Thought Experiments and Personal Identity in Africa

Bibliographic Data

ID21876320
AuthorsSimon Beck (0000-0002-7029-7845, University of the Western Cape), Oritsegbubemi Anthony Oyowe (0000-0002-4471-7682, University of the Western Cape)
Year2021
Volume7
Issue4
Pages439-452
Publication date2021-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of the American Philosophical Association (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2053-4477 • E-ISSN: 2053-4485
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/apa.2020.25
OpenAlexW4200077309
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited19

African perspectives on personhood and personal identity and their relation to those of the West have become far more central in mainstream Western discussion than they once were. Not only are African traditional views with their emphasis on the importance of community and social relations more widely discussed, but that emphasis has also received much wider acceptance and gained more influence among Western philosophers. Despite this convergence, there is at least one striking way in which the discussions remain apart and that is on a point of method. The Western discussion makes widespread use of thought experiments. In the African discussion, they are almost entirely absent. In this article, we put forward a possible explanation for the method of thought experiment being avoided that is based on considerations stemming from John Mbiti's account of the traditional African view of time. These considerations find an echo in criticism offered of the method in the Western debate. We consider whether a response to both trains of thought can be found that can further bring the Western and African philosophical traditions into fruitful dialogue

Aesthetics · Criticism · Epistemology · Mainstream · Personal identity · Personhood · Political science · Self · Sociology · African cultural and philosophical studies · Computer Science · Feminist Epistemology and Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy · Political Philosophy and Ethics

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