African Art as Philosophy: Senghor, Bergson and the Idea of Negritude

by Souleymane Bachir Diagne

Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906–2001) was a Senegalese poet and philosopher who in 1960 also became the first president of the Republic of Senegal. In African Art as Philosophy, Souleymane Bachir Diagne takes a unique approach to reading Senghor’s influential works, taking as the starting point for his analysis Henri Bergson’s idea that in order to understand philosophers one must find the initial intuition from which every aspect of their work develops. In the case of Senghor, Diagne argues that his primordial intuition is that African art is a philosophy.

To further this point, Diagne looks at what Senghor called the “1889 Revolution,” and the influential writers and publications of that time—specifically, Nietzsche and Rimbaud, as well as Bergson’s Essay on the Immediate Data of Consciousness. The 1889 Revolution, Senghor claims, is what led him to the understanding of the “Vitalism” at the core of African religions and beliefs that found expression in the arts.

This book offers a distinct, incisive look at an important figure in African literature and politics that will be welcomed by scholars in African Studies and philosophy.

Genres: Philosophy, Art, Africa, Religion

210 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 2011

About the author

Souleymane Bachir Diagne (1955) is a Senegalese philosopher. His work is focused on the history of logic and mathematics, epistemology, the tradition of philosophy in the Islamic world, identity formation, and African literatures and philosophies.

Reviews

[Kamakana · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you like this review i now have website: www.michaelkamakana.com

040715:
difficulties: i have not read many texts on negritude, this or any poetry, i know of it primarily as a political movement of midcentury africa, i am neither african or french, wary of thought, politics, arts, in terms of cultural essentialism

possibilities: i am pleased to read bergson's concepts applied on social rather than just personal level, pleased to find arguments valourizing art as way of knowledge, as valuable, positive values of other aesthetic values, of art production and purpose, an entire range of human possibility neglected in hellenic-inspired history. and to be human is not necessarily to be european...

[Romeo Mfumu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book at such a perfect time! I have been questioning my creativity & my direction for a while, and this book has really put many things into perspective for me. As an African man, I sometimes forget that my ancestors used art not only as an expression but also used art as a way to honour their dead and invite or rebuke spirits. My ancestors' art forms don’t fit the Western style and techniques. It has its own style, which is rugged, boxy, ambiguous, and intimidating, but that’s our art! One of my favourite quotes from the book is “when [the poet] writes a poem, he does not calculate, he does not measure, he does not count. He does not look either for ideas or for images. He is, in front of his vision, like the black Great Priestess of Tanit, in Carthage. He speaks his vision, in a rhythmical movement, because he is impassioned with a sacred passion. And even his song, the melody and rhythm of his song are dictated to him”. Africans have always drawn inspiration from their surroundings. You can call this divine intervention, if you may. We have never looked at others to draw inspiration from, only ourselves; it shows in our history. This book made me very proud to be an African, an African artist, to be exact. The foundations of Negritude have indirectly inspired my art. Now that I know more about it, it will continue encouraging me to look to my ancestors for inspiration and to see my beautiful heritage as a blessing. Not as a demonic and chaotic art form.