Vers une réappropriation de la dimension individuelle en psychologie africaine

Bibliographic Data

ID2139476
AuthorsEllen Corin (Université Laval, corresponding author)
Year1980
Volume14
Issue1
Pages135-156
Publication date1980-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCanadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des études africaines (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0008-3968 • E-ISSN: 1923-3051
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00083968.1980.10803952
OpenAlexW2495798332
LanguageFR
Citations received7

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image sizeABSTRACTThis article challenges the conception of the African personality which exclusively emphasizes its extrinsic determination. The author's hypothesis considers this conception to be too homogeneous, masking the actual complexity of the dialectic relationship between individuals and their social environment. Data collected in Zaïre from three different domains support the hypothesis: first, data show how the becoming of the individual in a rural matrilinear society is organized along two lines, a matrilinear line and a less visible line, involving the father-son relationship. In the second series of data, concerning the traditional etiological conceptions of the diseases, the author proposes a two-level distinction expressed by the terms of initial-cause and medium-cause which makes explicit the implication of the person in the etiological process. In the third part the main orientations of two possession rituals are analysed. In the three domains under consideration, the examination of the dimension underlying the most manifest cultural and institutional levels has led to the reinsertion of the “particular” or the “individual” in the conception of the African personality

Appropriation · Dialectic · Epistemology · Linguistics · Personality · Political science · Possession (linguistics) · Sociology · Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology · Philosophy · Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research · Psychology · Psychology of Social Influence · Social Psychology