A importância da filósofa Sophie Bọ́sẹ̀dé Olúwọlé na filosofia africana contemporânea

Abstract

The studies of Nigerian philosopher Sophie Olúwọlé are of great relevance for understanding the relationship between philosophy and oral tradition. One of her main contributions is to highlight the existence of philosophy in the strict sense before the advent of the colonial period on the African continent. In this way, she studies the Yoruba oral traditions as philosophy, specifically the Corpus of Ifá and the philosophy of Ọ̀rúnmìlà. In addition, she makes a critical analysis of African philosophers such as Hountondji, Mudimbe, Appiah and Wiredu, who, according to her, questioned the existence of philosophy, in the strict sense, in African oral traditions and, therefore, in the pre-colonial period. In this sense, this study aims to analyze the main contributions of philosopher Sophie Olúwọlé to contemporary African philosophy. My analysis begins with a brief contextualization of Costa Rica, my country of origin, as an explanation of the path that motivated me to choose this research topic and its academic relevance. I then present and contextualize Olúwọlé to understand the main axes of her production and philosophical trajectory, as well as her academic motivations. I then move on to a mapping of concepts and theories to develop a conceptual delimitation based on which it is possible to frame and understand Olúwọlé's approach and her place within the debates and trends that make up African philosophy, and finally analyze and understand her importance and main contributions both in contemporary African philosophy and in philosophy on the global stage. The research is carried out using a qualitative approach and adopts the methodology of bibliographic review. Videos and documentaries about or by Sophie Olúwọlé were also used as research sources.