Tag: Philosophy of Language
-
Talks within the Ambivalence of Africa, Her Languages, and Philosophising in isiZulu – An Outside Perspective (Lindokuhle Shabane)
The School of Arts of the College of Humanities at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) invites you to a guest talk by Dr. Lindokuhle Shabane, UKZN alumnus and postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies “Philosophizing in a Globalized World” (GloPhi) at the University of Hildesheim, Germany.Dr. Shabane’s work sits at the intersection…
-
Philosophizing in isiZulu (Language Focus)
isiZulu is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch. It is one of South Africa’s 12 official languages and widely understood in the country. IsiZulu is primarily spoken in the province of KwaZulu-Natal of South Africa. It is mutually intelligible with some other Nguni languages, e.g. isiSwati and isiXhosa.Similar to other Bantu languages, Zulu nouns are classified into noun…
-
Philosophizing in Wolof: Beyond Translation (Monika Rohmer)
This article examines academic endeavors that philosophize in Wolof, tracing a rich intellectual lineage from Cheikh Anta Diop to Souleymane Bachir Diagne. Through contextual analysis of key texts, Dr. Rohmer explores how questions of translation and multilingualism are fundamentally linked to the definition of philosophy itself.Rohmer discusses Wolof notions proposed for core philosophical concepts including…
-
Entre nuit et lumière : Littérature et philosophie dans la pensée rwandaise (avec Chantal Gishoma)
Dans cet entretien, Chantal Gishoma réfléchit aux intersections entre littérature, philosophie et production de savoirs culturels au Rwanda, en s’attachant en particulier à sa longue familiarité avec l’œuvre du penseur rwandais Alexis Kagamé.Bien que formée comme spécialiste de littérature plutôt que comme philosophe, Gishoma souligne les profondes affinités entre littérature et philosophie. Les deux disciplines,…
-
Philosophizing in isiXhosa and the Re-Africanization of Thought (Simphiwe Sesanti)
In this conversation, Prof. Simphiwe Sesanti explores the philosophical and political implications of thinking in African languages, particularly isiXhosa, within the broader movement of Re-Africanization and the African Renaissance. He introduces the isiXhosa term inkcuba buchopho—derived from ukuchuba, “to peel”—to describe philosophizing as “peeling the brain,” that is, penetrating beneath surface appearances. For Sesanti, this…
-
Geschichten der Philosophie in globaler Perspektive (Vorlesungsreihe 2025/26)
In einer Welt, die immer stärker durch globale Verflechtungen, kulturelle Übersetzungsprozesse und vielfältige Wissensformen geprägt ist, steht auch die Philosophie vor der Aufgabe, ihre eigenen Voraussetzungen kritisch zu befragen.Um Orientierung in einer globalisierten Welt bieten zu können, bedarf es einer Philosophie, die sich ihrer historischen und kulturellen Situiertheit bewusst ist und ihre Geschichte nicht länger…
-
Philosophizing from Igbo Life-Worlds: Phenomenological Reflections on African Thought (Dominic Ekweariri)
Dr. Dominic Ekweariri approaches “Places of African Philosophies” through phenomenology’s core claim that human existence is being-in-the-world: meaning arises within lived contexts (Lebenswelt). Against Eurocentric universals, he argues that African philosophy must speak from African life-worlds—its environments, languages, and practices—rather than as a derivative of Greek-Latin categories. Philosophy’s task, he stresses, is not to deliver…
-
Philosophizing in Akan: The Genetic-Analytic Method and Bottom-Up Approaches to Conceptual Translation
The GloPhi Center recently hosted a research talk featuring Richmond Kwesi (University of Ghana) in dialogue with an international panel of philosophers. The discussion revisited Kwesi’s concept of a “genetic-analytic” method of doing philosophy in African languages, especially Akan, and examined its relationship to decolonial approaches. Kwesi and the participants engaged in a rich debate on…
-
Altägyptische Philosophie: Sprache, Denken und geschichtliche Verflechtungen (Amr El Hawary)
In diesem Interview positioniert Prof. Amr El Hawary Ägypten klar als Teil Afrikas und beschreibt es zugleich als Brücke zwischen Nordostafrika, dem Mittelmeerraum und Westasien. Die entscheidende Frage sei nicht, ob Ägypten afrikanisch sei, sondern wie sich das Afrikanische im altägyptischen Denken zeigt. Gegenüber eurozentrischen Traditionen, die Ägypten aus Afrika herausgelöst haben, betont er die…
-
Philosophizing in Many Languages: Translation, Proto-Philosophy, and Middle Voice Agency
As a follow-up to his lecture “Philosophy and the Plurality of Languages” in the series Philosophizing in African Languages, Rolf Elberfeld engaged in a rich research talk with colleagues and fellows at the Center for Advanced Studies. The discussion continued the lecture’s core argument that the diversity of languages is fundamental to the practice of philosophy.…