A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HEGEL’S TREATMENT OF AFRICA

INTRODUCTION

The paper presents A Critical Analysis of Hegel’s Treatment of Africa. Hegel eliminates Africa from world’s history and civilization. This assertion is found in his book; Philosophy of History. The books disrespects African’s contribution to world’s civilization. In Hegel’s understanding, history is seen as a progression of the Absolute Mind which manifests itself in man hence comes to exist in the world. In this book, Hegel indicates different stages in development of consciousness of the Spirit. He distinguishes four stages of historical world, moving from east to west; Oriental, Greek, Roman, and German, thus eliminating Africa from world’s history and civilization. This paper encompasses the following sections which has been intensively elaborated in order to show how Hegel eliminates Africa from world’s history and civilization. The first section is this paper deals with Historical Movement of World’s Civilization. The second is Hegelian Understanding of Africa where he divides it into the following; European Africa, River Region of Nile, and Africa Proper. The third section is named; Distinctive Characteristics of Africa Proper which consists of the following sub-sections; absence of reason, absence of Act of Transcendence, and Prone to Slavery. The fourth and fifth section is Conclusion and Bibliography respectively.

1.1 Historical Movement of World’s Civilization

According to Hegel’s understanding, the history of the world travels from east to west. In this notion, Hegel highlights four stages in which history of world’s civilization has covered; Oriental, Greek, Romans and German. According to him, Asia is the beginning point of the world’s history whereas Europe is absolutely the end under two reasons: First, Europe is the end of world’s history, as it is the terminus, the point beyond which there is no other, and the culmination of all that came prior to it. Secondly, Europe is the end because it is the goal, the purpose, and the final product to the achievement of which all earlier efforts were tending. History, according to Hegel is a rational process that moves towards an end and that it is the object of philosophy to apprehend this movement in its various stages.[1] Therefore for Hegel, the ultimate subject of History is Spirit and the essence to which it tends towards the realization of Freedom. But to make this journey, Hegel affirms that Spirit (REASON) gets itself embodied in peoples, and nations. According to him, people are to be judged by how much and in the way they have apprehended this essence of Spirit in them. The question that Hegel raises is, if history moves from east to west, where do we place Africa the land of the Negroes? Thus he seeks to eliminate Africa from world’s history.

1.2 Hegelian Understanding of Africa

According to Hegel, Africa is a land that time forgot and a veritable museum where the relics of the human race are to found. This explains the anthropological preoccupation such as hunting, primitive rituals, and superseded customs that are found in Africa. According to the plan of the Philosophy of History, there is no African World in Hegel’s Understanding. History is rational and for Hegel, reason seems to have forgotten Africa. To consolidate that there is no African world, Hegel divides Africa into three parts.[2]

1.2.1 Africa Proper

Africa Proper according to Hegel, is the one which lies on the South of the desert of Sahara. It is an upland almost an entirely unknown to us with narrow coast tracts along the sea. Hegel opines that Africa Proper is as radically different from European Africa and the river region of the Nile, as it is from the rest of the world. The basis of this difference lies in the unique character of the African Proper which will be discussed shortly in this paper.[3]

1.2.2 European-Africa

The first part is north of the desert which he purposely calls it European Africa, the coast-land.  According to Hegel, it is found in northern part of Africa, which can be called the coast- territory. Hegel firmly believes that European-Africa lies on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic sea. It is a magnificent territory, on which Carthage once lay. It is on the site of the modern Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. In Hegel understanding, European Africa is attached to Europe and therefore it is part and parcel of Europe. He notes that European Africa looks Europe-wards whereby the entire Europe has always struggled to get a footing in it.[4]

1.2.3 River Region of Nile

According to Hegel, the third portion of Africa is the river region of the Nile. It is the only valley-land of Africa which is in connection with Asia. For Hegel, this portion is the river district of the Nile-Egypt which for him was adapted to become a mighty centre of independent civilization. Therefore, it is a portion that is isolated and singular in Africa as Africa itself appears in relation to the other parts of the world.  In this accord Hegel affirms that river region of Nile is not part of African. It is an Asian Region.

1.3 Distinctive Characteristics of Africa Proper

1.3.1 Absence of Reason

 According to Hegel, one of the distinctive characteristics of Africa proper is first its innocence as far as reason is concerned. Africa Proper has no reason and because of this, she lacks history, development and culture. In Hegel’s understanding, Africa proper, as far as history goes back, has remained shut up for all purposes of connection with the rest of the World. Therefore, it is a land of childhood.[5] Its isolated character originates, not merely in its tropical nature, but essentially in its geographical condition. According to Hegel, the inhabitants of this region are shut up from the rest of the world. For this reason, Africa Proper must not be part of the Philosophy of History. Therefore he eliminates Africa Proper from his finding.[6]

1.3.2 Absence of Act of Transcendence

According to Hegel, Africans Proper lack the category of Universality. This arises from the fact that they are one with their existence; they are arrested in immediacy. For Hegel, this means that African Proper have not separated themselves from nature.[7] Hegel believes that the Negro exhibits the natural man in his completely wild and untamed state. As such, the African proper is shorn of the idea of a self that is separate from his needs and, simultaneously, he has no knowledge of an absolute Being; the being Higher than his individual Self. In other words, for Hegel, Negroes are mired in sorcery, worship of graven images that are easily perishable, and worship of the dead. They do not possess a “mysterium” because they lack act of transcendence, and are without a “Theos” whose Logos they might have constituted a philosophy to reveal.[8]

The characteristic point is the fact that consciousness has not yet attained to the realization of any substantial objective existence such as God in which the interest of man’s volition is involved and in which he realizes his own being. For Hegel, Negro does not differentiate himself from the rest of nature and this prevents him from acquiring the knowledge of an Absolute Being, and the other who is distinct individual. Hegel states that Negro exhibits the natural man in his completely wild and untamed state. According to Hegel, there is nothing harmonious with humanity to be found in Negros’ character. The Negro according to Hegel, understands man as the only higher power the one who manipulates nature. For Hegel, religion begins with the consciousness that there is something higher than man. But Negroes has no sense of higher being. Instead Negroes have Sorcerers. In this understanding, sorcerer exhibits man as the highest power, regarding him as alone occupying a position of command over the power of Nature.[9]

1.3.3 Prone to Slavery

For Hegel, another characteristic fact in reference to the Negroes is Slavery. According to Hegel, the absence of reason dictates absence of freedom. That’s why Negroes are enslaved by Europeans and sold to America. This is because Negro has not yet attained a consciousness of his freedom, and consequently sees himself as an object of no value. Surprisingly, in Hegel’s understanding, in Africa proper parents sell their children, and children their parents. For Hegel, Negro entertains polygamy in order to have many children for selling into slavery. Hegel makes it clear that the only essential connection that has existed and continued between the Negroes and the Europeans is that of slavery. In this the Negroes see nothing unbecoming in themselves. Interestingly, Hegel states that the English men who have done most for abolishing the slave-trade and slavery, are treated by the Negroes themselves as enemies.[10]

CONCLUSION

After critical examination of Hegel’s thoughts on Africa, we intend to demonstrate the errors in Hegel’s thinking. The first point is to refute Hegel’s understanding of Africa. His act of dividing Africa into three portions does not make any geographical or historical or cultural sense in Africa. To assert geographically, Africa is a continent whose dwellers are Africans regardless accidents such as colour. European Africa does not exist. Africa and Europe are two distinct continents. Again Egypt has nothing either geographical, cultural, or historical in connection with Asia. As asserted by Cheikh Anta Diop, pre-historic times indicates that Black Africans existed in the territory north of the Sahara. Thus, Hegel should not have used colour to define Black Man. Black is only an accident. In this in mind, we assert that Hegel’s thesis on Philosophy of History disrespect Humanity. The fundamental question is, has Hegel ever being in Africa for data collection? If no, then his act of interpreting Africa is unreasonable. One of the point that can be highly refuted is his assertion is that African proper has no sense of a supreme being. Yet John Mbiti in his philosophy, affirms that Africans are notorious religious. The notion of a higher being is clear and evident among the Africans. Today, what would Hegel write about the Europeans who have lost sense of a Higher Being? Would he say that they lack act of transcendence? In today, the implication of his work on Philosophy of History would fit more the Europeans. Therefore, Hegel’s thesis on Africa today is irrelevant as it was yesterday.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Source

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, The Philosophy of History, trans. Sibree. Kitchener: Batoche    Books, 2001.

                     Secondary Sources

Adegbindin Omotade, “Critical Notes on Hegel’s Treatment of Africa,” Ogirisi, 11, 2015. 

Kuykendall Ronald, “Hegel and Africa: An Evaluation of the Treatment of Africa in the Philosophy of History,” Journal of Black Studies, 23, 1993.

Taiwo Olufemi, “Exorcising Hegel's Ghost: Africa's Challenge to Philosophy,” African Studies Quarterly, 1, 1998.

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