Barry Hallen’s A Short History of African Philosophy
On Barry Hallen’s A Short History of African Philosophy:
Summary of Text The framework of this review shall be that every chapter/topic shall be individually reviewed. Having said so, I shall start much in the way Hallen started: by humbling my synopsis. In no way, shape, or form can this review qualify as substitution for the actual text. I shall simply abridge that which is already abridged for the purpose of pure relation of subject matter. In essence, with this summary I only seek to provide a concentrate of the fruit of the book. So, having established such, let me begin.
Introduction/The Historical Perspective Hallen first begins the book with the history and background of that which deals with “African Philosophy”. He highlights often how the focus of African discourse, from an intellectual point of view, is Egypt. While the dark land of Kemmet deserves ample acknowledgement in its own right, the whole of African higher thought extends way past that of only Egypt. In further extension, Hallen brings to the reader’s attention (if it wasn’t already there to begin with) the classical idea that Africa is often deemed “a-historical”. So many cultures have borrowed, rather stolen, from African scholarship that it is often lost among discussions of Greek and Roman civilization. Then he next discusses “The Moral Teachings of Ptah-Hotep”, a collection of thirty-seven by an official of the Old Kingdom (2400 B.C.E.) of the same name. These teachings dealt with subjects from the virtue of truth, to respect for one’s elders, to generosity. Ptah-Hotep elaborates greatly on the importance of strong listening and speech skills. The teachings, as a whole, seem to attribute great moral value to truth and those who speak it. It can be looked to as a sort-of handbook toward proper character at the time. The teachings even offer positive and negative consequences to the enacting or ignorance of each of the thirty-seven principles. Summarily, Ptah-Hotep teaching that
Summary of Text The framework of this review shall be that every chapter/topic shall be individually reviewed. Having said so, I shall start much in the way Hallen started: by humbling my synopsis. In no way, shape, or form can this review qualify as substitution for the actual text. I shall simply abridge that which is already abridged for the purpose of pure relation of subject matter. In essence, with this summary I only seek to provide a concentrate of the fruit of the book. So, having established such, let me begin.
Introduction/The Historical Perspective Hallen first begins the book with the history and background of that which deals with “African Philosophy”. He highlights often how the focus of African discourse, from an intellectual point of view, is Egypt. While the dark land of Kemmet deserves ample acknowledgement in its own right, the whole of African higher thought extends way past that of only Egypt. In further extension, Hallen brings to the reader’s attention (if it wasn’t already there to begin with) the classical idea that Africa is often deemed “a-historical”. So many cultures have borrowed, rather stolen, from African scholarship that it is often lost among discussions of Greek and Roman civilization. Then he next discusses “The Moral Teachings of Ptah-Hotep”, a collection of thirty-seven by an official of the Old Kingdom (2400 B.C.E.) of the same name. These teachings dealt with subjects from the virtue of truth, to respect for one’s elders, to generosity. Ptah-Hotep elaborates greatly on the importance of strong listening and speech skills. The teachings, as a whole, seem to attribute great moral value to truth and those who speak it. It can be looked to as a sort-of handbook toward proper character at the time. The teachings even offer positive and negative consequences to the enacting or ignorance of each of the thirty-seven principles. Summarily, Ptah-Hotep teaching that