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The problem of gerontocracy in Africa: The Yorùbá perspective as illustrated in the Ifá corpus

The problem of gerontocracy in Africa: The Yorùbá perspective as illustrated in the Ifá corpus In the field of African philosophy, there exists the belief among the modernists or professional philosophers that gerontocracy is coterminous with authoritarian traditions in traditional Africa which, supposedly, are responsible for the lack of sustained curiosity to look at issues from different perspectives. Drawing from the Ifá literary corpus as a store-house for Yorùbá philosophy, I argue in this paper that gerontocracy in Africa does not construe the idea that the elderly in Africa are rigid in thoughts or have immutable authority which discourages independence of thought. I conclude that the position of the modernists on the supposed manifestation of authoritarianism in Africa derives its continuing force from a conception of philosophy which gives special overtones to the ideas of individuals as opposed to a collectivistic system of thought and the assumption that the multitude cannot produce philosophy. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Human Affairs Springer Journals

The problem of gerontocracy in Africa: The Yorùbá perspective as illustrated in the Ifá corpus

Human Affairs , Volume 21 (4) – Dec 25, 2011

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References (44)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 by © Versita Warsaw and Springer-Verlag Wien
Subject
Social Sciences; Sociology, general; Quality of Life Research; Middle Eastern Culture
ISSN
1210-3055
eISSN
1337-401X
DOI
10.2478/s13374-011-0043-3
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In the field of African philosophy, there exists the belief among the modernists or professional philosophers that gerontocracy is coterminous with authoritarian traditions in traditional Africa which, supposedly, are responsible for the lack of sustained curiosity to look at issues from different perspectives. Drawing from the Ifá literary corpus as a store-house for Yorùbá philosophy, I argue in this paper that gerontocracy in Africa does not construe the idea that the elderly in Africa are rigid in thoughts or have immutable authority which discourages independence of thought. I conclude that the position of the modernists on the supposed manifestation of authoritarianism in Africa derives its continuing force from a conception of philosophy which gives special overtones to the ideas of individuals as opposed to a collectivistic system of thought and the assumption that the multitude cannot produce philosophy.

Journal

Human AffairsSpringer Journals

Published: Dec 25, 2011

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