TOK Perspective: To what extent do we accept knowledge form authority?

 In 1958, Chinua Achebe –a Nigerian writer– wrote the novel Things Fall Apart. During the time he wrote this novel, Nigeria was still under the rule of the British, however the story is placed during the beginning of the XIX, during the first attempts of colonializing communities in Nigeria.  Through this novel, Achebe focuses on the Igbo culture, their beliefs and customs through the story of Okonkwo. Though many of these traditions may seem barbaric to some, Achebe depicts them as a way to reserve values and morals. This novel was a response to how Africa was represented by the colonialists.

This novel can be read through several different perspectives varying from gender, culture or race. Throughout this essay, the specific perspective explored will be a TOK –Theory of Knowledge– perspective through the question to what extent should we accept knowledge from authority? Before exploring this knowledge issue, there are two key terms to define. First of all, knowledge is considered any justified true belief and secondly, authority is a person or group of people who hold power over others. Throughout Achebe’s narration of the novel, he shows how authority passes on knowledge, whether it is an Elder, the Oracle or a religious figure.

First and foremost, who is it that we consider authority, and why do we accept knowledge from them so easily? As young children, the biggest authority figures are parents, older siblings and teachers. We accept knowledge from them because we are taught that they know better and have lived through more experiences than we have. As we grow up, several more authority figures appear in our lives, like friends and doctors, and finally when we are old enough to get into politics and religion, they also become major authority figures. Two main things portray authority figures in Things Fall Apart: the Elders and the Oracle of the Hills, the Oracle more so than the Elders. In many occasions, Achebe makes it clear that the Oracle has the final saying in many scenarios, for example in the following quote it is solely the Oracle who can decide whether or not the community goes into war. “And in fairness to Umuofia it should be recorded that it never went to war unless its case was clear and just and was accepted as such by its Oracle – the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves.“ This quote shows how dependent the community was on the Oracle, and how it was only the Oracle who possessed enough knowledge to make such powerful decisions, like war. This shows that the Igbo people trusted and depended on the Oracle’s knowledge in a similar way in which we depend in our authorities, like the government or our God.

Even though we rely on our biggest authorities for the important and pivotal moments of society, we need to understand that our governments may be tricking us and manipulating their words to make us think otherwise. The government may take advantage of people with poor education and manipulate their decisions through the use of language, making policies that could potentially hurt them sound reasonable and in their favor. In parallel, the Oracle used its “divine knowledge” to make decisions that are for the good of the community yet hurt others, like the time that Ikemefuna was sentenced to be killed: many felt hurt and were negatively affected by this decision yet they all followed it because the Oracle said it was the correct thing to do.  This can teach the reader a very important lesson: that one should not trust higher authorities solely because of their title as they may be using different techniques to trick you into what benefits them, rather than you.

In conclusion, authorities can be helpful in the passing on knowledge; yet can be tricky and make you believe that you will benefit from their decisions when in reality you are not. Furthermore, one must be careful when listening or obeying authorities as they may have manipulated their language in order the manipulate you to do what is best for them. In order to avoid such situations, one must carefully listen and weigh this knowledge. Chinua Achebe shows how decisions made by the higher power have affected the community, and has also showed how dependent on the Oracle the community can be. To finally respond the question “to what extent should we accept knowledge from authority?” the final conclusion is that we definitely receive a good amount of knowledge from authority, given that the term “authority” is quite broad. However, one must use different ways of knowing, like reason and perception in order to evaluate if this knowledge passed on is reliable or not. 

English and the African Writer

In his essay, "English and the African Writer" Chinua Achebe reflects on the role of language and power, focusing on African Literature and the misunderstandings that come with it, whether it is produced in Africa or about Africa, and what it is about.

Achebe's main purpose was to communicate the idea about the definition of African literature, how complex of a term it is and how it is being treated around the world. He does this through explaining his experience at a conference focused on African literature in English, stating opinions of other authors and sharing his opinion about the use of the English language in literature in general.

Achebe view of the British/English language is that it is present in Africa and is the primary language of the majority of countries in the continent because of the colonization by the British. He asserts, “[African countries] were created in the first place by the intervention of the British, which, I hasten to add, is not saying that the peoples comprising these nations were invented by the British.” Moreover he claims that the English language is inherited, and through a common language to start off, it has given hundreds of separate communities a mutual tongue to communicate and coexist. He emphasizes that this language is one to appreciate as it has brought with it great things, yet he understands that many may resent it as the foreigners who brought it included “items of doubtful value and the positive atrocity of racial arrogance and prejudice.”

Achebe believes that the justification for using English as a means of communication in his novel is necessary because of two main reasons. First of all it is the national language of Nigeria, where his story is based. And secondly writing it in a language of a smaller community like the Igbo one would limit the novel to those who speak it.  

The influence of the British led to a high socio-political change, including, racial ignorance and arrogance as well as infallible prejudice. Achebe points to the irony at work when presented with work by authors such as Shabaan Robert, the Swahili poet of Tanganyika, as he could not understand his work, and would not, until he learned the language, if possible.

Writers who choose to publish in the colonial languages of English and French, are not, Achebe believes, "unpatriotic smart-alecs," they are in fact, "by-products of the same process that made the new nation-states of Africa."

Achebe draws to a conclusion by referring to the work of James Baldwin in the London Observer. He draws a parallel between this work and his own ideas by altering the language in order to suit his new African surroundings.  

Chimamanda Adichie "The Danger of a Single Story" Reaction

In Chimamanda Adichie’s TED Talk “The Danger of a Single Story” she opens the audience’s eyes to the influence of a single story on kids, and how it is such an obvious concept, yet nobody seems to catch onto it and call it out. The idea Adichie is trying to convey is that the impact of children stories on other children is out of control and that ALL stories about similar topics or situations show a stereotype of the people of that place.  The example she uses is quite simple, she is from Nigeria, and had never been anywhere else. As she was growing up she only read British stories, and all of them were about white, blue-eyed kids. This influenced her own writing at an early age, she did not write about kids like her self –black and living in the desert– she wrote about the kids she had read about. Her main point is that the face of a story is incredible impressionable, especially to children. The concept she is transmitting is true for many cultures, however as a society we are extremely susceptible to what we read and it is people like Chimamanda Adichie who open our eyes to this and educate us to a greater extent. 

Igbo Society and Culture

Who are the Igbo people? Where do they live? What is their life like? 

The Igbo people are a tribe or community that are located in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. Their native tongue is Igbo, hence the label “Igbo people,” however as time has gone by, the vast majority have also learned Nigerian English which is the national language of Nigeria. The village they inhabit consist of several huts, some connected, which form compounds. The three main jobs within the Igbo community are craftsmen, farmers and traders, yet every person in the community has a specific role to fulfill, whether it is a wife, a son, a daughter or a husband. Furthermore, the Igbo people abide by their customs, religion and beliefs quite strictly yet modern times have forced them to evolve their more violent traditions into ones that are more “socially acceptable.”

Before the British attempted to colonize the Igbo, they were separates cultures among the larger community and were politically fragmented into several groups. Throughout the attack of the British, the Igbo people were forced into uniting and becoming one as a whole in order to survive and continue their legacy. This new unity meant that no family was socially superior than any other, that they were all equals regardless of their social status, the new status quo was that elders were ranked higher than others. Another factor that influenced social status was how large the family was, which is closely related to polygamy. If a man had more wives, it meant that the number of children he had increased and therefore had more hands for labor. As a family increased in size, it meant that the man had enough resources to support them.

Finally, family structure is of great importance within the culture. First of all, the man is the leader in a relationship and he is allowed to marry as many women as he wants. The first wife is the most important as she is in the relationship out of love rather than need. In addition, she gets the hut closest to the main hut, where the husband lives. As more wives come, the next is of less importance as the previous and their individual huts are further away and lower than the main one. The men and women have contrasting roles in the family, the man is the leading one, he has the final call in everything and does all the heavy labor while the woman is expected to maintain the household clean and orderly, as well as raising the children and preparing meals.