatever sense he or she chooses, including interpreting it in the 'ordinary' sense, to mean a view that underlies what a person is doing, as when a cook talks about the 'philosophy of good cooking'.
Small wonder that some philosophers (Bertrand Russell, G. E. Moore and Ludwig Wittgenstein) see clarification or analysis of concepts as the main business of philosophy; most problems in philosophy are seen as arising from employing words inaccurately. In addition, to identify the meaning of a concept requires analysis of terms. In this way, language plays a vital role in the conception of philosophy. Ordinary language is seen as responsible for philosophical problems because it obscures meaning, and to resolve this problem, philosophy undertakes analysis of language. Its challenge becomes how to translate ordinary language into logically adequate language.
The logical positivists attempted to meet this challenge, dismissing metaphysics as meaningless on the basis that its language did not consist of sentences that corresponded with actual observations. Wittgenstein, who had advocated, in his Tractatus logico-philosophicus, the abandoning of metaphysics because it is meaningless, influenced them. Unlike Wittgenstein, however, the logical positivists declared what the content of a logically adequate language should consist of. For them, language should record actual observations; the factual meaning of a proposition depends only on its verifiability by the senses. This gave birth to their verification principle.
The view that philosophy is all about clarification or analysis of concepts, however, needs to be evaluated. How is the concept 'clarification of concepts' itself to be clarified? Parkinson (1988: 8) observes that 'clarity seems to be a relative matter, in that what may be clear to one person may not be clear to another'. In this way, clarity cannot be something absolute in the sense propagated by its champions. The logical positivists' position that verification is the all-important condition for a meaningful proposition also fails to clarify how verification itself can be verified. For instance, can the verification principle be either analytically or empirically verified? If it passes the test of analytic verification, then it would be uninformative and tautological. In this sense, it would lose its relevance as a test of meaning because it would never enrich our knowledge of the world. If, on the other hand, it is empirically verifiable, then it would itself require verification.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from African Literature as Political Philosophy by MSC Okolo. Copyright © 2007 CODESRIA. Excerpted by permission of Codesria Books and Zed Books Ltd.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1. Introduction: A Neglected Benefit
2. Literature as Philosophy: A Theoretical Framework
3. Chinua Achebe and Ngugi Wa Thiong'o as Political Thinkers
4. Achebe's Reformist Agenda in Anthills of the Savannah
5. Ngugi's Marxist Aesthetics
6. Achebe and Ngugi on the African Condition
7. Which Way for Africa
Notes
Bibliography
Index