UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS

January- March 2022

PLS1502

Introduction to African Philosophy

100 Marks
Duration 4 Hours

1st Examiner: Ms M Khosi; Ms T Modiselle; Mr M Lepuru; Ms G Ndlazi

2nd Examiner: Prof P Mungwini

This paper consists of 13 pages.

Instructions:

• This is a non-venue-examination.
• This paper consists of 50 Multiple-choice Questions that each count for 2 marks.
• You have 4 hours to complete this examination. Therefore, you are required to
submit your examination script within the allocated time.
• Please remember to tick the Honesty Declaration when you submit your answers,
otherwise without it your script may not be marked.
• Please answer all questions and make sure all questions are properly numbered.
• There are NO invigilation procedures with this exam.

Create your own answer sheet on a word document marked 1 to 50 with a period (.).
Your answer will follow each number in the form of a lower-case letter (i.e. a, b, c, or
d). Your answers should look like this*:

1. a
*Please be aware that these are not
2. b
the actual solutions.
3. c
4. d
5. a

Additional student instructions

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2. NO EMAILED SCRIPTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Open Rubric
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Best of luck with your Exam!

1. The origin of the term ‘Africa’ within this module is said to have come from which of
the following:

a. The historical and cultural life of the people of the continent.

b. Africa and her indigenous inhabitants themselves.
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c. Greek and Roman experiences and its climatic conditions.

d. Southern Africans from their journey across the continent.

2. The term ‘African’ in African philosophy refers to:

a. The universality of African Philosophy.

b. The particularity of African Philosophy.
c. The term does not mean anything.
d. The vulnerability of African Philosophy.

3. The term ‘philosophy’ in African Philosophy refers to:

a. The wisdom of African Philosophy.

b. The “scientificality” of African Philosophy.
c. The universality of African Philosophy.
e. The particularity of African Philosophy.

4. According to Imbo, the question “What is African philosophy?” is a complex question

because:
a. We must consider what counts as philosophy in the strictest sense.
b. We must consider who is making the definition and for what audience.
c. We must take into consideration one’s ideological commitments.
d. All the above.

5. In this module we argue that the controversy of the term ‘Africa’ stems from the
fact that:

a. Africans were colonized by non-Africans.

b. Africans vehemently do not like the term.
c. It is home-grown, and an imposition.
d. The term itself is complex.

6. According to Ramose, what is the effect of Africa’s colonial history to our

understandings of African philosophy?

a. Philosophy is strictly an African and Amerindian activity.

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b. Definitions around philosophy were produced objectively.

c. Africans were denied the ability to produce philosophy.
d. Philosophy isn’t only a rational activity but a collective one.

7. For Imbo, post-Modernism challenges mainstream philosophy for its assumption that:

a. It calls into question foundational beliefs.

b. It critiques the existence of Western philosophy.
c. It accepts that there is only a single reality.
d. It unconditionally accepts the Greek love (philos) of wisdom (sophia).

8. According to Imbo different philosophies such as African, Western, Chinese, and

Indian arise because of:

a. Different experiences of the world by different people.

b. Differences in IQs amongst different people.
c. Different educational backgrounds amongst people.
d. Different climatic conditions in various parts of the world.

9. Etymologically, the term ‘philosophy’ means...

a. The love of critical vision.

b. The love of practical ideas.
c. The love of education.
d. The love of wisdom.

10. In your study guide it is argued that as genuine lovers of wisdom we must question
every experience, the practice of which involves the attitude of not taking knowledge
and truth claims for granted. Which definition of African philosophy affirms this
position?

a. It should be a systematic and critical enterprise of human reasoning.

b. It should be taken by professionals, individuals or groups.
c. It should be written; thus, orality cannot be considered in Philosophy.
d. Its authorship must be considered when examining its arguments.
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11. The main point of Biakolo’s work, ‘Categories of cross-cultural cognition and the
African condition’ is that:

a. The 5 categories explain in precise terms who and what Africans are.
b. The 5 categories are right, accurate about Europeans and wrong about Africans.
c. The 5 categories can best explain the being of an African and a European.
d. The 5 categories are an erroneous explanatory tool of the African condition.

12. One of the contributions of Post-modernism to African philosophy is

a. The belief that African philosophy is better than every philosophy in the world.
b. The idea that there is no one school of philosophy that can capture the truth finally.
c. The idea that all philosophies must fall in favor of party-politics and social issues.
d. The belief that all representations of reality can be accepted without question.

13. In ‘The struggle for reason in Africa,’ the author argues, among others things, that
a. Aristotle’s definition was used to deny Africans of their rationality.
b. Africans are depicted as being equal to all other peoples of the world.
c. Women are affirmed as having equal power to men.
d. Reason is a scarce resource among human beings.

14. Odera H. Oruka’s famous four-fold classification of African Philosophy are the
following:
a. Ethno, Sage, traditional, written and contemporary philosophy.
b. Ideological, traditional, critical, and synthetic philosophy.
c. Professional, Nationalist-ideological, Sage and Ethno-philosophy.
d. Ethnophilosophy, lego, geo and techno and ideological philosophy.

15. Ujamaa as formulated by Julius Nyerere reflects one of Oruka’s following

classification of African philosophy:

a. Ethno-philosophy
b. Professional philosophy
c. Nationalistic-ideological philosophy
d. Philosophical Sagacity
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16. The Africanity of African philosophy refers to the specificity or particularity of

philosophy meaning that:
a. It does not matter if it’s like other philosophies.
b. It’s a set of characteristics that distinguish African, from Indian or Chinese
philosophies.
c. It identifies the techno-African as an expatriate without the skill to produce
philosophy.
d. It examines the epistemological process that has occupied Western philosophical
discourses.

17. Serequeberhan’s conception of African philosophy emphasises which of the

following traits?
a. It must be written; it must reflect on the verities of history but can also be written
by non-Africans.
b. A set of texts written only by Africans and described as philosophical by the
authors.
c. The separation between traditional African ideas from those created within the
Academic setting.
d. A focus on the creation of dialogue between Western and African ways of
thinking.

18. According to Dladla’s Racism and the Marginality of African philosophy, the
persistent marginalization of African philosophy and its teaching reflects:
a. The current outstanding issues of African liberation.
b. The lack reading material on African philosophy.
c. The lack of access to universities and conferences.
d. None of the above.

19. Mogobe Ramose in Struggle for Reason in Africa, argues that the marginalization of
the teaching of racism in Western philosophy in African universities is due to the
following reason:

a. The lack of access to institutions of higher learning.

b. The persistent denial of the rationality of Africans.
c. The lack of desire to teach African philosophy.
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d. The absence of publications on African philosophy.

20. In "How Is African Philosophy to Be Defined?", Imbo references the Bernal-Lefkowitz

debate. Here Martin Bernal in “Black Athena” documents the "Greek cultural
borrowings from Egypt”. What is Imbo attempting to illustrate by highlighting this
point.
a. That African philosophy was practiced in Ancient times.
b. That Bernal claims the Ancient Egyptians are black.
c. We must ignore who is making the definition and for what audience.
d. That the African influences to classical civilizations are ignored.

21. Why is it important to understand the ‘discourses’ on Africa and Africans?

a. It can influence your beliefs on the existence of African philosophy

b. It shows the capacity of orderly thought or procedure; rationality that is only done
by western thinkers.
c. It shows a verbal interchange of ideas; conversation that is unique to an African
and meridian people.
d. It assumes the universality through the ability of western philosophy in being able
to explain the lived experience.

22. The fact that there are various trends in African philosophy shows that:

a. African philosophy is nonexistent.

b. African philosophy lacks vision.
c. African philosophy is diverse and rich.
d. African philosophy is conceived poorly.

23. ‘Trends’ in African Philosophy means the following:

a. Different psychological inclinations.

b. Different approaches to their arguments.
c. Different objective inclinations.
d. Different “fashions’ linked to historical periods.

24. Which term does not best define the AFRICANITY of African philosophy,
following Osuagwu’s argument:
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a. Techno- African
b. Ethno-African
c. Geo-temporal African
d. Meridian-African

25. The two classifications of African philosophy according to Wiredu are:

a. Modern and traditional African Philosophy.

b. Ancient and medieval African Philosophy.
c. Post-modern and Modern African Philosophy.
d. Traditional and Contemporary African Philosophy

26. Which statement best describes Francophone African philosophy in the study
guide?

a. Propounded by philosophers from previously English colonial lands.

b. It is influenced by the analytical style of philosophizing.
c. Involves the questioning of identity and the dilemma of modernity.
d. Odera Oruka and Mogobe Ramose are some of its leading figures.

27. Nkombe and Smet make the following classification of African philosophy:

a. Ideological and traditional.

b. Nationalist- Ideological.
c. Texts written by African.
d. Religious vs Scientific.

28. Ali Mazrui distinguishes between ‘Africans of the blood’ and ‘Africans of the soil’. He
then defines the former group in terms of:

a. Genealogical terms.
b. Geographical terms.
c. Educational terms.
d. Philosophical terms.

29. Why does Odera Oruka not entertain the idea of a uniquely African conceptual
framework in respect to the discipline of philosophy?

a. African Philosophy has a different nature from those from other people.
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b. African philosophy engages in reflective and rational methodology.

c. African philosophy employs the use of collective ideas like myths.
d. African philosophy seeks a clear social theory for independence.

30. What is Odera Oruka (2002) arguing when he says that since ethnophilosophy is
not strictly speaking “philosophical”, those who claim it to be so use the term in the
unique and ‘debased’ sense of the term?

a. Ethnophilosophy cannot be considered philosophy due to its method of enquiry.

b. Ethnophilosophy can still be considered philosophical in the ‘strictest sense’.
c. Ethnophilosophy is a fall back to Sagacity and can claim to be philosophical.
d. Ethnophilosophy is a form of philosophy that uses collective beliefs.
.
31. Which of the following statements does not define radical communitarianism?

a. Community life is optional for all its members.

b. Personhood is something that one can fail at.
c. The individual must always be dependent on others.
d. Personhood is naturally oriented toward others.

32. What does philosophical anthropology contribute to African thought?

a. Nothing. Anthropology and philosophy are two separate disciplines that do not
implicate one another.
b. It helps one to understand the relationship between philosophy and anthropology.
c. Philosophical anthropology looks at the relation between the self and the
community.
d. It shows how African Philosophy is the same as Anthropology since both are
studied at university.

33. Which of the following is not in line with the general understanding of ‘the individual’
and ‘the self’ within the context of African Philosophy?

a. The individual rights can be limited for the betterment of the collective.
b. The self exists in relation with others who constitute the community.
c. The self, in relation to the community is summed up by ‘man is rational’.
d. The individual is ontologically relational; as seen in the philosophy of ubuntu.

34. Gyekye’s version of communitarianism is best described by:

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a. African communism.
b. Moderate communitarianism.
c. Radical communitarianism.
d. Western communitarianism.

35. Menkiti’s version of communitarianism is best described by:

a. African communism.
b. Moderate communitarianism.
c. Radical communitarianism.
d. Western communitarianism.

36. Who made the main argument that African cultures extol the virtues of community,
that moral obligations are primarily social rather than individual and that communal
factors often take precedence over individual rights or interests.

a. Ramose.
b. Oruka.
c. Biakolo.
d. Bewaji

37. What is Gyekye’s critique of Menkiti in the paper “Person and Community in African
thought” (2002).

a. Gyekye disagrees with Menkiti on his view that African philosophy cannot be
textually based.
b. Gyekye agrees with Menkiti’s understanding of community where children are not
mourned for at their death as they have not achieved personhood.
c. Gyekye argues against a description of community that is all-powerful where
individuals run the risk of failing to achieve personhood.
d. None of the above.

38. Where do individual human rights feature in Gyekye’s (2002) formulation of

communitarianism?

a. He concludes that the community must be considerate of the needs of the

individual when giving out punishment.
b. He concludes that the community’s success rests on the importance of allowing
the exercise of individual rights.
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c. He concludes that the needs of the community surpass those of the individual and
there is no space for human rights.
d. He concludes that since state institutions are necessary for the functioning of
society individual rights supersede the community.

39. According to Gyekye’s understanding of the doctrine of rights, what best describes
the relationship between rights and moderate communitarianism?

a. Rights protect individual interests and cannot therefore be communitarian.

b. Restricted Communitarianism accommodates communal and individual values.
c. There is no relationship between the doctrine of rights and communitarianism.
d. None of the above.

40. Which of the following statements does not belong to Gyekye’s understanding of
moderate communitarianism?

a. One is a person not because of what one has acquired.

b. A person is a person no matter their age or social status.
c. By nature, anyone can fail at achieving full personhood.
d. A person is a social being and they are also other things.

41. Gyekye makes reference to a Western understanding of the individual. He does this
when referencing Kantian ethical approach to “treat humanity, never simply as a
means but at the same time as an end”. What argument does Gyekye conclude from
this.

a. That Western or African understanding of the individual don’t differ since we are
all a part of the human race.
b. That Western philosophical concept of rights, can occur in an individualistic and
also communitarian way.
c. Gyekye’s reference to Kant is used to justify why communitarianism cannot
accommodate individual rights.
d. All the above.

42. What is the moral foundation of an African ethic according to Bewaji?

a. The balance between individual and communal wellbeing

b. The balance between Religion and morality within the community.
c. The pursuit of Divine intervention to ensure only the individual wellbeing.
d. The pursuit of Communal wellbeing whilst the individual is disregarded.
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43. One of the main points in Bewaji’s work, ‘Ethics and morality in Yoruba culture’ is
the following:

a. The moral obligations in African societies only concern the individual.

b. The ethical obligations in African societies are anti-humanist.
c. The moral obligations in African societies aren’t based on religion.
d. The ethical obligations of Africans are inherently conservative.

44. What is the best descriptor of the intra-personal pole of philosophy?

a. A human person is conceived as a composite substance made up of body and

soul.
b. A person is not only related to himself and is not an isolated, individuated, being.
c. A community is made up of various isolated beings that function to ensure the
benefit of the collective.
d. The nation state is understood as being critical in understanding the function and
purpose of individuals.

45. Bewaji argues that ethics permeates all spheres of life for African society. Which
statement best affirms this position?

a. Only the individual is expected to be ethical in their conduct.

b. The community’s interest supersedes individual interest.
c. Even the Gods and ancestors are expected to be ethical.
d. Ethics and morality is of the sole domain of the ancestors.

46. According to Bewaji, even as one pursue their own goals they must be careful not to
tarnish any tradition of excellence established by their family. This, however, does not
diminish the responsibility that society has to the_____________.

a. Youth.
b. Women.
c. Individual.
d. Community.
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47. In the opinion of Bewaji the suggestion that Africans are ‘‘in all things religious’’ and
that religion is the basis of their morality fail to understand what about Africans?

a. The beliefs of Africans as being inherently religious.

b. The ways Africans view the Eternal life of the soul.
c. The way religion is ignored by Africans in their morality.
d. The relationship between religion and morality.

48. Complete the sentence. According to Bewaji, devotion to the deities is

_____________.

a. intended to please the gods.

b. only in the interest of the divine.
c. in the interest of the people.
d. done solely in service of God.

49. According to Bewaji abuku literally translates as “blemish” which in Yoruba

understanding of morality means to act in what such a way?

a. In a way that is unworthy of engaging with the community.

b. In a way that allows one to hold a high office in the community.
c. In a way that is despicable and odious to the senses.
d. In a way that shows a lack of knowledge or the absence of knowledge.

50. What is Cosmology the study of?

a. The various trends in metaphysical philosophy.

b. The universe in its totality, and by extension, humanity’s place in it.
c. The community and their collective behavioural norms.
d. The ways in which Africans understand their place in the universe.

TOTAL: 2 marks x 50
= 100 marks
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