Abstract
Although the literature on African metaphysics is growing, there is no common agreement on its meaning, nature and scope. In addition, most discussions on African metaphysics do not separate traditional from modern African metaphysics. This chapter deliberates on the ongoing discussions on African metaphysics, aiming to derive some generally acceptable meanings and understandings of the nature and scope of this subject, while being well aware of the varying opinions on the same. Similarly, the chapter will distinguish traditional African metaphysics from the emerging new discussions on the same subject.
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Notes
- 1.
This is not just an intellectual engagement, but the engagement of the whole person, involving both intellect and will.
- 2.
One might ask, is this not the same as Western existentialism? My answer is no, because Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche, who are usually taken to be the key early existentialists though one was a devout Christian and the other an ardent atheist, are united by their emphasis on the individual rather than society as the centre of concern and value (Cf. Sartre J.P. “Existentialism Is a Humanism.” Club Maintenant, Paris. October 29 1945).
- 3.
We should be aware that the term “metaphysics” is an unjustified adaptation of Andronicus of Rhodes’ classification of Aristotle’s works written after “On Nature”/“Physics”. The correct and appropriate term is ‘ontology’, which is the study of reality. However, different authors have distinguished these terms in different ways.
- 4.
It is also good to note that the “mythology” narrative is far from being irrational in terms of origin and formulation. Mythology, contrary to what many authors hold, is the result of man’s endeavour to rationalise the origins, meaning and ends of the universe and man.
- 5.
One may say that even Plato’s “world of forms” was not rationally provable, but it is nevertheless widely accepted in Western metaphysics. This may be beside the point, because African philosophy is not always an antithesis of Western philosophy; however, the methodology adopted in Western philosophy—namely, rationality and criticality—would put such claims in doubt.
- 6.
One may claim that an activity is also a process. But activity is motion, while process is progression or a procedure which the thing in motion goes through.
- 7.
There is an Acholi adage which says Jwijwi ci Ongole oneko, nino mo dong Jubi oneko Ongole. Ongole was a man endowed with luck. Each time he went to hunt he would come home with a buffalo or other big game animal. But one day, it was Ongole that became the victim of the buffalos. The meaning of the adage is that luck is not a permanent gift that cannot change.
- 8.
Ongon is the Acholi word for philosophy or wisdom. Variations include ongonkwo (philosophy of life), ongon pa lodito (wisdom of the elders), ongon kwaro (traditional wisdom) and ongon tekwaro (loosely, history of the people).
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Lajul, W. (2017). African Metaphysics: Traditional and Modern Discussions. In: Ukpokolo, I. (eds) Themes, Issues and Problems in African Philosophy . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40796-8_3
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