"To Know is to Know You Don't Know" - Professor Afolayan

Aanuoluwatomiwa Oke 

In an exclusive interview with Professor Adeshina Afolayan of the Department of Philosophy, he shares his philosophical insights with NAPS PRESS, revealing that he embodies the philosophical and pedagogical joy Socrates possessed and that philosophy has been a corrective measure for monumental ignorance.

NAPS PRESS: Can we meet you, sir?

Professor Afolayan: My name is Adeshina Afolayan, and I am a filọ́sọ́fà who is trying acutely to stave off suffering and live as meaningful a life as possible within the precarious context of the Nigerian postcolony. 

NAPS PRESS: What sparked your interest in the philosophical discipline and for how long have you been actively philosophizing?

Professor Afolayan: I came to Philosophy accidentally. In retrospect, I would say coming to Philosophy was a corrective measure for my monumental ignorance and neglect of what we all needed to be conscious about right from primary school. I am glad I could bear the inscription of that correction on my entire life of reflective consciousness of what it means to exist and to exist in Nigeria. I have been consciously reflecting now for more than twenty years.

NAPS PRESS: If you had to choose another career path in life, what would it be?

Professor Afolayan: For another career path, I would be an artiste crafting the sublime beauty of the universe--visible and invisible--onto all manners of canvasses. I believe I have the soul of an artiste through which the Muses whisper to me in poetic verses, the medium, according to Heidegger, by which we catch glimpses of Being. 

NAPS PRESS: You are that philosopher who has not just found satisfaction in philosophy, but one who effortlessly encourages students to see philosophy as a pursuit of happiness. What inspired you?

Professor Afolayan: With all sense of modesty, I think I embody the philosophical and pedagogical joy Socrates possessed. I am motivated not just to teach from the perspective of the pure joy of learning and experiencing the known and unraveling the unknown, but also by the philosophical humility that the vista of what is knowable is limitless and non-absolute. To know is to know you don't know. This is the epistemic antidote to arrogant fundamentalist thinking that makes life and relationships hell. It is this philosophical open-mindedness, and its capacity to give birth to newness--new ideas, new experiences, new relationships, new directions, and new thoughts--that I want to keep ingraining in my students.

NAPS PRESS: Is there a major point of divergence between ancient philosophy and our modern-day philosophy? What would you say it is?

Professor Afolayan: Ancient and modern philosophies are manifestations of different temporalities under the grip of the same philosophic spirit. Philosophy allows different peoples and cultures to reflect on their times and experiences. It also allows for a reflective thread that ranges between the past, present, and future; which allows humans to learn from one another across space and time.

NAPS PRESS: What informed your taking philosophy away from the abstract realm to something that even an ordinary person on the street can relate to (like the way you are interrogating Brymo's music)?

Professor Afolayan: I don't see it as a "taking philosophy away." Philosophy has a reflective capacity to be and do so many things. It can be a reflection on reflection. It can also be a reflection on human practices that gave birth to the philosophical endeavor in the first place: philosophy is an active inquiry into what humans think and do.

So, I think that the abstract and the practical in philosophy feed into each other. The strength of that symbiosis is also determined, to a large extent, by the place of Philosophy, the context within which philosophy is taking place. Philosophy in Nigeria--and I mean in the departments of philosophy in Nigerian universities--is abstract and practical. We debate Aristotle's Metaphysics, mind-body relationship, the paradox of tolerance, the is-ought wàhálà, the challenge of skepticism, etc. But we must also reflect on racism and ethnicity, religious fundamentalism, LGBTQ+, popular culture, family values, social media, Nollywood, and so on. 

Philosophy cannot just be an ongoing conversation among professors of philosophy. It must also be an ongoing discourse about human flourishing; about engaging with the doxastic wisdom of the Nigerians on the street. Philosophy should assist us in lowering our blood pressure! This is what led me to Nollywood, social media comedies, and Afrobeats. When Nimi Wariboko considers me a "demosopher," he critically identified the core of my philosophical objective: to tease out the street episteme that enables Nigerians to survive their precarious ordeals in Nigeria. 

NAPS PRESS: What is your philosophy of life?

Professor Afolayan: Life is precarious, collaborative, and productive. Live well, and don't forget to drop some quantum of assistance into other people's lives.

NAPS PRESS: If you were to encourage someone who sees no potential in studying Philosophy, what would you say?

Professor Afolayan: Seeing no potential in Philosophy is itself already a philosophical position. That simply tells us that there is no escaping philosophy.

The picture of Philosophy in Nigeria--and elsewhere for that matter--is a function of human values that now revolves around a materialistic lifestyle. Consumerism has become the global appetitive impulse: Don't think; just keep consuming!

So, I tell the reluctant student of Philosophy dragged into the discipline by the crazy dynamics of admission: You have been gifted a discipline that helps you in disciplining your exuberant desires, aspirations, and expectations, and in focusing the essence of your being. Since life is too short, Philosophy becomes the reflective barometer for living the good life and making significant choices that impact you and all those who surround you.

NAPS PRESS: Thank you so much for your time, sir.