Teilhard de Chardin and Senghor on the civilization of the universal

CONCLUSION

Léopold SEDAR SENGHOR fascinated by the writings of Pierre TEILHARD DE CHARDIN, adopted and adapted the latter's thoughts on the Civilization of the Universal. Senghor considers from his reflections on the works of Teilhard de Chardin that Africa has an important role to play in the Civilization of the Universal: to reforge the unity between man and man because man is central in African relationships. Africa occupies a place of pride in Senghorian adaptations and it is legitimate of course. Senghor considers that Africa has something to offer in this rendez-vous which consists in giving and receiving and at the same time, it will also at benefit from it. This is what comes out from Richard Laurent OMBGA's analysis:

L'avènement de la Civilisation de l'Universel lui (Senghor) semble donc à la fois salutaire et inéluctable. Elle sera salutaire pour l'Afrique qui pourra véritablement s'enrichir au contact des autres en leur volant pour ainsi dire le secret de leur puissance et pour l'Euramérique qui pourra réapprendre le sens de l'humain. Elle sera le carrefour du donner et du recevoir.^85(*)

Above all, Senghor's adaptation of Teilhardian views implies some imperfections and this is why we will occupy ourselves in the next chapter to attempt evaluating the implications of Senghor's considerations on the Civilization of the Universal.

CHAPTER THREE

EVALUATION OF SENGHOR'S HUMANISM

INTRODUCTION

After seeing how Léopold Sédar Senghor considered the Civilization of the Universal and the role that Africa is called to play herein, basing himself on the writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, our purpose in this chapter is to evaluate the adaptation of the Teilhardian ideas on the Civilization of the Universal by Senghor in an African setup. We would like to analyse the implications positive, and negative of Senghor's humanism. In effect, we set ourselves the task in this chapter to attempt philosophizing in the ethnological work of Senghor. Senghor actually affirms that there are certain values that Africa is called to present to the rest of the world as its contribution to the building up of the Civilization of the Universal. Nonetheless, his work seems to be losing sight of the political and economical situation of Africa and to remain an ideology of glorification of the African past. Africa is suffering from neo-colonialism and from underdevelopment. After evaluating his humanism, we are going to ask ourselves whether there are actually some values that have proven to be universal in Africa so much that they can serve humanity as a whole. How can the local in terms of values become global, universal?

III.1. POSITIVE IMPACTS OF SENGHOR'S

HUMANISM

III.1.1. Pan-African Unity

Pan-Africanism is an expression made up of two words: «pan» from the Greek, meaning universal, and «Africanism», meaning something that is characteristically African. Pan-African Unity is the union of Africa as a whole; it is a movement that tends to unite African nations, to build up among Africans a certain solidarity in order to enable them face the western world.

The Negroes, scattered on the face of the earth after the slave trade, had a global vision of Africa, considered as the sole continent of blacks. All considered Africa as their common fatherland. If such an ideal was kept, then the African unity of Senghor or better of Kwame NKRUMAH would have been realised. The intention to gather all the Negroes of the world is good but how could such an idea be realised?

In the context of the Civilization of the Universal, Senghor`s view is that Africa has to be united in all its structures and cultures in order to be able to lead the other cultures. Pan- African unity is important because it does not reject the influences from other cultures. It seeks to unite Africans while at the same time allowing them to be open to the ideas of other cultures.

Léopold Sédar Senghor maintains pan-African unity as an ideal worth striving for. He remains sufficiently realistic in not wishing to build an illusory pan-Africanism at the expense of the necessary nation unity which must remain the first step. In addition, Senghor considers that continentalism is a kind of self-sufficiency which is an impoverishing factor in as much as it limits both creativity and cross-fertilization of ideas with other cultures. In present times, we have moved forward from OUA (Organisation de l'Unité Africaine) to the African Union and much still has to be done in order that that unity may be more effective and in order that it may bear lasting fruits.

* ⁸⁵ Richard Laurent Omgba, « Identité culturelle, Civilisation de l'Universel et Mondialisation. » in Marcelin Vounda E., (ed.), Le siècle de Senghor, Yaoundé, 2003, p.48.