Rethinking Sage Philosophy: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on and beyond H. Odera Oruka discusses a variety of aspects of Henry Odera Oruka's sage philosophy project, rethinking it with a view to current demands and recent debates in scholarship across several disciplines. Edited by Kai Kresse and Oriare Nyarwath, the collection engages perspectives and interests from within and beyond African philosophy and African studies, including especially anthropology, literature, postcolonial critique, and decolonial scholarship. The chapters focus on: studies of women sages; sage philosophy in relation to oral literature; an Acholi poem on 'being human' in context; takes on aesthetics and gender in Maasai thought; a comparative discussion of Oruka's and Gramsci's approaches to the relevance of philosophy in society; a critical review of method; a comparative discussion dedicated to the project of decolonization, with a South African case study; and a conceptual reconsideration of Oruka's understanding of sages, presenting the 'pragmatic sage' as typical of the late phase of the sage philosophy project.
Kai Kresse is professor of anthropology at Free University, Berlin. Oriare Nyarwath is senior lecturer of philosophy at the University of Nairobi.
Foreword D.A. Masolo Preface Chaungo Barasa Acknowledgements Introduction Kai Kress and Oriare Nyarwath Chapter 1: Reviving the African Sage Philosophy Project: Continuities and Discontinuities in the Research Methodology Reginald M. J. Oduor Chapter 2: Exploring Indigenous Knowledge: An Exposition of Sage Philosophy and Oral Literature Projects in Kenya Francis Owakah Chapter 3: 'Does this mean that there is philosophy in everything?': A Comparative Reading of Henry Odera Oruka's First and Second Order and Antonio Gramsci's First and Second Level Philosophy Benedetta Lanfranchi Chapter 4: Wisdom from Women in Kenya Gail M. Presbey Chapter 5: Oruka, Odinga, and Pragmatic Sagacity Bruce B. Janz Chapter 6: The Collective Sage: Maasai Philosophy and Resilience Donna Pido Chapter 7: Sagacity is Relational: No individual Owns Any Story Jared Sacks Chapter 8: On Being Human J.P. Odoch Pido Afterword Anke Graness Appendix 1: The Life History of Mama Julia Auma Ouko: Tribute to an African Woman Sage Humphrey Jeremiah Ojwang Appendix 2: Interview with Julia Ouko, Kamagambo, 3 May 1999 Gail Presbey (transcription and translation by Robert Vincent Okungu) Appendix 3: Interview with Ntetia Nalamae, Olepolos, 25 April 1999 Gail Presbey (translation by Daniel Sasine) Appendix 4: Interview with Henry Odera Oruka (October 1993) Kai Kresse (reprint from Quest: Philosophical Discussions (1995-6)) Appendix 5: Philosophy Must Be Made Sagacious: Interview with H. Odera Oruka (July 1995) Kai Kresse (reprint from Sagacious Reasoning (1997))
The "sage philosophy" method proposed by Henry Odera Oruka has been one of the most intriguing and important approaches to the study of philosophy in Africa. This volume looks back at Oruka's work, taking a balanced and critical assessment of his project and its potential, while also pushing the project forward, especially with new material on women sages, addressing an admitted gap in Oruka's original publications. -- Peter Adamson, LMU Munchen
