SOAS Research Online

Abstract

In what ways do Wittgenstein and Derrida discuss the relations between orality and philosophy; and can a comparison of the marginalized/silenced thoughts of Ọ̀rúnmìlà on philosophical language with Wittgenstein and Derrida lead to a better understanding of this African oral philosophy? The paper aims to provide a new reading of Ọ̀rúnmìlà the Yorùbá/African philosopher - with the aim to establish how the content relates to African and European philosophies in the present age. The paper explores how the linguistic turn to philosophy allows us to clearly see the problems of language and epistemic injustices that modern European philosophical traditions conceal. It argues that the introduction of hegemonic languages, (such as, English, and French which are the carriers of the colonizers’ cultures and the languages of education to the colonized peoples), continues to silence and distort nature-culture interaction embedded in African philosophical traditions. It refers us to the way nature and culture interact in the oral philosophy of Ọ̀rúnmìlà. It brings Ọ̀rúnmìlà into dialogue with Wittgenstein’s “language-game” and “rule following paradox” to give new insight in the problems of philosophical language. By bringing Ọ̀rúnmìlà into conversation with Derrida’s “metaphysical oppositions” and the injustice to other in language, we can better understand the epistemic injustice that befalls African oral philosophy. Thus, Ọ̀rúnmìlà can show the contribution of Yorùbá philosophy to the global philosophical discourse.