Zed Books African Literature as Political Philosophy (Africa in the New Millennium)

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. African Literature as Political PhilosophyBy MSC OkoloCodesria Books and Zed Books LtdCopyright © 2007 CODESRIAAll rights reserved.ISBN: 978-1-84277-894-4ContentsAcknowledgements, vi, Abbreviations, vii, 1 Introduction: a neglected benefit, 1, 2 Literature as philosophy: a theoretical framework, 5, 3 Chinua Achebe and Ngugi Wa Thiong'o as political thinkers, 35, 4 Achebe's reformist agenda in Anthills of the Savannah, 78, 5 Ngugi's Marxist aesthetics, 98, 6 Achebe and Ngugi on the African condition, 123, 7 Which way for Africa?, 136, Notes, 145, Bibliography, 147, Index, 161, CHAPTER 1Introduction: a neglected benefit§ The recognition that there is an affinity between literature and philosophy and, by implication, political philosophy, is not new. As theoretical disciplines concerned with raising social consciousness, philosophy and literature engage in similar speculation about the good society and what is good for humanity. They influence thoughts about political currents and conditions. They can, for instance, lead the reader to critical reflections on the type of leaders suitable for a given society and on the degree of civic consciousness exercised by the people in protecting their rights. Philosophy and literature, equally, offer critical evaluation of existing and possible forms of political arrangements, beliefs and practices. In addition, they provide insights into political concepts and justification for normative judgements about politics and society. They also create awareness of possibilities for change.Yet the benefits of the interface between African philosophy and literature are not frequently explored. The search for orientations in African philosophy neglected the importance of literary works in the construction of African ideology. This neglect is evident in the kind of recognition accorded to philosophy and literature as a course in philosophy departments in African universities. When it is taught at all, it is often offered merely as an option.The quest for a dialogue between philosophy and literature is timely, given the political crisis confronting African societies and the consequent need to re-establish the basis of order in these societies. The imaginative writer, through his or her work, can offer critical appraisal of the existing political situation and in this way can mould or redirect the actions of society, its beliefs and values. As such, ideas contained in literature can influence people's perception about politics and about the best means of effecting political change.By prompting people to seek justification for and to criticize their political situation, literature also performs a normative function. The imaginative writer through his or her work can set an ideal standard for society and the state. An imaginative writer can thus perform the function of political philosophy: to disseminate ideas significant for the understanding of politics in a given socio-cultural context. Achebe expresses this idea thus: An African creative writer who tries to avoid the big social and political issues of contemporary Africa will end up being completely irrelevant' (Achebe 1975: 78).It is the aim of this book to show how a philosophical reading of literature can be of immense benefit in promoting African self-understanding by providing an intellectual and analytical framework within which the African experience can be conceptualized, interpreted and reorganized. To effect this, literary works dealing with political issues, specifically, Chinua Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah (Achebe 1987), hereafter referred to as Anthills, and Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Petals of Blood (Ngugi wa Thiong'o 1977), hereafter referred to as Petals, have been chosen for study.The choice of Achebe and Ngugi is based on recognition of the fact that they have explored the African experience within the context of ideas that can be discussed and analysed. Equally, Anthills and