Interview with Dr. Mbih Tosam

Abstract

"Philosophy should occupy an important place in our school curriculum. I think there is an urgent need for a change of mentality. Most of our leaders and policy makers in Africa have a reductionist conception of development. For most of them, development is synonymous to material or physical advancement such as road infrastructure, hospitals, schools, etc. For this reason, science and technology is promoted to the total neglect for the humanities. To increase the presence of black students in African philosophy, there is need to debunk the reductionist conception of development for a holistic conception which gives equal respect and space to both science and technology and the humanities. Philosophy is relevant for a holistic development. Make them understand that philosophy in general and African/Africana philosophy in particular, is one of those disciplines that would permit them to know who they are, where they come from, their place in the world, and the meaning of their lives. It is only when you know who we are, where we come from, and the place we occupy in the world that we can be able to make any meaningful progress." -- Mbih Tosam

"For a very long time Africans have had illegitimate representatives who spoke on their behalf, defined reality for them according to their own categories of thought, and distorted their history, experience and claimed they neither had a history nor the capacity for rational thinking. I think that the task of the African philosopher/scholar, above other things, should be to deconstruct all misrepresentations about Africa made by Western ethnocentric scholars as well subject his/her own culture to critical appraisal." -- Mbih Tosam