African proverbs pdf

Nietzsche reduced his epistemology to one main idea-- Will to power. Nietzsche contends that easo is ot a i st u e t of k o ledge, ut athe …the mask we use to disguise a p i iti e d i e that o t ols ou og iti e life. This d i e is hat he alls ill to po e. It manifests itself as the desire to overcome, do dominate my environment, to make my personal a k o the o ld, to eate, o to e p ess self.

He also alludes to politics of knowledge. To define reality is to control it. Adam Smith reduced his moral theory to sympathy, in his famous work--Theory of Moral Sentiments. For Adam Smith, ethics was as an essential part of knowledge as economics, and in treating ethical issues he would include commerce, political institutions and justice.

Plato s episte olog is su ed up i the allego of the a e. Hegel in his turn, spoke of reality in the follo i g a i : What is eal is rational and what is atio al is eal. While for Niccolo Machiavelli summed up his realist political theo thus: …it is fa ette to e fea ed tha lo ed if ou a ot e oth. Ethos of Knowledge Production Both philosophy and sociology of science agree that there is such a thing as a scientific view of the world, if there is to be a systematic and comprehensible explanation of both natural and social phenomena.

Science faces various constituencies who compete for its product—knowledge. Religious institutions, governments, companies and non-governmental organizations are all keen to know what kind of knowledge is produced, for what purposes and how it is produced.

The recent heated debate on climate change is a case in point. Those who examine proverbs more closely point to the frustrating fact that they tend to be contradictory. The apparent contradiction in proverbs demonstrate how reality is a complex phenomena. And so is the whole of philosophy. On one hand, there are rationalists, and on the other there are empiricists.

In ethics there are also contradictory schools: absolutism and relativism, natural law and social contract, and the list continues. These apparent contradictions just show how knowledge is not a simple truism in black and while. This complexity leads to the issue of how different discipline inter-relate in the process of knowledge production.

Here the ethic of cooperation found in Ubuntu philosophy can be invoked in scientific investigation. It calls for interdependence among various disciplines. The philosophical attitude is that which, more than any other, encourages an acquaintance with the intrinsic characteristics of science, both as a body of knowledge and as a method of enquiring about the o ld.

African proverbs that suppo t su h a i te dis ipli a oope atio a e: He ho does ot k o o e thi g k o s a othe Ke a ; Wisdo is ot i the head of o e pe so Aka of Ghana. Some criticism can be leveled against what some consider excessive communitarianism in African philosophy, that promotes the good of the collective at the expense of the individual, even in knowledge production.

There are some African proverbs that point to the need to develop personal responsibility. Such proverbs include:xxviii O e does ot fan the hot food that a othe a eat it Aka of Gha a ; No od a ks pal ke els ith his [or her] teeth for a othe ; A liza d does ot eat peppe fo a f og to s eat. Among African indigenous knowledge holders, there is extreme secrecy. When some specialists such as herbal medicine practitioners die, it is as though a whole library has been lost.

There is need for the much talked about communitarian ethic to be invoked to promote more sharing of secret knowledge in Africa.

Most African proverbs speak about the role of experience and observation as crucial for authentic knowledge.

This aspect of knowledge production needs to be encouraged instead of relying a great deal on religious beliefs and mystical powers. A elated attitude that can hamper scientific investigation is the tendency to give too much credit to ancestors or elders. This is why the invocation of proverbs has also to be looked at critically lest they be taken as dogmatic pronouncements of timeless wisdom.

There should be some skepticism in any investigation, if objective truth is to be arrived at. Conclusion As Africa continues to search for its identity through African philosophy, one place to look are African proverbs that contain age-old insights, and a condensed form of African world-view.

Despite all the colonial and neo-colonial forces that acted against African identity and world- view, African proverbs have kept African values intact. But these values hidden in African proverbs have to be retrieved and used in mainstream scholarship as a methodology of knowledge production. On close inspection, it is clear that African proverbs are a concise expression of African ontology, epistemology, moral, social and political philosophy. I enjoy photography, music and watching comedy videos.

Talking to people, learning new experiences, sharing my knowledge through blogs, motivating others are things that I always look forward to. View Author posts. If you can answer these 9 questions you definitely know how to stop being jealous of other people. These quotes will help you to make the decision that you need to make, to help you manage the pain, and to know that there is a light at the end of the rainbow. Tags: insta Lessons from Great Minds lessons in life teaching wisdom.

Louisa Davis Hi there! Related Posts. Life Lessons Family. What to do when someone takes your words too personally. Spiritual Love Romantic Relationship. When it comes to spiritual love, it can change your life and the way you see the world. Parenting Life Lessons. From time immemorial, African proverbs have been used to convey messages during important conversations.

It is believed that these such sayings come from the wise and only the wise understands it. Over the years, it has become associated with the wise, the elderly and the grey-haired who pride themselves in the knowledge of these proverbs and more often than not, use them to give stern advice children or the youth.

In most traditions in Africa, it is usually atypical for one to tell an African proverb and still be the one to explain the meaning. This notwithstanding, Answers Africa brings you some of the greatest and most famous African proverbs and their meanings:. Your email address will not be published. Home and pdf for pdf the pdf edition pdf pdf best books book pdf download how book pdf free download books for book free book online novel book pdf pdf and book the book.

This approach left some students capable of dropping rich wisdom freely but not being able to ask you how your day was. Many African proverbs are strongly tied to the earth and animals, conveying lessons of life and learning often through daily, seemingly menial, procedures. What are your favorite African proverbs? Share them in the comments. File Name: list of african proverbs and their meanings pdf.

All the many different types of African people have a rich cultural heritage that has survived colonialism, conflict and many other issues. Except for Egypt, there may not be huge libraries of written history or literature dating back for hundreds or even thousands of years in Africa, like there is on other continents. African proverbs and their meaning Account Options Sign in.