GENERAL INTRODUCTION

The history of philosophy is essentially guided by a critical spirit. Philosophers construct their thought by deconstructing or negating the thoughts of others[1]. This is why we can observe many philosophies, depending on space and time. However, some western philosophers hold that Western philosophy is the more rational or logical and east are irrational or illogical. This is why according to then Western philosophy should be taken as model of others philosophies.  In this sense, they negated that other people can philosophize and being rational like them[2]. By doing so, they are violating the philosophical spirit which is mainly dominated by critic.

In order to react to them, the Cameroonian philosopher, Meinrad Hebga, has written one of the famous books in the history of African philosophy, entitled La rationalité d’un discours africain sur les phénomènes paranormaux. The book has been deeply depreciated by inheritors of western-centrism school.  According to them, this work is profoundly irrational. How, as they argue, can a paranormal phenomenon be rational? What does he means therefore by paranormal phenomena?

For Henry Laborit, it is illogical to depreciate the others people knowledge because of its relativity. In the sense that something, some actions, are paranormal when we ignore theirs laws[3] or there is a difficulty to rationally or logically explain them. For the Cameroonian author paranormal phenomena are amazing events like having a prodigious memory, a capacity to speak many languages, to be a phantom, and any other actions which are not in the scheme of binary raison. Through the long study of this paranormal phenomenon, Hebga has discovered three dimensions of a human being: the body, the shadow and the wind. This is how he structures the human composite. This has an influence on human behavior, according to his analysis. As he argues “L’attitude d’un individu ou d’un groupe d’individus est fonction de leur schéma du composé humain^[4]”. Thus, we cannot study human behavior without first of all studying human composite.

Marcien Towa was one of those who criticized the rationality of Hebga’s study of paranormal phenomenon. In his book titled Essai sur la problematique philosophique dans l’Afrique actuelle, he argues that philosophy has a unique rationality which has been inherited from Greek and Roman Antiquity. He does not accept Hebga’s outlook of plurality of rationality[5]. For him, Hebga’s philosophy is a pseudo-philosophy because it does not developing an authentic philosophy.

We can find some other arguments against Hebga’s philosophy in a book edited by Njoh-Mouelle titled Philosophes du Cameroun. According to Alice Ngah Ateba, Hebga’s thought is not truly a philosophy because the foundation of this philosophy is irrationality[6]. Nkolo Foe, in the same line, disagrees with Hebga’s methodology which is not scientific because of lack of documented sources[7].

Despite some criticism raised by that metaphysical question, we should acknowledge this work, because it is very audacious and innovative. It is audacious and innovative because the author is trying to philosophically investigate on a theme which has been touched by few persons before him, that is paranormal phenomenon. This is why, Pius Ondoua, contrary to Marcien Towa, considers Hebga as an authentic philosopher[8]. Jean Bertrand Amougou shares the same point of view, by demonstrating the rationality of Hebga’s philosophy. He argues that paranormal phenomenon is rational because it describes the African local culture[9].

Furthermore, Hebga, in this book is trying to bring out a new ontology of the human person based on human pluralism. By doing so, the Cameroonian philosopher is redefining the essence of philosophy. For Meinrad Hebga, philosophy is an effort to elucidate, without exception, all situations of humans’ daily life. He says “la philosophie est un effort de lucidité embrassant toutes les situations de l’homme sans exception^[10].” In other words, philosophy is essentially dynamic. It is dynamic because it reflects on diverse human problems which are changing from place to place, from time to time, from culture to culture, etc. Therefore philosophy should be updated to humans’ circumstances. Puis Ondoua agrees with Hebga, when he is saying that,

La seule urgence, à l’heure actuelle, le seul universel: philosopher, de manière ouverte (grâce à une rationalité non close) dans un contexte et une temporalité spécifique (les nôtres), pour réaffirmer la complexité du réel et de la vie et l’imprescriptible dignité/valeur de la personne.^[11]

In other words, he thinks that rationality should not be closed but open to other dimensions of the human person because reality is complex and philosophy must be completely investigate this complexity which involve the crucial question of human dignity. Since Plato and Descartes, human dignity was base on a dualism of body and spirit. For Hebga, people think that his reflection on paranormal phenomenon is irrational because of this dualism. They have limited the human compound to these two dimensions.

According to Meinrad Hebga, this dualism which is coming from the Western part of the world cannot permit us to totally study and understand the human person. Is this sense, one may ask how we can entirely know the humans being. The answer to this question, as he demonstrates, is situated in paranormal phenomenon.

Pierre Meinrad Hebga thinks that Africans must start from what they are^[12]. Hebga’s La rationalite d’un discours Africain sur les Phénomènes paranormaux was written in order to demonstrate that Africans can have their own realities which are mostly govern by paranormal phenomenon. With Hebga’s arguments, this essay is reviews one of old problems tackled by early Africans philosophers during decolonization, that is, the problem of the existence or non existence of philosophy in Africa. It also engages the problem of cultural relativism. Hebga shows us in his book that rationality is relative. Therefore, how can we methodologically and culturally distinguish rationality from irrationality? Does paranormal phenomenon only exist in African culture? How possible is philosophical inter-culturalism?

The aim of this essay is to affirm the reality of African philosophy and to establish the necessity of philosophical inter-culturalism. It consists of philosophically thinking on Globalization by starting from cultural or contextual differences. We need to affirm the legitimacy of all philosophical system, even the African philosophy.

In order to achieve our goal, we will use the analytical method. With this approach, we will critically examine paranormal phenomenon by starting from African realities.

Blaise Pascal said that there are two errors that we should avoid. The first is to totally reject reason and the second is to simply admit it^[13]. It means that we should pay attention to others things apart from reason. Reason is not therefore the only way of the domain of knowledge.  In this sense, paranormal phenomenon is quite significant in the complete study of the human person. Following this Pascal’s view, this work, out to promote a new philosophical concept which is “philosophical inter-culturalism”. With this concept, we want to cut across the old problematic of existence or non-existence of philosophy in Africa.

Our essay will be presented as follow:

• In the first chapter, we present Hebga’s general view on philosophy by reviewing the historical path of philosophy, from western culture to African culture.
• In the second chapter, we examine Hebga’s relationship between paranormal phenomena and human pluralism.
• In the third chapter, we raise some controversies about Hebga’s rationalization of paranormal phenomenon.
• In the last chapter which is the fourth one, we see the relevance of Hebga’s investigation in the context of globalization where there is an imposition of a unique rationality by Western culture.

[1]Emile BREHIER, Histoire de la Philosophie, Puf, Paris, 1981.

[2]Alexis KAGAME, La Philosophie Bantoue Rwandaise de l’Etre, New York, 1980.

[3]Henry LABORIT, « Le Monde Aujourd’hui, les Aventures de la raison et de pensée… », in Le Monde, 29-30 juillet 1984. p. 13.

[4]Meinrad HEBGA, La Rationalité d’un Discours Africain sur les Phénomènes Paranormaux, Editions Harmattan, Paris, 1998, p. 7.

[5]Marcien TOWA, Essai sur la Problématique Philosophique dans l’Afrique Actuelle, CLE, Yaoundé, 1971.

[6]Ebenezer NJOH- MOUELLE (Dir.), Philosophes du Cameroun, presses universitaires de Yaoundé,  Yaoundé 2006, p.413.

[7] Ibid., p. 433.

[8] Pius ONDOUA, «Critique de  l’Absolu» ou vie du sens? La Philosophie chez MARCIEN TOWA et MEINRHAD HEBGA, Annale de la FALSH, UY1, Vol, No10, Nouvelle Série,2009,Deuxième Semestre, p.138.

[9]Jean Bertrand Amougou,  La rationalité chez MEINRHAD HEBGA : Hermeneutique et Dialectique, thèse soutenue en vue de l’obtention du PhD à l’Université de Yaoundé I, Yaoundé,  2006.

[10] Pierre Meinrad HEBGA, La Rationalité d’un Discours Africain sur les Phénomènes Paranormaux, op.cit., p.10.

[11]Pius ONDOUA, « Critique de l’absolu ou vie du sens? La Philosophie chez MARCIEN TOWA et MEINRAD HEBGA », op.cit.

[12]Ibid., p.8.

[13] Blaise PASCAL, Les Pensées(1660), Gallimard, Paris, 1954, p.143.