Alexis Kagame Quotes
Alexis Kagame was a Rwandan Catholic priest, philosopher, historian, and linguist and one of the principal pioneers of academic African philosophy. After studies at Astrida and Gregorian University in Rome, he produced La Philosophie Bantu-Rwandaise de l'Etre and the later La Philosophie Bantu Comparee, in which he reconstructed Bantu metaphysics from the structure of Bantu languages and the categories encoded in their grammar. The quotes below are attributed to Alexis Kagame, organized by topic.
Alexis Kagame on Knowledge
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Attributed to Alexis Kagame:
“Language preserves the philosophy of a people across centuries.”
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Attributed to Alexis Kagame:
“African philosophy can be reconstructed from the structure of Bantu languages.”
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Attributed to Alexis Kagame:
“The recovery of indigenous thought is a labor of dignity.”
Alexis Kagame on Truth
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Attributed to Alexis Kagame:
“Bantu thought distinguishes four categories: the human, the thing, the place-and-time, the modal.”
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Attributed to Alexis Kagame:
“We are not philosophical Europeans; we are philosophical Africans.”