← Previous | Contents | Next →
Preface
Project Libona is a journey of reflection on human life, wisdom, consciousness, culture, and the search for meaning. It was born from a desire to explore the questions that people have asked throughout history: Who are we? Why do we suffer? What is truth? What is freedom? What does it mean to live a good life?
The project draws inspiration from Eritrean experience, traditional wisdom, philosophy, religion, personal observation, and dialogue. Rather than presenting answers as fixed doctrines, it invites readers to participate in an ongoing conversation. Through stories, dialogues, reflections, and examples from everyday life, Project Libona seeks to encourage thoughtful inquiry and self-examination.
A special feature of the project is its use of dialogue. Characters such as Wedi Jebeli, Elsa, and others explore philosophical questions in a manner that is accessible, engaging, and rooted in human experience. Their conversations are intended not only to inform but also to stimulate reflection and discussion.
Project Libona is written with the belief that wisdom belongs to all people, regardless of formal education or social position. Valuable insights can be found in books, traditions, personal experience, and the shared reflections of ordinary people.
This work is not presented as a final destination but as a journey. Readers are invited to examine their own assumptions, consider alternative perspectives, and participate in the continuing search for understanding.
May this journey contribute, in however small a way, to greater self-awareness, mutual understanding, and a deeper appreciation of the human condition.
— Project Libona
Project Libona – Draft Outline
Preface
- The journey from "love of knowledge" to "love of wisdom"
- Writing in Tigrigna: reclaiming thought in our mother tongue
- A personal reflection on Eritrean lived philosophy
Introduction: What is Philosophy for Eritreans?
- Traditional definition of philosophy and why it needs rethinking
- From abstraction to lived experience
- The Eritrean context: war, community, silence, and dignity
- Philosophy as practical wisdom, not theoretical abstraction
- The philosophical value of hardship
- National trauma and personal dignity
- The individual in Eritrean society
- Ethical values from communal life
- Solidarity, humility, and shared responsibility
3. Oral Tradition and Living Wisdom
- Proverbs, folktales, and elder knowledge
- Storytelling as moral reasoning
- What the elders know that books cannot teach
Chapter Two: Core Philosophical Themes through Eritrean Lenses
- Beyond independence: inner and moral freedom
- Liberation as self-realization
- The Eritrean experience of time and change
Self-Awareness and Self-Consciousness
- Silence around death — wisdom or avoidance?
Consciousness, Self-awareness, and Enlightenment
- Memory, ancestors, and legacy
- What is truth in Tigrigna culture?
- Listening, questioning, and disagreement without disrespect
- Building Eritrean philosophy through dialogue
Chapter 3: A Journey Toward a Philosophical Tigrinya Language
7. Reclaiming and Creating Concepts
- Translating Western terms: what to keep, what to rethink
- Key Tigrigna terms: ልቦና (libona), ትንታነ (reflection), ውዕል (dignity), etc.
- Transition to Ethics and Society
- From Reality, to Knowledge, to Life
- The future of philosophical writing in Tigrigna
- How Eritrea can contribute to global philosophy
- Planting seeds for future thinkers