African Belief and Knowledge Systems: A Critical Perspective

Chapter Three

37 Chapter Three Ontology and Concepts in African Metaphysics Metaphysical questions arise when we turn attention from natural science statements to statements concerning religious beliefs. It is in this case that we quickly encounter questions concerning ontology and questions concerning analysis of ontological issues. Ontological issues are those that have something to do with reality/being or existence. As given by William Carter, “we are addressing ontological issues when we ask whether something is real or whether something exists”1 . Ontology thus is a branch of metaphysics that studies existence of things, both material and immaterial things. To illustrate this, a number of questions that are ontological in nature are given below: a). Does God exist? b).What is God if does exist? c). Are numbers such as 30 or 4 real? d). Is there any other world besides this in which human beings live? e). Are there spiritual beings/entities such as angels? f). Is there any other life after bodily death? g).Do persons exist? These and many others of the same nature are commonly asked questions, not only in western metaphysics but also in African metaphysics. All the above questions are posed to either affirm or negate existence or non-existence of certain kind of things. To say that there are persons is the same as that persons exist. And to say that there is no God is the same as saying God does not exist. Some people believe that God exists in reality. Others believe that God only exists in people’s minds. Conceivably someone might take the same view when it comes to the question of life after bodily death or spiritual beings such as angels and other such supernatural beings. It is curious to note that whatever position one is going to take, there is need to explain the claim in a rational and convincing manner, if the claimed is to be believed as true and justified. This is because 38 ontological questions are closely tied to questions of analysisquestions which need one to rationally understand what sort of thing a person is, for example, before judging whether persons exist or not. The same would apply to questions that have to do with spiritual beings, numbers, God and life after death/afterlife. We can hardly expect a consensus on the ontological questions raised above as all others unless we first of all understand what the questions themselves mean. It is important at this juncture therefore to point that ontological questions have boggled human mind since time immemorial and have resulted in the formulation of concepts by people in a bid to explain them. I define concept as an abstract thing2 –it is an idea or at least close relative of idea. This is to suggest that concepts like qualities (of things) are not substantial entities themselves and cannot exist independently. For this reason, one can indeed wonder what to reply with certitude if asked questions: a) and b) above until encounter a God. Questions of this sort are many in African metaphysics as in metaphysics in general. This is one reason that makes African metaphysics (like western metaphysics) controversial and philosophically difficult to unpack. In the next section, we will attempt to unravel some of the ontological issues that are critical in African metaphysics and indeed in metaphysics in general. The Concept of Being in African Metaphysics The concept of “being” like any philosophical concept is confusingly difficult to define with precision. However, “being” has been technically defined as a generic term used to represent all existing things – it is anything in the realm of existence-material or immaterial. Conceding with this general sense of the term, McInerny defines “being” as what is, that which exists, reality3 . We shall not plunge into debates in Western philosophy concerning “being”. My task here is to unravel the concept of “being” from an African metaphysical perspective, to explain how “being” is traditionally conceived by Africans. When the subject of “being” is looked at from an African metaphysics standpoint, one can observe that the term is conceived 39 to mean everything that is; “being” is everything that exists. Africans understand “being” in this sense for the simple reason that there is nothing that exists that is taken lightly and for granted in the African culture. The general belief is that there is reason to be for whatever is. Though man may not immediately know why this...