Abstract
Security is a political principle with the primary function to guarantee national and international peace. As a philosophical concept security is an ancient human ideal to which individuals as well as communities have constantly aspired. Thus, the concept of security assumes a metaphysical and ethical meaning. This chapter focuses on the security thinking in Africa by reviewing the perspectives of a few thinkers in the written records without ignoring the oral tradition, to which a high value is still attributed in African philosophy (Mabe 2001, 2005; Hountondji 1983, 1995, 2002).
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Ptahhotep was an adviser to King Isesi of the Fifth Dynasty and the first known philosopher in world his-tory (Jacq 1993; Diop 1974, 1999).
Imhotep lived during the Old Kingdom and was born a commoner during the Third Dynasty. He was a thinker, poet, chemist, and architect. He wrote many medical and didactic texts. He is best known as the chief archi-tect of the first pyramid at Saqqara, one of the most bril-liant architectural wonders of the ancient world (Wildung 1977; Assante 2000).
Arno was the most important African philosopher in the Enlightenment in Europe. He was born in Ghana. As a child, Arno was brought to the Netherlands. Soon he was turned over to the German Duke Anton Ulrich Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. In addition to mastering German, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and French, Amo also spoke fluent English, and Dutch. In 1727 Amo entered the University of Halle where he studied philosophy and law. In Halle, he became acquainted with the thoughts of Christian Thomasius, Christian Wolff, and René Des-cartes. Amo received his doctorate in philosophy in 1730. He then studied physiology, medicine, and pneu-matology (psychology today) at the University of Witten-berg, receiving a degree in medicine and science in 1733. In his address, the Rector of the University emphasized the high regard Amo held in academic circles and said that the work proved that Amo’s intellectual ability was as great as his powers of teaching. Amo was the first black professor in Germany. He taught at the universi-ties in Halle, Wittenberg, and Jena. His first work, Dis-sertatio Inauguralis De jure Maurorum in Europa (1729), concerned the rights of Africans in Europe. In 1734 Amo published his second doctoral dissertation, De Humanae Mentis “Apatbeia” (On the Absence of Sensation in the Human Mind). Amo’s third major pub-lication was: De Arte Sobrie et Accurate Pbilosopbandi (1736, Treatise on the Art of Philosophizing Soberly and Accurately). Amo moved in 1739 to Jena, where he taught at the university. Amo sailed probably in 1747 to his native Gold Coast (today Ghana).
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© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Mabe, J.E. (2008). Security in African Philosophy and Historical Ideas. In: Brauch, H.G., et al. Globalization and Environmental Challenges. Hexagon Series on Human and Environmental Security and Peace, vol 3. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75977-5_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75977-5_19
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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