ABSTRACT

This chapter aims to reposition African philosophy as it exists in the minds of many in the West, from being something that has to be accommodated to being the living memory of philosophy itself. Philosophy instinctively explores its edges. No matter which philosophic tradition one inhabits, practitioners are usually taught that philosophy is about questions. Great questions, big questions, profound, perhaps perennial questions. And yet, the further these practitioners proceed into research, the less they behave as if their questions are actually the central focus of philosophy. Creating concepts means, in part, questioning people's questions. They are, of course, far from some discussions of concepts which would regard them as mental representations and nothing else, or solely as abstract entities. This is not a version of concepts which assumes that they pick out features of the world. The intention is different. Being stupid is a rather specific state of affairs.