The Conceptualisation of African Philosophy in the Novels of OK Matsepe

Oliver Kgadime Matsepe has a distinctive way of presenting his introductory paragraphs in all his nine novels, which is both fascinating and thought-provoking. The opening paragraphs reflect on life holistically, and this has led literary scholars who worked on Matsepe’s works to refer to it as a “philosophical introduction” (matseno a kakanyophelo). These introductions demonstrate a high level of thinking coupled with Matsepe’s philosophy about African life in general and human nature in particular. Moreover, the plot structure of his novels, including the themes, is profoundly captured in the philosophical introductions. In this article, the epistemological approach, which is part of the qualitative research design, shall be used as a research methodology to investigate the phenomenon. This is informed by the meaning and interpretation that shall be ascribed to the philosophical introductions sampled from the nine novels. African philosophy would serve as the basis of the literature review to demonstrate the connection between the philosophical introduction and African philosophy. Furthermore, the philosophical introductions shall be contextualised to demonstrate their reflection on the current global community in South Africa, even though his literature was published some 60 years ago. How could the current global society be shaped and conscientised by an African writer like Matsepe, who addresses critical societal issues such as jealousy, greed, selfishness, nepotism, corruption, diversity, gender issues, and leadership?