African philosophy predates Tempels and originated with the Luba people themselves.
Evidence
In a real sense, African philosophy was there even before Tempels arrived in the Congo. Considered from that perspective, it can be said that the real fathers and mothers of African philosophy are the Luba men and women in the Congo. Janz (n.d.) admits as much when he says that “[Tempels], does not originate African Philosophy as such – that lies in the hands of Africans, and dates much further back.” What Tempels (1945) did, and what he deserves much credit for, was he applied European philosophical tools to understand the people he was working for, and he then shared the findings of his excavation with his superiors and colleagues in Belgium, the mission territories and the wider world. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 111
Categorization
- DEFINE: Establishes that ‘African philosophy’ proper predates the colonial missionary encounter.
- XREF: Connects to broader debates about whether colonized, non-Western peoples had philosophy before colonial contact, as in Bantu philosophy literature. — connects to: Tempels holds that the desire for plenitude of life structures all African religion; Tempels helped initiate the debate over whether African philosophy exists — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 208; Canonical African philosophy emerged largely in response to Tempels’s provocation — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 346 (+2 more)
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 111
Broader Connections
- Tempels held that Bantu were unconscious of their own philosophy
#contradicts(0.80) — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 505 - Canonical African philosophy emerged largely in response to Tempels’s provocation
#contradicts(0.70) — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 346 - Tempels helped initiate the debate over whether African philosophy exists
#contradicts(0.60) — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 208 - African philosophy must arise from its own cultural circumstances rather than replicate other traditions.
#corroborates(0.50)