Imagine substituting leptons and quarks for gods and spirits 1

Imagine substituting leptons and quarks for gods and spirits Guided by the conviction that an exhaustive exploration o f features common to modern Western and traditional African thought should come before the enumeration o f differences, it is argued that the general propositions that can be formulated on the nature and function o f Western traditional thinking are highly relevant to traditional African thinking. Despite the fact that African worldview reflections are mostly in terms o f the world o f which “we are part", and not the world where “we are inside”, which is common to Western reflection, a surprisingly fundamental similarity exists in the type o f conceptuality employed as well as in the process o f theory making. This very similarity is put forw ard as a comparison o f features common to Western and traditional African thought. From this comparative story o f the theory making processes, the stage is set fo r addressing the pedagogical challenges within the Southern African multicultural context from which a new perspective can be explored, and a tentative framework be construed fo r a curriculum which can bridge the apparent irreconcilable differences. Ever thought for a minute to imaginatively substitute leptons and quarks for gods and spirits? A ludicrous suggestion? Stated differ­ ently: Why believe in leptons and quarks when no fractionally charged particle has ever unequivocally been observed in an experiment? Then why not in gods and spirits? Is it simply because the acknowledgement of the existence of leptons and quarks does not touch or threaten us in our own being, whereas belief in gods and spirits has consequences for all we hope for and do? Does it matter? Addressing the pedagogical challenges within the Southern African multicultural context resulting from the apparent irreconcilable differences between the fine^uned Western cosmology and African cosmogonies. ’ The protest o f Kwame Appiah (1992:120ff) against such a suggestion is not directed at the comparing of the natural sciences traditional religion as such. On the contrary, he finds it useful. His criticism, however, is directed at the identified differences (cf Appiah 1992:122ff). See Section 4 in this regard. 156 IMAGINE SUBSTITUTING LEPTONS 1 DO WE MIND THAT IT MATTERS? If we would take one of the great challenges to science of understand­ ing, the nature of human consciousness, seriously, as Paul Davies (1995:34) suggests, since “(w)e still have no clue how mind and matter are related, or what process led to the emergence of mind from matter in the first place”, we find on the one hand Western reflection on consciousness taking recourse in the dualism of mind-matter, whereas on the other hand African reflection displays an implicit understanding of consciousness as a psycho-social phenomenon. With­ in the Southern African multicultural context, the question arises: “Does traditional African thought specifically with reference to cos­ mology have anything to say or contribute to the stunningly impres­ sive and fine-tuned (the anthropic principle) Western cosmological reflection in the contemporary debate?”. The astonishing and pervasive success of the scientific-theoretical dissection and exploration of the cosmos in the beauty of its rational transparency is awe-inspiring, and in the exploration of the vastness of the expanding universe, is humb­ ling (read “Hubbleing”!) for some. We live between the profound implications of the uncertainty principle, of black holes which are not so black, to the Big Bang and Crunch, from an universe which is really completely self-contained and which has no boundary or edge, and imaginary time and the quest for the discovery of a complete theory, which will be the ultimate triumph of human reason. If we could develop a complete theory in the words of Hawking (1988:175) “we would know the mind of God”5. And in the words of Davies (1992:172), who explores the very notion of the mind of God we as animated stardust can be content to know, having cracked part of the cosmic code, that we are living in the best of all possible worlds. Simply put: We mind that it matter(s)! Or does it only matter? Will animated (Western) stardust first have to bite the (spirit­ ual) dust, before we “mind” in a broader sense? Can an “other” understanding of consciousness not perhaps provide us with clues? One possibility comes to mind in this broader sense, that is to turn an attentive ear to other stories about the cosmos4. Other stories such as the African cosmogonies5 about their origin, meaning, and J Perhaps rather more humbling apt: “We would know the mind of a British cosmolygist!” This is also the plea to name but one contemporary example of “turning an atten­ tive ear” of David Peat (1997) who suggests that it would be useful for us to exam­ ine our metaphysics in the light of that of another society. Stories such as: creation from nothing (e g the Xoixoi of Namibia, the Bulu peple of Cameroon, the Ekoi in Southern Nigeria); creation from division of primordial unity ISSN 0257-8891 *> SKRIF EN KERK Jrg 21(1) 2000 157 nature. But what contribution if any have these cosmogonies of Africa to make? It’s precisely on this point that I invite you just for a “naive minute” to imaginatively substitute leptons and quarks for gods and spirits. Such a substitution would involve at least two circu­ larities, namely a hermeneutic (we have to believe in order to under­ stand and we have to understand in order to believe) and an epistemic circle (how we know is controlled by the nature of the object and the nature of the object is revealed through our knowledge of it). Since the epistemic status of leptons and quarks, on the one hand, and of gods and spirits, on the other, do not differ, I do not see any good reason why such an imaginary substitution could not be undertaken. On the contrary, I find it very promising. Therefore of more importance to me is the justification of the “why and how?” of such an undertaking. Why? Negatively, the overhasty and insensitive reflective roads, mostly travelled in contrasting Western and African thought, have settled into well-worn dichotomies. The dichotomies used to concep­ tualise the differences are, very often, not only intellectually arrogant, but also (implicitly) degrading most of the time. Dichotomies such as: Intellectual versus emotional; rational versus mystical; reality-orientated versus fantasy-orientated; casually orientated versus supematurally orientated; empirical versus mystical; abstract versus concrete; analy­ tical versus non-analytical, are falsely posited. On the other hand, more positively, could a more careful and sensitive analysis of the relation­ ship between Western and African thought in a post-Kuhnian age, characterised by the loss of epistemological innocence, perhaps not give us some clues as to the challenging question of relating mind and matter? Or viewed from another perspective address the question of (Western) spiritual impoverishment? Guided by the conviction (following Horton 1993) that an exhau­ stive exploration of features common to modem Western and traditio­ nal African thought should come before the enumeration of difference6, I would like to argue in this paper that the fundamental similarity in the type of conceptuality employed, put differently the process of theory making, can tentatively and promisingly be explored as a vantage point (eg the Krachi people of Togo); creation by emergance (eg the Yao of Mozambique), creation by secretion (the Boshongo of Central Africa); creation by word (eg the Swa­ hili-speaking people of Kenya and Tanzania); creation from a cosmic egg (eg the Dogon people of Mali; the Zulus of South Africa); creation from chaos (eg Wahungwe Makoni people o f Zimbabwe, the Yoruba o f Nigeria); creation from clay (the fang of Gabon, the Efe people of Zaire). Cf Horton (1993:22 Iff) for a detailed discussion of the key differences. See also the criticism of Appiah (1992:107ff, especially 124ff) in this regard to earlier publications of Horton on his understanding of the diffrences. 158 IMAGINE SUBSTITUTING LEPTONS in addressing the pedagogical challenges for construing a curriculum for the dialogical encounter o f Western cosmology and African cos­ mogonies. Imagine substituting leptons and quarks for gods and spirits.... For my tentative and explorative construction o f such a “dialogical” curriculum (which I will pursue below), I take it that most o f you are more or less acquainted with the broad outlines o f contemporary reflection on Western cosmology and the most salient features of traditional African though7. I would like to focus on constructing a feasible framework for a curriculum within a multicultural context, which will not only make a fruitful dialogical encounter possible, but which will simultaneously and self-critically indicate future directives for such a relationship. A “fine-tuned” curriculum is thus not to be expected, only a tentative framework. For this framework, I wish to indicate, in the first place, the most important presuppositions on which the framework is based. Secondly, I take my lead from a specific African cosmogony in suggesting, thirdly, a “creation-centred” curri­ culum. 2 PRESUPPOSITIONAL BAGGAGE * Reality is stranger and even more multi-layered than we could have imagined, and Western science simply does not have a method­ ological nor metaphysical copyright on revealing/ disclosing “real­ ities”*. I therefore agree with David Peat (1997:563) when he states: “One o f the most dramatic products o f the Western mind has been its particular approach to science, a discipline that, along with its assoc­ iated technology, is by no means as objective, neutral and value free as we once believed. Western science expresses an entire metaphysics about the way we relate to the world, society and ourselves. Western 7 C f Abraham (1995); Bediako (1995:93-6); Bolle (1987); Du Toit (1994:1

Ever thought for a minute to imaginatively substitute leptons and quarks for gods and spirits?A ludicrous suggestion?Stated differ ently: Why believe in leptons and quarks when no fractionally charged particle has ever unequivocally been observed in an experiment?Then why not in gods and spirits?Is it simply because the acknowledgement of the existence of leptons and quarks does not touch or threaten us in our own being, whereas belief in gods and spirits has consequences for all we hope for and do?Does it matter?
Addressing the pedagogical challenges within the Southern African multicultural context resulting from the apparent irreconcilable differences between the fine-^uned Western cosmology and African cosmogonies.' The protest o f Kwame Appiah (1992:120ff) against such a suggestion is not directed at the comparing o f the natural sciences traditional religion as such.On the contrary, he finds it useful.His criticism, however, is directed at the identified differences (cf Appiah 1992:122ff).See Section 4 in this regard.

DO W E MIND THAT IT MATTERS?
If we would take one o f the great challenges to science of understand ing, the nature of human consciousness, seriously, as Paul Davies (1995:34) suggests, since "(w)e still have no clue how mind and matter are related, or what process led to the emergence of mind from matter in the first place", we findon the one hand -Western reflection on consciousness taking recourse in the dualism of mind-matter, whereason the other hand -African reflection displays an implicit understanding of consciousness as a psycho-social phenomenon.With in the Southern African multicultural context, the question arises: "Does traditional African thought -specifically with reference to cos mology -have anything to say or contribute to the stunningly impres sive and fine-tuned (the anthropic principle) Western cosmological reflection in the contemporary debate?".The astonishing and pervasive success of the scientific-theoretical dissection and exploration of the cosmos in the beauty of its rational transparency is awe-inspiring, and in the exploration o f the vastness o f the expanding universe, is humb ling (read "Hubbleing" !) for some.
We live between the profound implications o f the uncertainty principle, o f black holes which are not so black, to the Big Bang and Crunch, from an universe which is really completely self-contained and which has no boundary or edge, and imaginary time and the quest for the discovery o f a complete theory, which will be the ultimate triumph of human reason.If we could develop a complete theory -in the words o f Hawking (1988:175) "we would know the mind of God"5.And -in the words of Davies (1992:172), who explores the very notion o f the mind o f God -we as animated stardust can be content to know, having cracked part o f the cosmic code, that we are living in the best of all possible worlds.Simply put: We mind that it matter(s)!Or does it only matter?Will animated (Western) stardust first have to bite the (spirit ual) dust, before we "mind" in a broader sense?Can an "other" understanding of consciousness not perhaps provide us with clues?
One possibility comes to mind in this broader sense, that is to turn an attentive ear to other stories about the cosmos4.Other storiessuch as the African cosmogonies5 -about their origin, meaning, and J Perhaps rather more humbling apt: "We would know the mind o f a British cosmolygist!"This is also the plea -to name but one contemporary example o f "turning an atten tive ear" -of David Peat (1997) who suggests that it would be useful for us to exam ine our metaphysics in the light of that of another society.
Stories such as: creation from nothing (e g the Xoixoi of Namibia, the Bulu peple of Cameroon, the Ekoi in Southern Nigeria); creation from division o f primordial unity nature.But what contribution -if any -have these cosmogonies of Africa to make?It's precisely on this point that I invite you -just for a "naive minute" -to imaginatively substitute leptons and quarks for gods and spirits.Such a substitution would involve at least two circu larities, namely a hermeneutic (we have to believe in order to under stand and we have to understand in order to believe) and an epistemic circle (how we know is controlled by the nature o f the object and the nature of the object is revealed through our knowledge o f it).Since the epistemic status of leptons and quarks, on the one hand, and o f gods and spirits, on the other, do not differ, I do not see any good reason why such an imaginary substitution could not be undertaken.On the contrary, I find it very promising.Therefore -of more importance to me -is the justification o f the "why and how?" of such an undertaking.
W hy? Negatively, the overhasty and insensitive reflective roads, mostly travelled in contrasting Western and African thought, have settled into well-worn dichotomies.The dichotomies used to concep tualise the differences are, very often, not only intellectually arrogant, but also (implicitly) degrading most of the time.Dichotomies such as: Intellectual versus emotional; rational versus mystical; reality-orientated versus fantasy-orientated; casually orientated versus supematurally orientated; empirical versus mystical; abstract versus concrete; analy tical versus non-analytical, are falsely posited.On the other hand, more positively, could a more careful and sensitive analysis of the relation ship between Western and African thought in a post-Kuhnian age, characterised by the loss of epistemological innocence, perhaps not give us some clues as to the challenging question of relating mind and matter?Or -viewed from another perspective -address the question of (Western) spiritual impoverishment?
Guided by the conviction (following Horton 1993) that an exhau stive exploration o f features common to modem Western and traditio nal African thought should come before the enumeration o f difference6, I would like to argue in this paper that the fundamental similarity in the type of conceptuality employed, put differently -the process of theory making, can tentatively and promisingly be explored as a vantage point C f Horton (1993:22 Iff) for a detailed discussion of the key differences.See also the criticism of Appiah (1992:107ff, especially 124ff) in this regard to earlier publications of Horton on his understanding o f the diffrences.
in addressing the pedagogical challenges for construing a curriculum for the dialogical encounter o f W estern cosm ology and African cos mogonies.Imagine substituting leptons and quarks for gods and spirits....
For my tentative and explorative construction o f such a "dialogical" curriculum (which I will pursue below), I take it that most o f you are more or less acquainted with the broad outlines o f contemporary reflection on W estern cosmology and the m ost salient features o f traditional African though7.I would like to focus on constructing a feasible fram ework for a curriculum within a multicultural context, which will not only make a fruitful dialogical encounter possible, but which will sim ultaneously and self-critically indicate future directives for such a relationship.A "fine-tuned" curriculum is thus not to be expected, only a tentative framework.For this framework, I wish to indicate, in the first place, the most important presuppositions on which the framework is based.Secondly, I take my lead from a specific African cosm ogony in suggesting, thirdly, a "creation-centred" curri culum.

*
Reality is stranger and even more m ulti-layered than we could have im agined, and W estern science simply does not have a method ological nor m etaphysical copyright on revealing/ disclosing "real ities"*.I therefore agree with David Peat (1997:563) when he states: "One o f the m ost dramatic products o f the W estern mind has been its particular approach to science, a discipline that, along with its assoc iated technology, is by no means as objective, neutral and value free as we once believed.W estern science expresses an entire metaphysics about the way we relate to the world, society and ourselves.W estern 7 C f Abraham (1995);Bediako (1995:93-6); Bolle (1987);Du T oit (1994:12ff); Dym ess (1990:42-52); Menkiti (1984:74ff); Penoukou (1991:24); Shutte (c f 1997); £1993); W iredu (1984); W right (1984).
On this m atter, I am not questioning the competence o f science.In m any instances, its com petence speaks for itself.But for good reasons in our very GUT-or TOEquest, I take head o f the words o f Polkinghom e (1995:110): "It would be grotesque to suppose that science was the only form o f inquiry into reality worthy o f our attention.Science deliberately leaves out o f its account questions o f m eaning, purpose, and value, and it disregards all the great swath o f personal experience and encounter that actually constitutes m ost o f what m akes life worth living" .Van Huyssteen (1993: 132), albeit in the context o f the Science-Religion debate, raises the same point: "The sciences are em inently com petent when it com es to theory construction and to experi m ental and pragm atic enterprises, but they are incom petent when it com es to finding answers to our deepest religious questions".
ISSN 0257-8891 = SKRIF EN KERK Jrg 21(1) 2000 science has its trium phs, yet we are aware o f the hubris connected to its success".* W ithin W estern cosm ological reflection, the cosm os is taken as a physical reality, whereas in African cosm ogonies, the cosmos is under stood as a spiritual/social reality.The logos is taken as propositions in the former, while couching its explanatory analogies in an impersonal idiom, whereas the latter understands it in term s o f forces, couching its explanatory analogies in turn in a personal idio'.* Relating W estern cosm ological reflection and African cosm og onies, is not prim arily a scientific or theological, nor sociological or historical problem as such, but -in my opinion -an epistem ological problem, if our vantagepoint was the sim ilarity in terms o f the type o f conceptuality employed.That is, the question about how two different sorts o f claims to knowledge are to be related10.* W ithin a post-m odern, multicultural context, such an epistem o logical endeavour recognises the lack o f a universal standard o f ration ality against which we can measure other beliefs or research traditions (c f Van Huyssteen 1997:38).This does not leave us with a radical relativism nor an easy pluralism .Our ability to m ake rational judge ments and to share them with various and different epistem ic com m un ities also means that we are able to com m unicate with one another m eaningfully through conversation, deliberation and evaluation.* V isiting the thus related epistem ic com m unities o f W estern cosm ology and African cosm ogonies, is not an ivory tow er luxury, but spontaneously springs forth from w hat M etz (1993:20) calls the bibl ical "V erhaltensim perativ", that is, that one needs to be aware o f those people outside o f o n e's own field o f vision.It could be interpreted as a dem and for an education o f acceptance, which in practice would develop learning opportunities and the ability to deal with plurality.* The dem and for an education o f acceptance is characterised w ithin the South African context by the concrete challenge o f addres sing Eurocentrism through Afrocentrism .Does this imply simply exchanging one "centrism " for another?No. W hereas Eurocentrism , in its most exaggerated form, makes a claim for the centrality o f "Euro The w ords o f Penoukou (1991:24) on Ewe-M ina society could serve as an example: " In Ewe-M ina society ... being is not thought o f prim arily in term s o f essence, subs tance, nature, and idea, nor so m uch in term s o f history and tim e as happens more in the W est since Heidegger, but basically in terms o f a relationship o f com m unity and solidarity.In other words, being is not so m uch contem plated as a speculative m ys tery, but it is unveiled in its 'to be there w ith', in an encounter which allows for p o n d er, the unthinkable, the unexpected, m ystery" .
I am here follow ing Em an M cM ullin (1981) in his very elucidating exposition o f the question how cosm ology should relate to theology.
pean" reality, knowledge and evaluation, and displaces other visions to the periphery, that is, m arginalizing the "other"", Afrocentrism empha sises a path to knowledge rather than the displacem ent o f the other (cf Schiele 1994:150ff; Verharen 1995:65), resulting thus not in replace ment nor displacement, but in acentrism (see footnote 9).* This challenge on the path to knowledge -in my opinion -should be holistically12 routed along the road o f "encounters through dia logue" 13, that is, "reflection with a face" (a "cognitive facelift" which is social learning that does not only further comm unication, transcend boundaries and widen horizons, but is also action orientated, and creates community. Let us now visit the respective epistemic communities, firstly by exploring a specific African cosm ogony (that is, telling the story o f the Dogon people o f Mali) and, secondly, by focusing on the sim ilarities in the theory making process o f the respective epistemic communities.

AT HOM E AT THE STORY OF THE DOGON PEOPLE
The Is "centrism " -which was referred to in the previous paragraph -not directly oppo sed to a "holistic routing"?No, since Afrocentrism , although it is focussed on the self at the start, progresses beyond the self and the group to push to a point where it emb-|^ces the w hole o f reality, that is, becomes acentric.
See Knauth & W eisse (1995:245) for a brief explanation o f the background and understanding o f this concept, which was coined by Martin Buber and used in ecumpjiical circles by Hans Margull.
A "cognitive facelift" through social learning implies addressing psychological degradation and cultural disorientation.The cosm ogony o f the Dogon people o f m odem Mali provides a good example o f incest in creation myths.It has been suggested by many anthropologists that such incest stories are an attem pt to support particular kinship systems (Leeming & Leeming 1994:71).Such is the case with the Dogon cosmogony.

Their story
In the beginning, Am ma the supreme god, existed alone and depended upon nothing but himself.Amma had the shape o f an oval egg, made out o f his four collarbones joined together.The bones divided the egg into four quarters containing the four elem ents -fire, air, earth and w ater -and the joints between the bones represented the four cardinal directions o f space.The m orphology o f the cosmic egg thus contained both the substance and structure o f the universe.Am m a traced within him self the design o f the cosmos and its future developm ent by placing in the egg 266 cosmic signs.These signs m anifested the creative thought o f Amma, and they contained the structure, essence and lifeprinciple o f all things.A fter m aking the 266 signs, Am m a embarked upon the creation o f the world.He placed the four elem ents and the Signs together with the seeds o f plants and crops in a flat disk, and set the disk revolving betw een two cosmic axes.But as the disk began to spin, it threw out the water, drying up the seeds.The creation was a failure.Am m a destroyed it and began again.This time he would make hum anity the instrum ent for preserving the order and life o f the world.Am m a began his second creation by placing a tiny seed grain, within him self, in the centre o f the cosmic egg.Into the grain he spoke seven creative "W ords", bearing the creative force o f sacred speech.This caused the seed to vibrate seven times and to turn in a spiral fashion, extending itself in seven directions w ithin the womb o f the egg.The seven protrusions prefigured an anthropom orphic shape, the image o f man, around which the world would be organised.The seventh projection, however, broke through its enveloping sheath and produced a separate segment which was shorter than the others, and incom plete.It represented the principle o f incom pleteness (im perf ection, singularity, disorder) which together w ith the principle o f com pleteness (perfection, duality, disorder) constitute the structure and dynam ics o f the Dogon.Am m a then transform ed the egg into a double placenta.In each he placed a set o f twins, male and female.Since every human being is descended from these twins, every human being is, in a sense, a descendant o f a mother and a twin brother or father and a twin sister.Before the process o f gestation was complete, one o f the males, named Yurugu, became impatient and broke out o f one o f the placentas.He feared that Am m a would not give him his female counterpart after birth.Feeling desperately alone and incomplete he could no longer w ait for the com pletion o f the gestation process, which took sixty years.W hen he tried to go back to the egg to retrieve his twin, she had been rem oved by Amma, who had foreseen Yurugu's revolt.
U nable to recover his twin, he revolted completely.He broke all the cosmic rules and tried to take over all the secrets o f the universe for him self with the intention o f creating another world.He traversed the area inside the cosmic egg in a spiral motion contrary to the original spiral direction and thereby imposed his own disorder upon the crea tive process.He declared him self to be as wise as Amma and capable o f creating his own universe, for he knew that Amma had implanted within him the im portant signs, words and seeds o f creation.He stole w hat he thought was the original seed grain, intending to create a new world o f his own.But this seed turned out to contain only the seeds of inedible plants and insects.When Yurugu tried to utter the sacred words, he discovered that he lacked the special quality o f speech with which to say them properly and thus launch a new creation* Conse quently, he burst forth from the celestial egg-womb, tearing o ff a piece o f it as he went and taking it with him as he descended through the void below.Am m a -who stood ready to reorganise Yurugu's destruc tive efforts -transform ed the piece o f placenta into the earth.With the addition o f this new element, the world again took on the shape o f a human figure.The celestial egg was the head, the lower placenta the hips and legs, and the space between represented the trunk and arms.Still intent upon acquiring his own twin, Y urugu copulated with the earth.In this way he acquired a "w ife" as a substitute for his lost female twin.But, he unwittingly defiled the earth, for being Yurugu's placenta, it was also his mothers, and mating with it was therefore an act o f incest.This made the earth sterile and dry and bereft o f its creative potential.Amma -instead o f destroying the now disordered universe -resolved to restore the disorder caused by Yurugu.He would sacrifice the other male twin, called Nom mo, who shared the placenta with Yurugu and thus shared in the responsibility o f his revolt.Amma strangled Nommo and scattered his dism em bered parts in the four directions.In this way, Amma regained control over the creative words and signs located in the body o f Nommo.By scattering Nommo's body over the expanse o f the celestial world, Amma was able to reimpose his own order upon it.A fter five days, Amma gathered together the pieces o f the sacrificed Nommo and restored him to life, and made him m aster and ruler o f the universe.From the parts o f Nom m o, Ammo also created four other Nommo spirits, whose offspring becam e the ancestors o f the Dogon people.
Amma then sent Nommo and the ancestors down to earth in a great ark provisioned with everything needed to restore and fructify the Earth and to sustain the human race: all species o f anim als and plants and all the elements o f human society and culture.As the ark descen ded, Nom m o shouted out Amma's creative words.In this way, the creative word was transm itted to Earth and made available to all hum anity.Upon landing, Nommo stepped out o f the ark and placed his foot on the soil.In this m anner, he dem onstrated his dom inion over the Earth, and he im pregnated it with Amm a's creative signs.W hat the theoretical reflection, which characterises the modem W estern scientific approach, is all about, can be explained in terms o f general propositions.These propositions give an indication o f the nature and function o f theoretical thinking17 In formulating these eight propositions, I am -at the same time -not only incorporating relevant elements o f the creation story o f the Dogon people, but will also be referring to the broader context o f the m ost salient features o f traditio nal African thought.

4.1
A C om parison1 8 a.In atom ic theory o f matter, ju st as in the process o f theory-m aking o f gods/spirits, the quest for explanatory theory is basically the quest for unity w hich underlies apparent diversity; for sim plicity underlying apparent com plexity; for order underlying apparent disorder; for regu larity underlying apparent anomaly.
the m ythological traditions o f Native Am ericans, the indigenous peoples o f Australia ^jid Polynesia.
For the following exposition, I am greatly indebted to the work done by Robin Jjorton (1993: 197-258) o f the University o f Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Before turning to such a comparison, the qualified approval and criticism o f Kwam e Appiah (1992:116ff) on such an undertaking, specifically on the earlier publications o f Horton, in which he compares W estern scientific reflection with traditional African thought, should be taken seriously.Appiah signifies his approval o f assim ilating the theories that underlay traditional African thought to those that are engendered in the sciences, because both are explanatory system s o f belief that share the problem o f underdeterm ination.Appiah (1992:120) approves o f H orton's basic thesis that the theories in the two dom ains are sim ilar in crucial aspects.Both share the purposes o f explanation, prediction and control.He, however, warns that in this very analogy there is m uch that is misleading.Distortion, odd equations, the lack of functional explanations are all very real dangers that ought to be taken seriously, especially in term s o f indicating key differences (such as the "open" and "closed" cognitive worlds o f m odem cultures and traditional cultures respectively, which Horton indicates, but which Appiah rejects).A ppiah's (1992:127-8) em phasis in this regard, follow ing Evan-Pritchard, on the significance o f the social organisation o f cognitive strategies over against individual cognitive strategies, which characterises traditional religion and the sciences respectively, as well as the role o f orality and literacy, is convincing.b.In atomic theory o f matter, ju st as in the process o f theory-m aking o f gods/spirits, the process places things in a causal context w ider than that provided by comm on sense.c.In atom ic theory o f m atter, ju st as in the process o f theory-m aking o f gods/spirits, we find that common sense and theory have com plem en tary roles in everyday life.d.In atom ic theory o f matter, ju st as in the process o f theory-m aking o f gods/spirits, levels o f theory vary in relation to context.e.In atomic theory o f matter, ju st as in the process o f theory-m aking o f gods/spirits, we find that in the theory-m aking process all theory breaks up the unitary objects o f common sense into aspects, then it places the resulting elem ents in a wider causal context.That is, it first abstracts and analyses, then it reintegrates.
f.In evolving a theoretical scheme for atoms and gods/spirits, the hum an m ind is constrained to draw inspiration from an analogy betw een the puzzling observation requiring explanation and certain already fam iliar phenomena.g.W here atom ic and G ods/Spirits theory is founded an analogy bet ween certain puzzling observations and other fam iliar phenom ena, only certain aspects o f these phenom ena are incorporated into the resulting model.
h.The theoretical model o f atoms, ju st like those o f gods/spirits, once constructed, is developed in ways which som etim es obscure the analogy on w hich it was founded.

ATOMS AND GODS IN A DIALOGICAL ENCOUNTER OF AN EPISTEM IC KIND. THE PEDAG OGICAL CHALLENGE IN A M ULTICULTURAL CONTEXT
"Cosm ology and spirituality cannot be separated" The tentative fram ew ork as pedagogical challenge for the dialogical encounter o f W estern cosm ology and African cosm ogonies, takes its lead in w hat I would like to call a "creation-centred" approach.This approach is: (a) m ethodologically a "presuppositional activity" (a term coined by Keith W ard) and not deductive nor inductive, that is, it picks out and organises the prim ary data in a particularly imaginative way, like constructing a pattern into which the world can fit, from the creative extension o f a num ber o f clues.

(b)
structurally m oulded on the four stages o f the great mysticprophet o f the thirteenth/ fourteenth century, M eister Eckhard19 (c) determ ined by the conviction that hum anity (read spirituality) and the physical world (read cosm ological reflection) that gave us birth, belong inextricably together.
If then we accept (see "Presuppositional baggage") that: * reality is stranger and even more m ulti-layered than we could have imagined, and * that science can indicate beauty and sym metry in nature and offer ways o f im proving our lives but cannot induce worship nor prom ise self-fulfilm ent, and thus does not have the last say, and * that relating W estern scientific (cosm ological) reflection to African cosm ological reflection is prim arily (but not only) an epistemic "problem "20, and -as indicated in the foregoing conceptual sim ilarity in 19 I find -within the context o f reflection on cosm ology and the teaching o f a " func tional cosm ology" -the "four-stages" suggestion o f M atthew Fox (1982:74ff) in his exposition o f "Creative teaching" helpful and convincing.The four stages are: 1. Via Positiva (Falling in love with creation, its beauty, its delight, its cosm ic connections, its brilliant expression in human creation, its history, its ongoing character); 2. Via Negativa (Letting go o f creation in order to let be, to leam reverence, to sink into nothingness, emptiness, darkness to find there too a living God whose language is silence); 3. Via Creativa (Birth, which happens only and alw ays ex nihila and repre sents the culm ination o f divine and hum an energies); 4. Via Transformativa (To bless or curse with our creativity, to be agents o f sadism or masochism as m uch as agents o f beauty and creation with the divine gifts o f our imagination.Therefore, to ensure that our birth is for a New Creation, we channel our energies into social justice and gpmpassion, that is, the Biblical directions for personal and social transformation).
Should Cheikh D iop's influential two cradle theory be taken seriously in this regard?In his proposed theory, Diop (1974:111;c f Diop 1996:50ff, 109ff, 119ff) states that the "history o f hum anity will remain confused as long as we fail to distin guish the two early cradles in which Nature fashioned the instincts, tem peram ents, habits, and ethical concepts o f the two subdivisions before they m et each other after a long separation dating back to prehistoric tim es" .I do not think so, follow ing Appiah.Appiah (1992:101-2) raises justified criticism , stating that the lack o f founding texts and the fact that there are no direct or continious tradition, m akes this a very dubious and limited undertaking.the theory-m aking process -that such an endeavour produces prom ising directives, then the question is: how can such a "dialogical encounter" be structured in term s o f a curriculum , enabling us, as "created co-creators" (a term coined by Philip Hefner), who live and reflect on the m eaning o f our existence within a pluralistic context, to produce a m eaningful and fruitful conversation, enhancing acceptance and understanding?I now turn to such a suggestion, focusing on broad outlines in term s o f the content chosen on the basis o f the foregoing exposition.

DIALO GICAL ENCOUNTER IN A MULTI-CULTURAL CONTEXT
How am I to understand the rem arkable fact that the physical world is also the carrier o f beauty?(Polkinghom e 1995:8) The follow ing questions could serve as pointers for the dialog ical encounter, advancing from an "Existential orientation" and m oving to a "Historical orientation", subsequently to a "Cosm ological orienta tion" and finally to an "Epistem ological orientation", from w hich "Life in com m unity" can be discussed as well as the ultim ate im perative be form ulated, namely: "W hat is expected from m e/us?" .It is precisely this "ultim ate im perative" that keeps the dialogical encounter open tow ards "transform ation" and thus to the future.* From the vantage point o f an "Existential orientation", the dialo gical focus will fall on our "creatureliness", that is understandings and expressions (for exam ple poetry, music, architecture) o f the "I", the "body" and "connections".* In the dialogical focus o f "Historical orientation", the leading question m ay be: "W here do we come from ?", addressing contextual as well as transcendental perspectives from w ritten as w ell as oral texts.* The existential and historical orientations should lead naturally to the form ulation o f a "Cosmological orientation".It may be explored with questions like: "How do I/we see/understand/experience ourselves in the world 'we are part o f / 'we are in '"?Thus addressing elem ents o f creation such as beauty, vastness, connections, physics etcetera as well as m etaphysical perspectives on God/suprem e beings/spirits.* The cosm ological perspective begs the subsequent question, namely: "W hy and how do I/we say w hat we believe in?", that is, the question o f an "Epistem ological orientation" .Such an orientation dem ands clarity at the same tim e o f perspectives on "revelation" (texts, traditions etcetera).* Follow ing from the epistem ological orientation and before turning to "Life in com m unity", it m ight be very feasible at this point to address the converging lines o f these questions within the troubling existential questions o f pain, fear, death, sin, nothingness, brokenness etcetera.* How all o f these relate to and its significance for life in the community (values, perceptions etcetera) should -on the one handthen be addressed, whilst sim ultaneously -on the other hand -the soteriological dim ension (that is, the question o f the role and signif icance o f redeem ing figures) should be integrated with these questions.* The integrated answers to the question o f life in the community and the significance o f redeeming figures should lay the foundation for construing a vision for transform ation and the future (that is the question: "w hat is expected from me/us to bring about a "better" world").As in the previous question where life in community and the redeem ing figures belong intrinsically together, so it is with the question o f transform ation and the understanding o f the significance and role o f the Spirit(s).
Where this dialogical encounter -in focussing on features common to m odem W estern and traditional African thought, and consciously in search o f ways to bridge the apparent irreconcilable differences -can take us, and in which exciting and new ways the "other" will come into our vision, now remains to be explored by the readers in their specific contexts.-, 1996.Towards the African Renaissance.L ondon: K am ak House.Du Toit, C 1994 (ed).Theology and the New Physics.

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eg the Krachi people o f Togo); creation by emergance (eg the Yao o f Mozambique), creation by secretion (the Boshongo o f Central Africa); creation by word (eg the Swa hili-speaking people o f Kenya and Tanzania); creation from a cosmic egg (eg the Dogon people of Mali; the Zulus o f South Africa); creation from chaos (eg Wahungwe Makoni people o f Zimbabwe, the Yoruba o f Nigeria); creation from clay (the fan g o f Gabon, the Efe people o f Zaire).
ISSN 0257-8891 = SKRIF EN KERK Jrg 21(1) 2000 Dogon, in this system o f myth and symbols, are able to express a correspondence betw een their social organisation and the world order as they conceive it.For them social life reflects the working o f the universe, and conversely, the world order depends on the proper ordering o f society" (G riaule & Dieterlen 1991:83).
M eanwhile, A m m a transform ed Y urugu into an anim al called the Pale Fox.Solitary and incom plete, and always in revolt, the Fox now wanders over the surface o f the Earth in fruitless quest for his female soul.The Pale Fox is the forerunner w hose steps reveal the dangers hum anity m ust avoid.In the course o f his wandering, the Pale Fox guides hum anity through the mysteries o f life by the tracks he leaves on the ground, which are interpreted by the Dogon diviners.Am m a's final act o f restoration was the sending o f rains to the Earth and the perform ance o f another sacrifice to purify and revitalise the soil.This tim e Amm a sacrificed one o f N om m o's offspring, named Lebe.Later, A m m a restored Lebe to life in the form o f a snake, while his bones rem ained buried in the ground, w here they continue to fructify the land.From this tim e onward, hum anity began to cultivate the land and spread out over it in increasing num bers.Aided by Nom m o, hum anity continues to follow the way originally blazed by the Pale Fox, the m iscreant forerunner o f hum an civilisation.O f all the creation stories o f A frica that I have read, I find the story o f the Dogon people sim ply one o f the m ost splendid stories15 and apart from that, an excellent exam ple to use for the indication o f features com m on to traditional African and m odem W estern thought in the process o f theory m aking16.Two other very interesting cosm ogonies, however, which I also w ould like to m ention, is that o f the Kwawu people o f Ghana (seeBartle 1983)  in which the universe has three souls, and the Sisala people also o f Ghana (see Tengan 1991) in j^hich the land is understood as a being in a relationship.Leem ing & Leem ing (1994) consists o f a collection o f creation stories, includingapart from A frica -stories from ancient civilisations from Sum er and Babylon to Egypt, G reece and ancient Rom e, from India, China, Japan and Indonesia, as well asThe stories o f the theory-m aking process: A com parison o f features common to m odem W estern and traditional African thought.

A
braham , W E 1995.A Paradigm o f A frican society, in: K w am e, (ed).Readings in African Philosophy.N ew York: U niversity Press o f A m erica.A ppiah, K A 1992.House.In My Father's House.Africa in the philosophy o f culture.N ew York: O xford U niversity Press.Bartle, P F W 1983.The universe has three souls.Journal o f Religion in Africa XIV (2) 85-114.Bediako, K w am e 1995.Christianity in Africa.N ew York: O rbis Books.Bolle, K ees W 1987. s v Cosm ology.The Encyclopaedia o f Religion.N ew York: M acM illan.Davies, P 1992.The M ind o f God.New York: Sim on & Schuster.Davies, Paul 1995.Physics and the m ind o f God: The T em pleton Prize A ddress.First Things, A ug/Sept (55): 31-35.D iop, C A 1974.The African origin o f civilization'.Myth or reality.Chicago: Law rence Hill.