https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placide_Tempels
Though neither African nor a philosopher, Tempels had a huge influence on African philosophy through the publication in 1945 of his book La philosophie bantoue, published in the English language in 1959 as Bantu Philosophy.[1]
Bantu Philosophy (La philosophie bantoue in French) (1945)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantu_Philosophy
What are the main points in Bantu Philosophy (La philosophie bantoue in French) (Placide Tempels, 1945)? (ChatGPT, 2025-4-13)
Placide Tempels’ Bantu Philosophy (La philosophie bantoue, 1945) was a groundbreaking and controversial attempt by a Belgian Catholic missionary to argue that Bantu-speaking Africans possess a coherent, rational philosophical system—countering the colonial claim that “Africans are primitive and incapable of abstract thought.”
Here are the main points of the book:
1. Africans Have a Philosophy—It’s Centered on Vital Force
Tempels argues that the central metaphysical concept in Bantu thought is:
“Force is the nature of being.”
→ Everything that exists is a vital force, not a substance.
→ Being = dynamic energy, not static essence.
This is the core of what he calls the Bantu ontology:
- God is the source of all force.
- Ancestors transmit force to the living.
- Living beings increase or diminish force through moral behavior, ritual, and speech.
- Illness, misfortune, or death = loss or imbalance of force.
2. The Bantu Worldview is Non-Dualistic and Relational
- Bantu thought does not separate spirit and matter, or soul and body.
- There is no hard line between visible and invisible, natural and supernatural.
- Instead, there is one unified vital continuum, in which:
- Human beings, animals, nature, ancestors, and God are all interconnected through force.
This leads to a worldview that is:
- Relational rather than individualistic
- Energetic rather than essentialist
- Hierarchical, but not based on race or class—instead on degrees of vital force
3. Morality Is Measured by Effects on Vital Force
Ethics is not based on commandments or universal laws, but on:
“What strengthens or weakens the force of the community?”
- Good acts = strengthen communal force
- Evil acts = diminish or contaminate force
- Justice = restoration of vital harmony
- Taboo = protective mechanism for preserving force
This makes Bantu ethics deeply communal, spiritual, and pragmatic.
4. Language and Speech Have Real Power
Words are not just symbols, but energetic acts.
To name, bless, or curse is to directly affect force.
This is why rituals, naming ceremonies, and oral traditions are ontologically powerful, not merely cultural.
5. Philosophy Must Engage African Thought on Its Own Terms
Tempels makes an explicit claim:
European missionaries, colonizers, and scholars have misunderstood Africans by applying Western categories.
He calls for:
- Taking African categories seriously
- Developing philosophical translations of African languages and concepts
- Recognizing that African metaphysics is rational, though different
6. Implicit Theology: The Role of God and Missionary Perspective
Though he tries to be “objective,” Tempels is still a missionary.
He presents Bantu metaphysics as preparatio evangelica—a kind of philosophical soil that could be fulfilled by Christian revelation.
So:
- God is the supreme force
- Ancestors mediate divine power
- Christ could be reinterpreted as a “perfect transmitter of force”
This theological subtext has been widely criticized.
7. Legacy and Criticism
- Bantu Philosophy was the first serious European attempt to acknowledge African philosophical thought.
- It inspired African intellectuals in the 1940s–60s, especially in the Negritude and decolonial movements.
- But it was also criticized for:
- Essentializing “the African” (as though all Bantu people shared one philosophy)
- Speaking for Africans, not letting them speak for themselves
- Using Christian categories to frame African ideas
In Summary:
Placide Tempels’ core claim is simple yet radical (for its time):
Africans are not “pre-logical”; they have a rational, spiritual, metaphysical system—centered on vital force, relational being, and communal ethics.
Would you like a poetic synthesis of Bantu Philosophy, or a side-by-side comparison with other metaphysical systems (e.g., Advaita Vedanta, Spinoza, Process Philosophy, Ubuntu)?
A good title could be:
〈萬有皆為力：非洲存在論的啟示〉
(All Is Force: The Revelation of African Ontology)
Let me know how you’d like to carry this further.
