Critics accused Tempels of using Bantu Philosophy to safeguard colonial exploitation

Evidence

Some philosophers have observed that Tempels (1945) was playing politics. Paraphrasing Aimé Césaire, Chachage (1994, p.53) complains that Tempels’s Bantu Philosophy was a way of deceiving Africans: “Tempels was simply safeguarding the colonial order and exploitation while at the same time breaking the resistance of the African masses”. Chachage (1994, p.53) continues, “[W]hat Tempels was implicitly consenting to was the plundering, torturing, seizure of the natural resources, stamping of freedom, crushing the pride of Africans, and finally going away in peace”. These contradictions cannot be taken lightly. They may have some traction and, given human nature, it is not prudent to reject them outright. Nevertheless, it is important to put them in context and place oneself in Tempels’s shoes. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 145

Categorization

• QUESTION: To what extent did Tempels’s work actually legitimize colonial rule versus protect Luba culture — worth investigating the primary texts and reactions.