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== African legal philosophy                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             == History

The beginning of African philosophy is linked to the 1920s. African individuals who had studied in the United States and Europe ("Western" locations) had returned to Africa and reflected on the racial discrimination experienced abroad. Their arrival back in Africa instigated a feeling of "onuma", which is an interpretation of "frustration." The onuma was felt in response to legacies of colonialism on a global scale. The beginning of African philosophy is important because onuma inspired some who had traveled and returned to formulate a "systematic beginning" of philosophising the African identity, the space of African people in history, and African contribution to humanity. African philosophical ideals are mostly oral traditions and their written form is of recent origin.

The nature of African Legal Philosophy
There are four possible attitudes toward African legal philosophy, ALP. Firstly, there is a Eurocentric viewpoint, that ALP does not exist because ALP does not have a written tradition and has its origin in communal thinking. Secondly, that there might be something like ALP but that it’s impossible to determine its content or substance and that legal rules in Africa are indistinguishable from customs and, therefore, there is no legal system on which to base a philosophy and this argument was rejected by Idowu. The third attitude towards this is that there is such a thing as ALP but it is not really all that different from Western legal philosophy and the last approach to this debate, and the one we prefer, is that there is a distinctive African philosophy of law.

Types of African Legal Philosophy
Ethnophilosophy is philosophy that is traditionally orally transferred based on communal thinking and collective wisdom. Contrary to the typical Western conceptions, it is not based on systematic ideas of individuals. It relies on metaphysical assumptions and traditional African wisdom and tends to combine philosophy, mysticism and religion while not considering reason and critical analysis.

Sage philosophy is the opposite of ethnophilosophy and is referred to as a wise person and is the custodian of the survival of his society. ALP regards sage philosophers as being responsible for addressing the fundamental issues relevant to their society, have a political role to play and indicate the best options of social and political organisation for Africa’s conditions.

Nationalistic-ideological philosophy This political philosophy seems to be neither capitalist nor socialist, but based on an African communalism. This is philosophy closely related to ideas like Black Consciousness.

Themes
Ubuntu

Ubuntu is the most important contribution of ALP. It means humanity, humanness, morality and compassion. It stresses conciliation, harmony through social relations, self-fulﬁlment through taking part in the collective whole, duties towards others, caring, warmth, empathy, respect for older people who have more knowledge of life than younger ones, and communication, and it emphasises group solidarity as opposed to individual interests. Ubuntu as a legal-philosophical concept has already led to debate amongst academics who set out the central components of Ubuntu as communitarianism, reciprocity, relational in nature, physical reality, and that Ubuntu lies in the emphasis on reconciliation and consensus. However, some scholars argue that this concept is bloated, that it is a concept that entrenches patriarchy and this therefore is in conﬂict with the Constitution. Ubuntu is a concept that has reached its end because it is nothing more than an attempt at reviving outdated ideas based on a kind of nostalgia.

Communitarianism

Is very strong in ALP and in political theory it is tied to what can be called African socialism. This view is based on the importance and signiﬁcance of the family in African societies, including the extended family as well as the ancestors. Conﬂicts among members of a community are regarded as destructive and must be settled and the balance restored.

Reconciliation

Is based on the reconciliatory theory of law. Social discord is restored through compromise and reconciliation. Punishment is not done for the purpose of retribution, but for the purpose of the restoration or the promotion of fair order. Due to this reconciliatory approach, people prefer arbitration and reconciliation over litigation.