Language and the construction of society: a philosophical analysis of metaphors, narratives and palavers among the Adigo people of Kenya

Abstract

Intellectually, we are today living in a period popularly known as postmodernism. The word post-modernisln is itself a full- fledged critique of the process of rationalization usually identified as having originated in seventeenth century European enlightenment thought, and which later developed to become the epistemological pinnacle of Western sense of modernism. Considered as universally valid in its method and objectives, The epistemological pretensions of modernism became the reference point against which the knowledge content of all systems of thought were evaluated or, to use the contemporary terminology central to this debate, represented. Contemporary trends aim at transcending this epistemological eurocentrism. Against it, many scholars have now proposed that knowledge is contextual and relative, thus recommending a comparative approach to the study of knowledge in the sense of focusing on the need for greater dialogue between systems which are thus reduced to the level/status of paradigms. This thesis contributes to the post-modern debate. It examines metaphors, narratives and palavers as means of expressing and articulating concepts and ideas in traditional representations of knowledge. It focuses on the Adigo uses of these speech forms to exact knowledge and to determine the understanding and nature of diverse value concepts in their application to cultural practice .