Tempels reserved systematic philosophical articulation for European intellectuals

Evidence

We do not claim that Bantus are capable of presenting us with a philosophical treatise complete with an adequate vocabulary. It is our own intellectual training that enables us to effect its systematic development. It is up to us to provide them with an accurate account of their conception of entities, in such a way that they will recognize themselves in our words and will agree. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 506

Categorization

• DEFINE: This quotation defines the core claim of Tempels’s alleged ‘philosophical racialism’ against which later African philosophers (Matolino, Hountondji, Mudimbe) defined their positions.
• XREF: Connects to the familiar colonial trope of the native who cannot articulate their own worldview and needs the European to give it voice.