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Lawrence Ogbo Ugwuanyi

Understanding  the Contestation of Place in Critical Thinking through an Insight from African Philosophy

 

This paper sets out to articulate how and why place forms a vital aspect of what it means to think,the claims that arises from the idea of place and why “placed thinking”(defined as thinking through a particular location)justifies and authenticates the project of thinking.It will demonstrate the tensions that arise from the idea of place as it pertains to thinking and how and why place should be made to assume new meanings for productive thinking(that is thought that will cause a re-think of an issue through fresh and hidden insights to obtain). To do this the paper will(i)articulate  the idea of place in thinking by looking at what it means to think.It will appeal to the ideas of the french  Renes Descartes well known for his thesis “I think therefore I am” and that of  the phenomenologist Edmund Husserl who advanced the thesis that to think is to think something to locate the extent to which these positions could be said to have  recognized the relevance of place or location in the project of thinking.Assuming that it is the case that these ideas do not recognize this,the paper will discuss the effect of this in their positions.Next  the paper will discuss(ii)how thinking often attempts to invoke authority and difference to authenticate its claim and how place (defined as location)is often applied to supply this need.It will borrow an insight from African philosophy to authenticate its claim and demonstrate the “pains and gains” of place in thinking  and how this has affected the quality of growth of the discipline. Next,the paper will (iii) discuss  the challenge of authority and difference in critical thinking and how  has led to what can be called  the two major orientations of critical thinking-the phenomenological orientation  and hermeneutical orientation and how this reflects what the African philosopher Kwasi Wiredu has defined as the crisis between cultural universals and cultural particulars in critical thinking.Finally the paper will(iii) attempt to provide a proposal on how to appropriate the idea of place in critical thinking by pointing out the difference between place(defined determined location or framework) and space(defined as an opportunity for thought;a challenge,a necessity demanding thought,a void desiring to filled)  and argue that it is through a relocation of place to space within the demands of need and time that productive critical  thinking obtains – that is,that it is by creating a new world of thought where thought amounts to that which causes thought;where necessity and need assumes the intellectual source of thinking and indeed the home and geography of  a thinker that critical thinking produces proper effect and result.To do this the paper will argue that while thought  often demands a certain border or determined location for strategic relevance,the urgency for relevance within the larger context of humanity wherein thought should be found to be valuable and the anticipated enduring output has often meant locating place within a higher and larger context serves a higher and worthier value to thought. The paper will argue that this is what can lead to “ inter-rational” dialogue or what has been called inter-cultural philosophy. 

 

 

Lawrence Ogbo Ugwuanyi, PhD is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy:  Department of Philosophy & Religions at University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria

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