PHI 275 The Philosophical Wisdom of Africa & Arabia
This course focuses on the fundamental philosophical wisdom of key African and Arabian thinkers, as evidenced by their metaphysical, epistemological, moral, aesthetic, and theological contributions. Fundamental African thinkers such as Anton Wilhelm Amo, Walda Heywat, Zera Zera Yaqob, Fr. Alexis Kagame, and the morality, cosmology, and spirituality of Yoruba are examined. Also addressed is the teaching by example of St. Josephine Bakhita and Maurice Cardinal Otunga. In terms of the Islamic intellectual tradition, special attention is given to al-Kindi, Al- Farabi, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), al-Ghazali, and Ibn Rushd ( Averroes), as well as the mystical teachings of Sufism. The poetic contributions of African and Islamic writers provide an underlying conceptual anchor, with special references to African poets Leopold Sedar Senghor, and Chinua Achebe and selections of Margaret Busby's Daughters of Africa and Islamic poets Rumi, Hafiz, Omar-Khayaam, and al-Khansa.