Meaning and Truth in African Philosophy: Doing African Philosophy with Language

174 Pages·2018·2.67 MB·English

by  Grivas Muchineripi Kayange

Philosophical Studies Series
Grivas Muchineripi Kayange
Meaning and
Truth in African
Philosophy
Doing African Philosophy with
Language
Philosophical Studies Series
Volume 135
Editor-in-Chief
LucianoFloridi, UniversityofOxford,Oxford InternetInstitute, UnitedKingdom
MariarosariaTaddeo,UniversityofOxford,OxfordInternetInstitute,UnitedKingdom
Executive Editorial Board
Patrick Allo, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
Massimo Durante, Universita` degli Studi di Torino, Italy
Phyllis Illari, University College London, United Kingdom
Shannon Vallor, Santa Clara University
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Lynne Rudder Baker, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Stewart Cohen, Arizona State University, Tempe
Radu Bogdan, Tulane University
Marian David, University of Notre Dame
John M. Fischer, University of California at Riverside
Keith Lehrer, University of Arizona, Tucson
Denise Meyerson, Macquarie University
Franc¸ois Recanati, Institut Jean-Nicod, EHESS, Paris
Mark Sainsbury, University of Texas at Austin
Barry Smith, State University of New York at Buffalo
Nicholas D. Smith, Lewis & Clark College
Linda Zagzebski, University of Oklahoma
Moreinformationaboutthisseriesathttp://www.springer.com/series/6459
Grivas Muchineripi Kayange
Meaning and Truth in African
Philosophy
Doing African Philosophy with Language
GrivasMuchineripiKayange
ChancellorCollege
UniversityofMalawi
Zomba,Malawi
ISSN0921-8599 ISSN2542-8349 (electronic)
PhilosophicalStudiesSeries
ISBN978-3-030-01961-7 ISBN978-3-030-01962-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01962-4
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Preface
The current proliferation of theories and schools in African philosophy seems to
suggestthatthequestion‘whatisAfricanphilosophy?’hasceasedtobeproblematic.
Apparently, it has entered a phase of doing and demonstrating the content of this
philosophy. In this book, I intend to contribute to this content by investigating
‘meaning and truth’ in African philosophy. This will be achieved through the use
oftechniquesfromanalyticphilosophy,moreespeciallyfromtheordinarylanguage
approachtomeaningandtruth.
Thebookisorganizedintoninechapters,whicharedividedintothreeparts.
PartIconsistsofawayofdoingphilosophyofmeaningandtruthusingordinary
language.
Chapter1investigatesthephilosophicalframeworkfordiscussingissuesofmean-
ing and truth in African philosophy. It mainly reflects on issues of method. The
analyticframeworkisselectedasappropriateforthediscussionofmeaningandtruth.
Thesecondchapter,‘PragmaticSemanticsandChichewaProverbs’,investigates
the question of meaning (semantics) of Chichewa proverbs based on insights from
thecontemporaryanalyticphilosophy.Itisarguedthataproverbisaspecialtypeof
sentence/speechactwhosemeaningrequirestheconsiderationofalinkbetweenthe
literal/non-literalmeaningandthewaytheutteranceisusedinagivencontext.Inthe
context of use, focus is on different elements such as, speaker, hearer, speaker’s
intention, hearer's interpretation and context. The chapter further argues and dem-
onstrates that proverbs provide an excellent framework for doing African analytic
philosophy.
Thethirdchapter,‘MeaningofTaboosUsingCounterfactualLogic’,studiesthe
meaning of taboo expressions by departing from a consideration of their structure
and use. While the chapter demonstrates that there is a strong presence and use of
counterfactuallogicinsomeBantulanguages,specificallytheChichewalanguage1,
1ThislanguageisusedbytheChewatribesofMalawi,MozambiqueandZambia(aBantugroupof
people).
v
vi Preface
it argues that the study of these figurative expressions using the counterfactual
framework offers a particular understanding of African philosophy and belief sys-
tems.ThechapterdemonstrateshowtodoAfricanphilosophy(withcounterfactual
logic) by studying taboos progressively from causal statements and conditional
statements to counterfactual conditionals as they are used in the Chewa people’s
variousmodesofcommunication.
Thefourthchapter,‘DoingAfricanPhilosophywithMetaphors’,suggestsaway
ofdoingphilosophythroughareflectiononmetaphors.Thechapterdevelopsthree
themesinsociopoliticalphilosophy.
The first theme investigates conceptual metaphors used in conceptualising the
notion ‘politics’ in modern African political thought (particularly in Malawi). It is
arguedthatthiscanhelpinunderstandingcognitionandbehaviourofpoliticalactors
inMalawi.
Thesecondthemefocusesonmetaphoricalconceptualisationofwomenandmen
inChichewalanguage.Itarguesthatalthoughwomenareregardedasveryimportant
in building the society, there is a tendency of conceptualising men in terms of
women. The practice stigmatises women as socially inferior to men. This system
ofconceptualisationrevealshowmembersofthesocietythinkandbehavetowards
womenincertainrespects.
The third theme focuses on metaphorical conceptualisation in the context of
different disabilities (misapplied conceptualisation). It argues that metaphorical/
linguistic conceptualisation of disabilities in Chichewa language reflects and con-
tributessignificantlytowardsthemisconceptionandmarginalisationofpeoplewith
disability.
The fifth chapter, ‘Riddles, Meaning and Rationality/Logic’, investigates issues
of meaning and rationality departing from a study of riddles. It argues that riddles
revealsomebasicconceptsoftheChewapeople’slogic.Thestructureofriddlesand
theiruseshowthattheChichewalanguagespeakersengageincriticalthinking.
PartIIdealswithconceptualanalysisofconcepts,namely,truthandbeauty.
Chapter6investigates,‘TheChewaConceptofTruth’,throughareflectiononthe
relationbetweenstatementsandreality/facts.ItarguesthattheChewapeoplehavea
logicalconceptoftruth,whichisdependentoftherelationbetweenstatementsand
reality,andtherequirementofobservation.Itwillbeshownthatforasentencetobe
true, it must correspond to facts, and there must be ontological commitment
supportingthisrelation.
Chapter7focusesontheconceptofbeautyinanAfricansetting.Itbuildsonthe
general objective and subjective conceptions of beauty and argues that Chichewa
languageshowspreferencetowardsasubjectiveconception.Thechapterdeniesthe
moralconceptionofbeautyasrepresentativeofAfricanunderstandingofbeauty.
PartIIIanalysesthetwoopposingAfricansystems,communitarianism(ubuntu)
and individualism, through the study of language. While ubuntu is commonly
knownasAfrican,theworkwilldeducethatindividualismisalsopresentinAfrican
traditionalthought.Thiswillbeshownthroughthestudyoflanguage.
Preface vii
Chapter8exploresubuntu/umunthu2idealismintheAfricantraditionalcontext.
Itisarguedthatthisidealismprovidesbothontologicalandethicalconceptionsthat
aregroundedontheideaof‘community’.Throughthestudyoflanguage,thechapter
showstheloopholesinthesedevelopmentsandsuggestsacomprehensiveconcep-
tionofubuntuthatisbasedonvirtuetheory(moralandintellectualvirtues).
Chapter9showsthatwhilecommunitarianismcanbededucedfromthestudyof
language,therearesomeexpressionsthatshowthatindividualismisalsopresentin
theAfricantraditionalcontext.
In order to avoid overcrowding the main content of this book, I have provided
appendixItodealwithaspecialcaseofriddles.AppendixIIisdesignedtodealwith
aspecialuseofidiomsandproverbsusingthespeechacttheory.3
Zomba,Malawi GrivasMuchineripiKayange
2Umunthu is a Chewa word which translates the term ubuntu. The concept umunthu may be
approachedbasedonthesyntacticstructureasacombinationofthesuffix–nthu,whichisoften
arguedbysomeAfricanphilosopherstomean‘being’ora‘thing’,and–u-muhas–mu,whichrefers
toahumanbeinganduinfrontofmusuggestsawayormodeofbeing,ofsomething(inthiscasea
humanway).Forinstance,thesubstantiveChitsirucanbetranslatedasafool.Addingutothis
word,itbecomesuchitsiru,whichmeansfoolishness.Similarly,whenweaddthesuffix-nthuto
thishumanway,itbecomesawayofbeinghuman.Approachingthisconceptintermsofsemantics,
itisimportanttolookathowpeopleareusingitinMalawi.WhenaChewa-speakingsubjectuttersa
statementthatxalindiumunthu,withxbeinghuman,itmeansthatxisamorallysoundperson.
3Chapter 1isinspiredbyanarticle whichwaspublishedinAfrican JournalofCultural Studies
(Kayange2014),while thethirdsection ofChap.5bymybookchapterin Disability inAfrica:
ResourceBookforTheologyandReligiousStudies(Kayange2017).
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following individuals for their support in developing this
manuscript:
Firstly, TimwaLipenga hasplayed animportant role in editing and questioning
someofthedevelopmentsinthiswork.
Secondly, Professor Louis Caruana, who has continuously supported me in
understanding logic, language and natural science, since thetime I was a BA, MA
andPhDstudentattheGregorianPontificalUniversityinRome.
Thirdly, thanks to all colleagues and students in the philosophy department at
ChancellorCollege,UniversityofMalawi,forchallengingmeonhowtodoAfrican
philosophy.
Lastly,thankstoMemoryThindoKayange,BethelKayange,LoveWhite,Nick
Kayange, Victor Mungomo, Stain Mateya, Steve Lupale and Mtisunge Thindo for
their support and patience during the development of this work. Special thanks to
MumandDadandtheKayangefamily.
ix
Contents
PartI FigurativeUtterancesandMeaning
1 PhilosophicalFrameworkforDoingAfricanPhilosophy. . . . . . . . . 3
1.1 TheQuestionofanAppropriateFramework. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 CentralConceptsfromAnalyticPhilosophy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3 ElementsoftheAdoptedFrameworkinAfricanPhilosophy. . . . 10
2 PragmaticSemanticsandChichewaProverbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.1 SourcesofChichewaProverbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2 UtteranceMeaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.3 Utterance-UseMeaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3 MeaningofTaboosUsingCounterfactualLogic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.1 CounterfactualFramework. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3.2 AListofTaboosandLiteralUnderstanding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.3 ChewaCausalStatements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.4 TheChewaCausalStatementsasConditionalStatements. . . . . . 37
3.5 TheChewaCausalStatementsasCounterfactualConditionals. . . 41
3.6 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4 DoingAfricanPhilosophywithMetaphors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.1 DoingPhilosophywithMetaphorsinCognitiveSemantics. . . . . 48
4.2 DoingAfricanPhilosophywith‘PoliticsIsaTrippingGame’
Metaphor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4.3 DoingPhilosophywith‘aManIsaWoman’Metaphor. . . . . . . . 61
4.4 DoingPhilosophywith‘MisappliedMetaphors’. . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
5 Riddles,MeaningandRationality/Logic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.1 Riddles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
5.2 AfricanPhilosophyandRiddles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
5.3 ChichewaRiddlesandUseMeaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
xi