Naturalising Epistemology: Wittgenstein and the African Model

This lunchtime talk is part of our Philosophy PhD Online Seminar Series, exclusive to TRIP members. In the talk, Andrew Oyedola will argue that African methods of knowing are just as valid as Western scientific approaches.

He critiques a common Western view called ‘naturalism’ — especially the part that tries to understand the world relying solely on ‘hard science’ — for being too narrow and ignoring human communal and lived experience. By adopting Wittgenstein’s (1969) ideas on shared assumptions called hinges to advance African views from thinkers like Wiredu (1980) on African (Ghanaian) hinges and Makinde (1997) on Ifá–the Yorùbá repository of knowledge, the study proposes a more inclusive model.

This ‘inclusive naturalism’ treats knowledge not just as a lab result, but as something shaped by community, culture, and shared logic (Ubuntu). Ultimately, this framework ‘decolonises’ the field of knowledge, moving away from a ‘science-only’ mindset toward a holistic global perspective where different cultures’ insights are respected and integrated.

This talk is for members only: you can find out more about becoming a TRIP member here.