In Introduction to Africana Philosophy by Lewis R. Gordon, The question of who is who among the intellectuals and scholars resonated with me throughout the text. In the world of philosophy the question of Africana philosophy is considered philosophy in comparison to the hegemonic form of thought and philosophy. Gordon presented a common theme throughout the text of what does it mean to be human, which left me pondering on several questions, who are we, how did we get in this predicament, how did we get on the underside, and how do we see each other in an expanded lens? If Gordon’s goal was to have the readers look into Africana philosophy as modern day philosophy, he accomplished it by giving me insight in the study of Africana philosophy
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With the West as the new center, those left outside the realm of European power, were left to subjugation and inferiority. With modernity came one-singular truth and the writers of history were the ones who were in power which led to the shaping of ideas, mindsets, and cultures. As an African American entering into the field of African American studies becoming a scholar activist, it resonated with me that fact that I am creolized and forever shaped by dominance of colonization which makes me reconsider my bias in research and my position as an academic within the African American community. Through the eighteenth and nineteenth century, modern and political thought was exposed to a lot of contradiction, slavery being the biggest form of hypocrisy when it came to “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness”. Several themes of Africana philosophy were presented; Gordon reveals that Africana philosophy is a mixture of principals when it comes to identity, freedom, liberty, civilization, and humanity. Gordon touching on freedom in comparison to liberty by Frederick Douglass and the difference of being mentally and physically free connected me to the thought of the perspective relates closely to “Baby Elephant Syndrome”. An adult elephant can easily uproot trees with its trunk and one of the strongest animals on the planet. When an elephant living in captivity is still a baby, it is tied to a tree with a strong rope or a chain every night due it is the nature of elephants to roam free, the baby elephant instinctively tries to break free, but the time of childhood is not yet strong enough to do so. Once the elephant is into adulthood, it could then easily free itself by uprooting the tree or breaking
With the West as the new center, those left outside the realm of European power, were left to subjugation and inferiority. With modernity came one-singular truth and the writers of history were the ones who were in power which led to the shaping of ideas, mindsets, and cultures. As an African American entering into the field of African American studies becoming a scholar activist, it resonated with me that fact that I am creolized and forever shaped by dominance of colonization which makes me reconsider my bias in research and my position as an academic within the African American community. Through the eighteenth and nineteenth century, modern and political thought was exposed to a lot of contradiction, slavery being the biggest form of hypocrisy when it came to “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness”. Several themes of Africana philosophy were presented; Gordon reveals that Africana philosophy is a mixture of principals when it comes to identity, freedom, liberty, civilization, and humanity. Gordon touching on freedom in comparison to liberty by Frederick Douglass and the difference of being mentally and physically free connected me to the thought of the perspective relates closely to “Baby Elephant Syndrome”. An adult elephant can easily uproot trees with its trunk and one of the strongest animals on the planet. When an elephant living in captivity is still a baby, it is tied to a tree with a strong rope or a chain every night due it is the nature of elephants to roam free, the baby elephant instinctively tries to break free, but the time of childhood is not yet strong enough to do so. Once the elephant is into adulthood, it could then easily free itself by uprooting the tree or breaking