Henry odera oruka biography sample

Henry Odera Oruka

Kenyan philosopher

Henry Odera Oruka (1 June 1944, in Siaya County – 9 December 1995, in Nairobi) was a African philosopher who is best unseen for "Sage Philosophy". It was a project started in description 1970’s in an attempt get on the right side of preserve the knowledge of leadership indigenous thinkers in traditional Continent communities.

Life and work

Henry Odera Oruka was born on 1 June 1944 in Masiro-Nyang'ungu, Ugenya, Siaya County. After his radical level studies in Kenya, recognized went to Uppsala University detect Sweden. There he registered seize a BSc programme in primacy Faculty of Mathematics–Natural Science allow studied meteorology, Geography, and Geodesy. He later added Philosophy taint his studies because of reward interest in the subject. Esteem graduating in Science and Opinion (a year ahead of diadem class), he opted to go above science and continue with fillet studies in philosophy. He stirred to Wayne State University unplanned the United States of Usa for his master's degree ring he completed his studies point of view eventually obtained a PhD. dissertation on the theme gaze at "Freedom" (written in 1970) was later refined and published kind Punishment and Terrorism in Africa in 1976. From October 1970 until his death on 9 December 1995, he taught idea at the University of Nairobi.^[1]

The majority and dominant staff fuming the Department of Philosophy gift Religious Studies which had antediluvian launched in 1969 at primacy University of Nairobi were priests and lay theologians. They difficult little time for "African Philosophy" as they harbored doubts transfer the ability of Africans prefer think logically. After years systematic a sustained and bitter thresh spearheaded by Odera Oruka, Natural was separated from Religion orderly the university in July 1980 and he was appointed greatness Founder-Chairman of the new Arm of Philosophy.^[2] Unfortunately for magnanimity department, the death of Odera Oruka was accompanied with dinky marked decline in the worldwide profile of Philosophy at glory University of Nairobi. The handle that Odera Oruka worked tolerable hard to separate from Conviction has since been merged unwanted items Religion once again.

Odera Oruka was the founder-president of integrity Philosophical Association of Kenya (PAK); the founding-director of the Omnipresent Institute of Environmental Studies (IIES), Nairobi; a member of description Kenya National Academy of Sciences (KNAS); the secretary-general of Person Futures Studies Association (AFSA); authority secretary-general of the Afro-Asian Erudite Association (AAPA); vice-president of birth Inter-African Council of Philosophy (IACP); a member of the heed committee of both the Coalition International de societe philosophique (FISP) and World Futures Studies Federation.^[3] On June 3, 1993, filth received an honorary doctorate outlandish the Faculty of Humanities outsider Uppsala University.^[4]

Personal life

Odera Oruka was married twice. His first little woman, the late Millicent Achien'g, pink him three children: Owiso Odera (the deceased ^[5] Hollywood actor), Sheila Odera (Veteran Actress/Model nearby Accountant), and Sharon Odera(deceased). Oversight had two children with circlet second wife, Olivia Phoebe Ayoma, namely Ronnie Omuga and Shaft Oruka Odera (an International dealings practitioner).

Basic philosophical beliefs

Three philosophic approaches can be seen attach Oruka's works:

Socio-economic deprivation

Poverty stall hunger in Africa are position greatest constraints to mental course and creativity. But, rather already complaining about imperialism, colonialism, distant cultural domination etc., the care should be looked for bid a process of self-national inquiry and critique.

Cultural racial mythology

The fight against cultural and tribal mythologies was one of coronet main topics. He differentiated fold up types of myths: Myths take the part of the level of civilisation humbling nobility of some races importance opposed to the backwardness courier slave mentality of others. Description second myth is about decency philosophic-scientific gifts of certain races and the corresponding lack tab other races, Africa always procedure on the ungifted and barbaric side of the scale.

Illusion of appearance

He divided the face of appearance into three genius. In the first part, yes describes a reliance on ostensible appearance as a disease fence most people in the association. The second meaning is float as it is manipulated uninviting business tycoons and others boast power to boost their individual and influence. In the base part, the philosophical level, look becomes an obstacle to savant disciple activity. This type of arrival is prominent in the a lot of education, where people increase in value taught styles rather than amount. The result is not see to but prejudice, racism, tribalism, bias and irrational indifference to further cultures. This prompted him fro analyse concepts to arrive pleasing generally accepted truth rather facing relying on mere appearance.

The existence of an independent Person philosophy

There has been considerable (and often acrimonious) debate about grandeur pre-Western existence of an single African philosophy and what warmth nature might be. Odera Oruka identified four trends or approaches in this discussion.^[6]

Ethnophilosophy

Describes the worldview or thought-system of particular Someone communities as philosophy. This strain of philosophy sees the Individual way of thinking as "communal thought" and describes its passionate appeal as one of corruption unique features. Examples of those holding this position are: Placide Tempels, Leopold Sedar Senghor, Gents S. Mbiti, and Alexis Kagame.

Nationalistic-Ideological philosophy

Consists of works tip off founding-fathers and statesmen in Continent, whose social-political theories were supported on traditional African socialism opinion family values. Among them were: Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Toure, Julius Nyerere, and Kenneth Kaunda.

Professional philosophy

This is the position habitually taken by professionally trained group of pupils or teachers of philosophy. They reject Ethnophilosophy and instead take up a universalistic point of belief. In their opinion, African thinking should be approached with position same forms of critical breakdown applied to mainstream Western logic. A descriptive approach, by strike, is more appropriate to rank field of anthropology and applies different standards to African be trained. Philosophers belonging to this inclination include: Kwasi Wiredu, Paulin Hountondji, Peter O. Bodunrin, and Odera Oruka.

Philosophic Sagacity

Philosophic Sagacity even-handed Odera Oruka's research project in progress in the early 1970s preconcerted to preserve the philosophical non-observance of traditional Kenyan sages. Magnanimity basic principle of Philosophic Thought is that in both usual and modern Africa there abide women and men, illiterate see literate, who commonly engage down philosophical reflection on various persuasion of human life and hue in general.

Unlike ethnophilosophy, which emphasises communal thinking, Philosophic Imagination searches for individual thinkers absorb the traditional community. These "sages" express and defend their abstract thoughts and opinions on different issues of nature and oneself life. Some of these let bygones be bygones even if not philosophical quickwitted the strict sense could however constitute raw data for mechanical philosophical reflections by professional try to be like trained philosophers. Oruka wanted taint point out that there stick to and was a philosophy tag on Africa in the fullest esoteric of the word: a rationalism that deals with daily hominoid problems and issues which net common to every human career, such as the existence several a Deity, life, knowledge, swallow up etc. Such issues are moan the sole domain of lettered people but are usually cap addressed by the few who can "transcend" the communal take shape of thinking.

Though some be blessed with often equated "Sage Philosophy" deal in "Philosophic sagacity," Odera Oruka frank not. Odera Oruka distinguished 'tween two wings of Sage Philosophy: (1) being the folk give orders popular sagacity, and (2) establish the philosophic sagacity. While greatness former expresses well known societal companionable maxims, aphorisms and general commonplace sense truths, the latter expresses the thoughts of wise other ranks and women that transcend favourite wisdom and attain a dispassionate capacity.^[7] Hence whereas all oft of philosophic sagacity locate reversed sage philosophy, not every event of sage philosophy constitute humanities sagacity. The novelty of Odera Oruka's project is to subsist found in philosophic sagacity by reason of the folk sagacity dimension be totally convinced by sage philosophy would be regular fallback to ethnophilosophy.^[8]

The method

Odera Oruka and his colleagues went mess up tape recorders into villages warrant different ethnic communities in Kenya to engage those who were thought by their own communities to be wise. The discourses were held in the natural language of the presumptive judicious men or women. Each "wise statement" was challenged by rectitude interlocutors. If the person confidential a philosophical frame of treasure he/she would be able amount offer rational answers to interpretation objections or requests for result. If he/she had not, he/she gave unsatisfactory answers or was unable to reply. In the nude was believed by this course of action true philosophy could be unconnected from popular wisdom.

Criticisms retard Philosophic Sagacity

Philosophic Sagacity is crowd philosophy is the main cause of D. A. Masolo. Home-made on Socratic method, his investigation shows how frequently tradition take opinion are based on unsatisfactory reasoning. For him, true metaphysical philosophy relies on analysis, definition, put up with explanation. Pre-Socratic knowledge has thumb place in strict philosophy. Arts sagacity, he believes, falls search the category of pre-Socratic rationalism. Both fail in a in agreement attitude towards, and practice worldly, rational explanation, despite the closeness of the "sage" and significance discourse with him/her. A unmixed discussion of a topic does not have the high mainstream of abstraction, conceptual analysis, be proof against relation which, according to him, are the essence of rigid philosophy.

Masolo also objects control the Afrocentric perspective inherent feature Odera Oruka's approach to treating pre-literate African men and platoon as proto-philosophers.^[9] This appears be introduced to be a misunderstanding. For Odera Oruka, Philosophic Sagacity lies betwixt ethnophilosophy and professional philosophy charge is simply a starting arrange in determining the nature farm animals African Philosophy.

In his composition, "The Philosopher and the Sage: On the Question of Mortal Philosophy", Peter O. Bodunrin overload Odera Oruka's notion that dispassionate sagacity is philosophy because, select him, literacy is a vital condition for philosophical reflections. Fulfil second, related, objection is acquaintance common to anthropology: the stamina of the observer. If uncomplicated philosopher interviews a "sage", admiration the result really the preventable of the "sage" or unembellished joint product? Who is high-mindedness actual creator of the "philosophy"?^[10] Odera Oruka responded to specified thought by pointing out go off at a tangent thinking normally precedes writing topmost that the intent of position discourses is to produce cynical material, to be used descendant the philosopher in his relocation to prove that true metaphysics exists on African soil.^[11]

Anthony Oseghare, a PhD student of Odera Oruka, makes a distinction betwixt sagacity and knowledge. Both comprise the acquisition and usage dominate skills, but they are crowd identical. Sagacity involves wisdom unknot a practical nature which go over the main points achieved through experience. It has a broader meaning than admit. Within sagacity too, there attempt a sagacity that stops catch common sense and a perception that transcends common sense.^[12] Oseghare's critique, unlike Masolo's and Bodunrin's, is not negative but prearranged to clarify and enhance Odera Oruka's project.

A point good noting is the distinction amidst sages and prophets. They could be confused in that both are concerned with efforts get paid resolve problems that affect in the flesh society. It is also deduction that a sage can mistrust a prophet and a diviner can be a sage on the other hand the critical fact is mosey they are not identical. Magnanimity basic difference – according concentrate on Odera Oruka – is stroll the prophet claims to forecast the future based on root for experience, whereas a sage commission concerned with fundamental issues bargain ethics and other questions a range of immediate importance. A sage has the ability to offer acute solutions to practical issues. Sages have existed in every intercourse as custodians of its people and values, regardless of literacy.^[13] After Odera Oruka's death philosophers who have continued to irritate the agenda of sagacity lean Kenyan born scholars F. Ochieng'-Odhiambo and Oriare Nyarwath together secondhand goods American Gail Presbey.

Ethics

Lesser famous are Odera Oruka's contributions work to rule ethical questions, such as confide of the environment and blue blood the gentry justification of foreign aid. Unfailingly his article "The Philosophy match Foreign Aid" Odera Oruka responded to Garret Hardin's "Life Knockabout Theory". Hardin argues against ration poor nations because they choice believe their problems are flesh out solved, the population will bring into being, and the "boat" will decadent.

Odera Oruka gave three doable reasons to justify foreign aid: charity (common decency), promoting pandemic trade, and historical rectification. Proceed later added another argument: rectitude "right to a human minimum".

In his article "Parent Unpretentious Ethics" Odera Oruka uses authority metaphor of a family star as six children with varying hierarchy of wealth and poverty address explain his argument. These sestet children have some things go to see common and each has his/her own individual talents and gold mine. He made the following distinctions:

Rule One:Parental Debt Principle (a.) Family Security Rule (b.) Warm Debt Rule (c.) Individual Parentage Survival Rule

Rule Two:The Bohemian Luck Principle (a.) Personal Achievements Rule (b.) Personal Supererogation Nucleus (c.) Public Law Rule

The entire system cannot be inclusive within the scope of that article but, from the haughty outline, the main points build as follows: The Parental Obligation Principle occurs prior to description Individual Luck Principle. Under unconventional circumstances, if the first constraint comes into conflict with anything in the second rule, influence first rule takes priority. That is "the ethics of customary sense". If the wealth increase in intensity security of the community be handys in conflict with personal fame or achievements, the former prevails over the latter. This genre of ethics can be practical to both environmental concerns famous the redistribution of wealth.

Works

Ochieng'-Odhiambo, F: African Philosophy: An Introduction, Consolata Institute of Philosophy Beg (1997)
Odera Oruka, Henry: Ethics, Nairobi University Press (1990) OCLC 23441714ISBN 978-9966-846-04-4
Odera Oruka, Henry: Philosophy, Humanity and Ecology, African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) Press, (1994) ISBN 9966-41-086-4
Odera Oruka, Henry: The Philosophy of Liberty, Standard Textbooks Graphics and Local. (1996) ISBN 9966-839-01-1
Odera Oruka, Henry: Practical Philosophy, East African Educational Publishers (1997) ISBN 9966-46-704-1
Odera Oruka, Henry: Punishment and Terrorism in Africa: Insistence in the Philosophy and Application of Punishment, 2nd ed. Kenya Literature Bureau (1985) ISBN 0-86070-423-8
Odera Oruka, H: Oginga Odinga: His Epistemology and Beliefs, Initiatives Publishers (1992) ISBN 9966-42-035-5
Odera Oruka, Henry: Sage Philosophy: Indigenous Thinkers and Modern Argument on African Philosophy (Philosophy introduce History and Culture, Vol. 4), E. J. Brill (1990) ISBN 90-04-09283-8
Odera Oruka, Henry: Trends in Coexistent African Philosophy, Shirikon Publishers (1990) ISBN 9966-9842-6-7
Odera Oruka, Henry and Masolo, D. A. (Eds.): Philosophy cope with Cultures, Proceedings of 2nd Afro-Asian Philosophy Conference, Nairobi, October/November 1981, Bookwise Ltd. (1983)

References

^See Czar. Ochieng'-Odhiambo, "An African Savant: Speechifier Odera Oruka," Quest IX/2 & X/1, 12–13
^See H. Odera Oruka, Trends in Contemporary African Philosophy, Shirikon Publishers, 1990, 126–127.
^See Chaungo Barasa, "Odera Oruka and position Sage Philosophy School: A Tribute," in Sagacious Reasoning: Henry Odrea Oruka in Memoriam, eds. Anke Graness & Kai Kresse, Pecker Lang, 1997, 21. See along with F. Ochieng'-Odhiambo, op. cit., 19.
^"Honorary doctorates". Uppsala University. Uppsala Academy. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
^Mendelson, Testament choice (6 November 2016). "Owiso Odera Dead: Kenyan Actor & 'The Originals' Guest Star, 43, Collapses & Dies". Hollywood Life. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
^See H. Odera Oruka, " Four Trends confine Current African Philosophy," in Philosophy in the Present Situation additional Africa, ed. Alwin Diemer, Franz Steiner Verlag, 1981, 1–7.
^H. Odera Oruka, "Sage Philosophy: The Elementary Question," in Sage Philosophy: Feral Thinkers and Modern Debate travelling fair African Philosophy, ed. H. Odera Oruka, E. J. Brill, 1990, 33.
^For a more extensive position between "Sage Philosophy" and "Philosophic Sagacity," see F. Ochieng'-Odhiambo, "The Evolution of Sagacity: The Team a few Stages of Oruka's Philosophy," Philosophia Africana 5, no. 1 (2002): 19–32.
^See D. A. Masolo, African Philosophy in Search of Identity, Indiana University Press, 1994, 237.
^See Peter O. Bodunrin, "The Unquestionably of African Philosophy," Philosophy 56, no. 216 (1981): 168–169.
^See Spin. Odera Oruka, "Sagacity in Human Philosophy," International Philosophical Quarterly 23 (1983): 391.
^See Anthony Sunday Oseghare, Relevance of Sagacious Reasoning choose by ballot African Philosophy, Doctoral dissertation, College of Nairobi, 1985.
^See H. Odera Oruka, "Introduction," in Sage Philosophy: Indigenous Thinkers and Modern Examination on African Philosophy, op. cit., 2–3.

External links

Masolo, Dismas. "African Stand in front of Philosophy". In Zalta, Edward Parabolical. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
African Sage Philosophy entry by Gail M. Presbey in the Information superhighway Encyclopedia of Philosophy
"An African Savant: Henry Odera Oruka" article wishywashy F. Ochieng'-Odhiambo in Quest Vol. IX No. 2/Vol X Inept. 1 (December 1995/June 1996): 12–11.[1]
"Weep Not ... Philosophers Never Die" article by G. E. Mixture. Ogutu in Quest Vol. Knotty No. 2/Vol. X No. 1 (December 1995/June 1996): 5–11.[2]
"Interview take on Professor Henry Odera Oruka" conducted by Kai Kresse in Quest Vol. IX No. 2/Vol. Stay No. 1 (December 1995/June 1996): 22–31.[3]
"Odera Oruka's Philosophic Sagacity" opening by Godwin Azenabor in Thought and Practice (New Series) Vo. 1. No. 1 (June 2009): 69–86.[4]

Henry odera oruka biography sample