PHILOSOPHICAL ANTHROPOLOGY;CONCEPTUAL DIFFERENCES WITH ANTHROPOLOGY

                   

THE BIG QUESTION:

 DOES PHILOSOPHICAL ANTHROOLOGY DIFFER FROM ANTHROPOLOGY

Philosophical anthropology and anthropology are two related disciplines that seem to share extensive similarities however due to varying concepts and ideologies both fields present contrasting attributes. nevertheless before proceeding further it is necessary to clarify the two terms.

     In short philosophical anthropology according to a wide range of academic scholars has been described as a critical examination of basic anthropological concepts; such as what is man?, the objectivity of anthropological claims e.t.c. in other words philosophy of anthropology gives a critique into the infrastructure of anthropology.

    Anthropology on the other hand has been perceived by Adewale Oke as the ‘’most comprehensive of the sciences dealing with man and is works’’[1984,9];accordingly ,anthropology deals mainly with all types of human beings and their works considering human kind from antiquity to present day.however,it should be noted that some subfields

 of anthropology has strong relationship with biological sciences while some identify mainly with the social sciences.

   Between the two discipline there seem to be a great difference in approach or study. Aside from philosophical anthropology giving a critique of anthropology. The discipline explores the essential characteristics of man, particularly his transcendental configurations. for instance ‘’as a self contradictory and mysterious being who has the capacity to transcend his natural limitations in search of authenticity’’ [pappe,1967,159].

     Anthropology on the other hand approaches the study of man empirically that is the use of extensive experiment and observation and also applying n interdisciplinary method diving into fields like history, ethnology, linguistics e.t.c

     Also,though there are many subfields that touch on the activities of man anthropology lacks objectivity thus,ther are no specifics in anthropology hence,posing no answer to the question what is man? and in the long run accounting for the inquiry of philosophy into anthropology.

       Lastly, philosophical anthropology differs from anthropology since it paints man metaphysically, particularly giving man a metaphysical temperament insisting temperament as the overriding nature of man over all

considerateons. thus, insisting on the idealistic essence of man as in hegelism or the materialistic nature as in fueurbach’s anthropology.

In a nutshell, though this two disciplines work interchangeably there would always be contrast in their attributes

THE ROLE OF GEOGRAPHY IN WEST AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT 8TH TO 15TH CENTURY

West Africa’s geography: its role on  historical              development [8^th-15^th century]

THE process in which the various peoples of west Africa developed as been ascribed mainly to their geography .in the sense that the vegetation ,climate, soil e.t.c surrounding the various people played a vital role in the history of the sub-region.the vast area of west-Africa can be divided into two distinct geographical regions in our period they were, the savannah belt to the north also known as the sudan;which is the Atlantic coast up to lake Chad covering areas like the Niger, Senegal,  Gambia and Volta with peoples like the wolof tukulor ,Hausa e.t.c. the forest belt on the other hand stretches from sierra Leone to the Cameroons comprising of peoples like the mende , temne, baule, asante, fon, Yoruba e.t.c 

        The geographical variations found in the two zons affected movements and communications infact the open  plains of the savannah belt played a significant role in the developmental process of the area.the zone was characterized with tall savannah grasses covering enormous plains thus,allowed for easy movements and communications among its people and external contacts such as north Africa.for example,most people found in this area had a mixture of negriod and non-negriod blood because of the migrations of peoples like the berbers and

Tuareg who intermarried with indigenous inhabitants of the belt. also, unlike the savannah belt the forest belt was characterized by tall trees  and thick forest which limited communications and movements hence, we can say that most of the settlements found in this area grew in isolation and possibly had few external contacts due to environmental hindrance.

   Furthermore, the different environment found in the two zones influenced the occupation of the people which also suggest a variance in the lifestyle of people in each region. for example, in the savannah belt the absence of thick forest and presence of an open grass land led to the success of raising cattle .it provided pasture for cattle and other animals like sheep and goats e.t.c and in the quest to look for more pasture for grazing movement was imminent thus, creating a form of nomadic living. in the case of the forest people the were predominantly farmers who were more successful in the terrain of cultivation of crops such as banana, cocoa e.t.c hence the practiced sedentary living.

    Beside these variations in life style ,occupation .the geography of west Africa had an overwhelming influence on the political organization and methods of administration used by the people to maintain law and order .the savannah zones were there was a vast area for settlements and easy communication

allowed for the development of kingdoms  which were structured or constituted of different villages which suggest a centralized form of administration or government .for example the popular Songhai and kanem borno empires e.t.c while the savannah regions were successfully transformed into empires because of the environment the forest region though had a few exception such as Benin and Oyo empires developed fairly isolated with a typical political unit being the village  with head of families, group, elders being the major leaders  who controlled administration and government hence, small states and chiefdoms was a major character of their political organization .examples of such were found in settlements in the Niger delta and ,ivory cost e.t.c

       With geography their was a huge influence on commercial activities. particularly with the advent of the camel into north Africa  their was increased trade between the Sudan and north Africa .in fact the trade has been popularly referred to as the trans Saharan trade which was noted to have sponsored the rise in imperial status of empires in west Africa such as Benin, Oyo, Songhai e.t.c

   Lastly, though geography brought its blessings it posed difficulties and challenges on both zones  for instance the presence of the tsetse fly in the forest region discouraged the breeding of some animals such as horses and cattle likewise the

savannah region was bad for the cultivation of some crops like palm, cocoa e.t.c

Undoubtedly, the geography of west Africa within our period acted as both a limiting and developing factor the various states and empires of the two zones it allowed for some form of inter dependence  between the wo regions  for resources they could not nurture. in all ,we can say the geography of the sub region has played a vital role in its historical development.

Sources

Stride,g.t and c.ifeka-peoples and empires of west Africa 1000-1800 surrey: Thomas nelson 1971

Basil Davidson –the growth of African civilization: A history of west –Africa 1000-1800

Fage,j.d-a history of west –africa Cambridge 1969

THE SONGHAI HERO

             

            Sunni Ali THE GREAT:HIS EXPLOITS

1.     THE Personality of Sunni Ali has been regarded with much esteem   particularly in relation to the rise of the songhai empire .in fact, Sunni Ali or Sunni Ali Ber[great] who reigned from 1464-1492 A.D was a warrior king who possessed remarkable and a well organized army. Unlike his predecessor he abandoned the raiding policies in favor of territorial conquest and throughout his reign he travelled across every part of the Niger region and by using is superior and efficient military strategies combined with his  combat skills imposed his authority through violence and fear and thereby uniting the various western Sudan states. he was in other words an extraordinary and charismatic figure.

1.   The warrior king began his military campaign not too long after his   accession. starting from the event causing the leading officials of Timbuktu appealing for assistance against the Tuaregs. However ,expecting aid to procure the war he was disappointed since the peoples of Timbuktu realized that Sunni Ali would eventually become a far more superior master than the Tuareg leader Akil. hence, Sunni Ali had to retire and because of this disloyalty he returned In full fury to massacre the town of Timbuktu. Furthermore in order to ensure complete annihilation of the ulama who sponsored

•     Timbuktu’s reluctance he pursued the fleeing ulama who fled to walata by employing armed bands to hunt them for three years. 

1.   Also, like his predecessors Sunni Ali was attracted by the rich regions and in his territorial expansion he conquered Jenne ;which was a popular trading centre wealthy from the gold resources  gotten from bondoku and possibly Asante and other trading activities .he conquered the city through siege because of the environmental hindrance that posed a problem for his calvary.it is said that the siege lasted for seven years ,seven months , seven days, and finally fell in the year 1475 A.D. though the fall of jenne did not witness the brutality inflicted on Timbuktu it would have been highly unlikely that the people of jenne did not account for deaths probably due to shortages in supplies and resources.

1.   Judging from the accounts of Muslim historians from that period such as Al-sadi .he was described s a man who had an unstable temperament and was very strict so it is not surprising that he dealt harshly with any form of disloyalty which arose in those times .it was probably because of this he was feared by his people and also the migration of many of his people away from his empire.

1.   Furthermore in his attempt to construct a canal to walata he was met with oppositions. Raids from the Mossi of Yatenga increased causing disruption to the construction. these raids lead to the counter raid by his calvary into the mossi for three years consequently leading to the end of the mossi threat in the valley of the Niger. in fact Sunni Ali was said to have put an end to other raidin kinds such as the gurmache, dogon  ,koromba ,e.t.c accounting for a large number of deaths and destruction within that period.

1.    Although sunni ali was viewed by many as a great oppressor and dictator  his reign of thirty five years which was never opposed led to the rise of the famous Songhai empire.

Sources

Issoko,s m ‘’The Songhai from the twelfth to the sixteenth century’’-Unesco general history of Africa volume iv[Africa from the twelfth to the sixteenth century] edited by m.el fasi,119-39 paris;unesco 1989

Stride,g.t and c.ifeka—peoples and empires of west-africa,1000-1800 surray;Thomas nelson,1971

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