Page 84 - CONSCIENCISM By Kwame Nkrumah_Neat
P. 84
CONSCIENCISM 79
The philosophy that must stand behind this social revolution is
that which I have once referred to as philosophical consciencism;
CHAPTER 4 consciencism is the map in intellectual terms ofthe disposition of
forces which will enable African society to digest the Western and
CONSCIENCISM the Islamic and the Euro-Christian elements in Africa, and develop
them in such a way that they fit into the African personality. The
African personality is itself defined by the cluster of humanist
RACTICE without thought is blind; thought without
practice is empty. The three segments of African society principles which underlie the traditional African society. Philo
sophical consciencism is that philosophical standpoint which,
P which I specified in the last chapter, the traditional, the
Western, and the Islamic, co-exist uneasily; the principles animating taking its start from the present content ofthe African conscience,
them are often in conflict with one another. I have in illustration indicates the way in which progress is forged out ofthe conflict in
tried to show how the principles which inform capitalism are in that conscience.
conflict with the socialist egalitarianism of the traditional African Its basis is in materialism. The minimum assertion ofmaterialism
society. is the absolute and independent existence ofmatter. Matter, how
What is to be done then? I have stressed that the two other' ever, is also a plenum of forces which are in antithesis to one
segments, in order to be rightly seen, must be accommodated only another. The philosophical point ofsaying this is that matter is thus
as experiences ofthe traditional African society. Ifwe fail to do this endowed with powers ofself-motion.
our society will be racked by the most malignant schizophrenia. Ofcourse, there are diverse sorts ofmotion. Philosophers have
accepted different kinds of phenomena as illustrating motion.
Our attitude to the Western and the Islamic experience must be
purposeful. It must also be guided by thought, for practice without There is the obvious case ofchange ofplace. Ifone object changes
thought is blind. What is called for as a first step is a body of its position in relation to objects in a locality, it is said to move.
connected thought which will determine the general nature ofour Against this, it might be thought at first that the whole universe
action in unifying the society which we have inherited, this uni could revolve asymmetrically around an object, in which case it
fication to take account, at all times, ofthe elevated ideals under could in absolute terms be fancied that the object hadnot moved. If
lying the traditional African society. Social revolution must there this happened it would be indistinguishable from the first situation
in which the object itself changes its position relative to the rest of
fore have, standing firmly behind it, a1]l'mtellectual revolution, a
the universe; it does not signify a difference. And ifthese putative
revolution in which our thinking a?8. philosophy are directed
two states do not signifY a difference, the latter cannot constitute an
towards the redemption ofour sociey1. Our philosophy must find
objection to the former.
its weapons in the environment I~nd living conditions of the
The statement that an object moves is a significant one. And
African people. It is from those.;t:onditions that the intellectual
content ofour philosophy muwhe created. The emancipation of when two significant statements fail in the above way to indicate a
the African continent is the emancipation of man. This requires difference they must signify the same thing. What I am enunciating
two aims: first, the restitution of the egalitarianism of human here is quite other than the Verification Principle. The Veriflcation
society, and, second, the logistic mobilization ofall our resources Principle, as is well known, has two parts. In the first place, it asserts
towards the attainment ofthat restitution. a proposition to be significant only if it is subject to empirical
verification; and in the second place, it asserts that the meaning ofa
