Philosophy

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A YORÙBÁ PERSPECTIVE ON W. V. O. QUINE’S INDETERMINACY OF TRANSLATION THESIS
(2021-12) OJELAKIN, O.A
Indeterminacy, a condition of instability of meaning, uncertainty and variations in interpretations of grammatical forms and categories in any natural language, has generated both linguistic and philosophical challenges among scholars. Previous studies have examined the problem of translation using the theories of conceptual relativism and universalism. These theories however failed to provide enough bases for resolving the dilemma of cross-cultural understanding. This is due to the conflicting nature of the principles they articulate and their disregard for the skill of the translator and the purpose of the translation as important factors for providing purposeful action. This study, therefore, uses a Yoruba pragmatic perspective to interrogate the ‘Indeterminacy Thesis,’ with a view to determining the crucial role of the translator in translation. Hans Josef Vermeer’s Skopos Theory, which emphasises the communicative purpose in translation, was adopted as the framework, while the interpretive design was used. The texts used in Philosophy of Language included W. V. O. Quine’s Word and Object (WO) and Ontological Relativity (OR), Donald Davidson’s On the Very Idea of Conceptual Scheme (OVICS), Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolution (SSR) and George Steiner’s After Babel (AB). The texts used in African Philosophy included Kwasi Wiredu’s Cultural Universal and Particular (CUP), Isola Bewaji’s African Language and Critical Discourse (ALCD) and Segun Gbadegesin’s African Philosophy (AP). These texts deal extensively with the idea of culture, translation and cross-cultural understanding. The texts were subjected to the conceptual, critical and reconstructive tools of philosophy. The WO and OR revealed that the totality of intrinsic and extrinsic approaches to translating from one language into another fails to determine a unique system of translation. These approaches are inadequate because of their disregard for the linguistic skill and cultural background of the translator as well as the purpose of the translation. Variations in socio-cultural contexts make it fundamental that what needed to be translated is meaning rather than language (OVICS and SSR). The CUP and AB demonstrated that in the translation process, contextual factors cannot be overlooked. A meaningful translation requires the translator to determine the purpose of translation and the most suitable method for achieving it. The AP and ALCD showed that in Yoruba linguistic philosophy, translation is not only a linguistic act but also a cultural one. It is the intricate relationship between language and culture that shapes reality. Critical intervention revealed that the Yoruba indigenous education system, which deployed pragmatic and functional means to denote the essence of concepts as a product of culture, bridges the gap in translation created by other linguistic approaches. This system enables the translator to factor context and culture into the translation process. It also readily absorbs necessary linguistic elements from other cultures. The Yoruba linguistic philosophy provides a pragmatic understanding of translation which privileges the linguistic skill and cultural intelligence of the translator, and the objective of the translation. This provides one framework for undermining the indeterminacy thesis of W. V. O. Quine.
CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE AS BASIS FOR DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA
(2017-06) OLATUNJI, F.O
Cultural knowledge, centred on the belief systems of a people and abstracted from the totality of their skills and values, is very crucial to the development of a society. Previous studies on development have proved to be inadequate in resolving the dilemma of development in Africa because they emphasised economism – a uni-dimensional idea and approach to development that gives primacy to individualism, market liberalisation, and material aspect of development, while ignoring the cultural realities of the people. This study, therefore, examined the centrality of cultural knowledge to development in Africa. The study adopted Arturo Escobar’s Ethnographic model, which argues that societies of the Global South should be allowed to pursue their own development as they deem fit without the influence of the Global North. Ten relevant texts in Philosophy of Culture including Escobar’s Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World (ED), Hoppers’ Culture, Indigenous Knowledge and Development (CIKD) and Verhelst’s No Life Without Culture (NLWC); eight texts in Epistemology including Descartes’ Discourses on Method (DM), Hobbes’ Leviathan (LN) and Bacon’s The New Organon (TNO); and six texts on Political Economy including Sachs’ Common Wealth (CW), Stiglitz’ The Price of Inequality (TPI), Stiglitz and Charlton’s Fair Trade for All (FTA) were analysed. These purposively selected texts dealt with the idea of development and how it should be approached from the cultural and economic perspectives. Conceptual analysis and reconstruction were adopted for analysis. Texts in Philosophy of Culture revealed that Western conception of development is ethnocentric, authoritarian and technocratic and rejected models that provided Western theories alone as ideal models for the Global South, which Africa has been following (ED, CIKD and NLWC). Texts in Epistemology upheld the quest for social change through the essence of knowledge in order to liberate and expand the horizons of intelligence of the people (DM, LN and TNO). Texts on Political Economy emphasised that market forces built on capitalist ideology made development linear and tailored towards economism (CW, TPI and FTA). Critical intervention shows that the totality of skills, experiences, beliefs, values, taboos, norms and insights of a people guide the contents and processes of their development. Knowledge of these cultural elements not only forms the basis for decision-making but also informs the survival strategies adopted by people in matters relating to critical issues of life. The challenge of development in Africa has remained because of the uni-dimensional approach to development, which emphasises economism, to the neglect of other cultural elements that define the people’s reality. Therefore, cultural knowledge can better enhance development in Africa.
ÌFẸ́-INÚ AND SOCIAL ORDER IN YORÙBÁ THOUGHT SYSTEM
(2014-09) SHITTA-BEY, O.A
Ìfẹ́-Inú, the human will in Yorùbá ontology, exercises considerable influence on social order, which is the harmonious functioning of different facets of society to enhance human flourishing and development. However, the persistence of social disorder has made sustenance of peace and development difficult in contemporary society due to lack of consideration for Ìfẹ́-Inú. Earlier studies on social order have emphasised the physical actions of the human person, either as individuals or collectives, as determinants of social order while under-exploring the state of Ìfẹ́-Inú, which produces, as well as drives decisions and actions in human persons. This study, therefore, philosophically examined Ìfẹ́-Inú and how it is mediated in Yorùbá thought to initiate decisions and actions, with a view to promoting a morally desirable social order that will guarantee peace and sustainable development. The study adopted Emile Durkheim’s methodological holism and Herbert Spencer’s methodological individualism as framework. Holism explains social order on the basis of an understanding of social institutions while individualism bases social order on individuals’ behaviours and conducts. Six relevant texts in the philosophy of the social sciences, five on ontology and six on Yoruba culture which deal extensively with the concept of the human person in relation to social order were purposively selected. The analytic, critical and reconstructive methods were employed in this study. The analytic method was used to elucidate the importance of the human will and social order. The critical method was employed to interrogate how social order is guaranteed through the mediation of Ìfẹ́-Inú in Yorùbá culture, while the reconstructive method was used to determine the constitution of ọmọlúwàbí (a virtuous person) through the mediation of Ìfẹ́-Inú. Texts in the philosophy of the social sciences established that human persons are determinants of social order, but did not consider Ìfẹ́-Inú in its ontological and moral dimensions as very significant in their explanations, and therefore, under-explored the connection between social order and the state of Ìfẹ́-Inú. Texts on ontology revealed the importance of Ìfẹ́-Inú as the initiator and driver of decisions and actions in human persons. Texts on Yorùbá culture revealed that Ìfẹ́-Inú is mediated by culture to ensure the formation of ọmọlúwàbí. Ọmọlúwàbí exhibits such virtues as trust, honesty, inter-dependence, integrity, cooperation and perseverance necessary for harmonious living. Critical reflections revealed that the mediation of Ìfẹ́-Inú ensures that citizens are socialised to become ọmọlúwàbí. At the normative level, ìwà (character) is central to the formation of ọmọlúwàbí and character development serves as the basis for taming the negative traits of Ìfẹ́-Inú. The mediation of Ìfẹ́-Inú by culture, to produce ọmọlúwàbí who will promote social order, addresses the role of Ìfẹ́-Inú in the areas of desires, actions and decisions which form the basis for the promotion of a morally desirable social order pursuant to the quest for peace and sustainable development in society. The mediation of Ìfẹ́-Inú in Yoruba culture which produces ọmọlúwàbí is capable of enhancing the promotion of a morally desirable social order. Therefore, Ìfẹ́-Inú is fundamental to peace and sustainable development in society.
THE NOTION OF PRUDENCE IN ARISTOTLE AND THE CRISIS OF LEADERSHIP IN NIGERIA
(2012-09) WOGU, I.A.P
Two schools of thought, the Moralist School and the Realist School, have discussed the problem of leadership. Moralists have called for an explicit recognition of the moral nature of leadership but failed to provide leaders with a consistent direction of what ethical leadership should be. Realists argue for a total autonomy of the political sphere. They fail to recognize the existence and relevance of any moral consideration in the political arena; consequently, they subordinate moral standards to those of politics. The ideological confusion arising between both schools of thought is responsible for the absence of an adequate and consistent theory of political leadership. This study, therefore, seeks to provide a theory of political leadership that will constitute a viable framework for good leadership in Nigeria. Aristotle’s notion of prudence which states that prudent judgment is a central moral resource for political leaders was adopted for this research. The study employed the method of conceptual analysis to clarify the concepts of virtue, prudence and leadership. The reconstructive method was also used to synthesize basic elements of the moralist and the realist schools of thought with Aristotle’s notion of prudence. Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, David Notions’ Democracy and Moral Development and A Politics of Virtue and Otto Gierke’s Natural Law and the Theory of Society, constitute some of the primary texts for this study. Texts and other library and archival materials used were subjected to content analysis. Bad political leadership in Nigeria has continued to be one of the root causes of crisis in the nation. This problem is generated by the lack of an acceptable and consistent theory of leadership. There is also the absence of a standard guideline and framework to guide leaders in their daily decision making processes. Moralist insists that an explicit recognition of the moral nature of leadership must be given due priority. However, this opinion failed to provide leaders with a consistent guideline of what the essence of ideal leadership should be. Realists maintain that universal moral principles cannot be applied to the actions of political leaders in their abstract universal formulation, but that they must be filtered through the concrete circumstances of time and place. This realist position creates detached and selfless leaders who allow nothing get in their way of achieving successful political actions. Leadership crisis in Nigeria arises as a result of the absence of practical prudence, which is a core virtue in Aristotle’s ethics. Prudent judgment is required to identify the salient aspects of political situations which leaders have obligations to consider before making political decisions. The guidelines prescribed by Aristotle in making prudent judgment include: Disciplined reason and openness to experience; Foresight, Deploying power; Timing and momentum; Proper relation of means and ends; Durability and legitimacy of outcomes; and Consequences for community. Aristotle’s notion of prudence, therefore, provides a consistent guideline for drastically reducing the scourge of bad leadership in Nigeria. Its practical adoption would enhance the quality of political leadership in Nigeria.
MORALITY AND THE GLOBAL CAPITALIST ECONOMIC ORDER
(2015-10) EEGUNLUSI, T.R.E
Morality, a means of evaluating human conducts and institutions, is central to the realisation of human welfare in the Global Capitalist Economy (GCE), understood as an aggregate of the economic interrelations among all nations of the world. Studies that addressed the inadequacies of the GCE in the pursuit of human welfare focused largely on the socio-political and economic dimensions to the problem without paying sufficient attention to its moral foundation, located in the principle of Moral Egoism (ME). This study, therefore, proffered Enlightened Self-interest (ESi) as a more viable moral foundation that would render the GCE more beneficial to all its stakeholders. The study adopted Adam Smith’s theory of impartiality and John Rawls’ theory of original position, both of which affirmed that individual interest is best pursued when adequate attention is given to others’ interest. Seven texts in moral philosophy, including Adam Smith’s A Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS), John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice (TJ) and Moses Oke’s Self-interest as the Ground of Moral Obligation (SGMO), and six in political economy, including Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations (WN), Joseph Stiglitz’s Globalization and Its Discontents (GD) and Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom (CF), were purposively selected for their relevance to the moral foundation of the GCE. Conceptual analysis was employed to clarify key concepts such as ME, GCE, and human welfare. Critical examination was used to show the inadequacies of ME as the moral foundation of the GCE. Reconstruction was employed to present ESi as an effective moral principle for enhancing human welfare in the GCE. Moral philosophy showed the defects of unbridled pursuit of self-interest and the need to regulate it by giving adequate consideration to the interest of others (TMS, TJ and SGMO). Moral Egoism is an inadequate foundational principle if the GCE would achieve its purpose of enhancing the welfare of all its stakeholders (TMS). The postulation of an invisible hand does not guarantee widespread welfare of all stakeholders in the GCE because it stresses that the pursuit of self-interest eventuates in unintended benefit for the entire society, contrary to human experience (GD). Alternatively, an adequate foundation is found in a reciprocal, other-regarding approach to self-interest (TMS and TJ). Economic practices based on ME, which affirms self-interest as the basis for morality, have not sufficiently facilitated human welfare despite the promises of the GCE (WN, GD and CF). This is obvious, for instance, in the widespread global poverty. Critical reflections revealed that by emphasising morally reciprocal actions, as against ME’s narrow pursuit of self-interest, ESi would promote an all-inclusive benefit in the GCE. Enlightened Self-interest can be propagated through moral education that makes people understand that their interests can only be effectively achieved if they give adequate consideration to the interests of others (SGMO). Moral Egoism’s narrow perspective to promoting self-interests contrasts Enlightened Self-interest’s mutuality of interests for all. Therefore, replacing Moral Egoism with Enlightened Self-interest can substantially promote the common good of all stakeholders in the Global Capitalist Economy.
VIRTUE THEORY AND THE MORAL CHALLENGE IN THE NIGERIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
(2017-08) OSIYEMI, E.S
Virtue theory holds that the cultivation of good character is an essential moral goal and the focus of moral education is to raise rational and morally virtuous persons. This is rooted in a philosophical account of the moral life and conduct from which educational aims are derived. Previous studies on challenges in the Nigerian educational system focussed on religious instruction to the neglect of moral education. This study, therefore, examined virtue theory which emphasises the promotion of good character and conduct, with a view to establishing its importance in grooming morally virtuous persons and curbing moral decadence in the Nigerian educational system. The study adopted Aristotle’s theory of Habituation, which emphasises reason, habit and training as features that collectively determine the emergence of a moral person. Eleven relevant texts in Ethics: Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (NE), Eudemian Ethics (EE), MacIntyre’s After Virtue (AV), Nel Nodding’s Care Ethics (CE) and Habermas’s Discourse Ethics (DE), and twenty-five in Philosophy of Education including Carr’s and Steutel’s Virtue Ethics and Moral Education (VEME), Akinpelu’s Essays in Philosophy and Education (EPE), Halstead’s and Mclaughlin’s Education in Morality (EM), Gilligan’s In a Different Voice (IDV) and Sprod’s Philosophical Discussion in Moral Education (PDME), were purposively selected because they dwelt on virtue theory, habit training, practical reason and educational development. Conceptual analysis was employed to clarify concepts such as education, morality and religion, while reconstruction was used to show the centrality of virtue theory to resolving moral challenges in the Nigerian educational system. Texts in Ethics emphasised that the cultivation of moral virtue requires practical wisdom, emotions, choices, values, perceptions, attitudes, expectations and sensibilities, the possession of which result in morally virtuous individuals (NE, EE, DE). Religious education focussed on personal faith, beliefs, attitudes and practices of a particular religion and therefore, is inadequate in inculcating virtues that would transcend religion and other divides to promote positive attitudinal change in persons (EPE, IDV). In Philosophy of Education the upbringing of the child requires the concurrent development of both the moral and intellectual components of education as embedded in the cultural and social practices of a people (VEME, EPE, AV). Critical intervention revealed that religious approach to the problem of moral decadence is inadequate and that an effective framework for resolving the moral challenge in Nigerian educational system requires habituation and the training of persons in some positive cultural and social values, which a training in religious education alone cannot provide. Moral challenge in the Nigerian educational system has persisted due to emphasis on religious instruction, which focussed on beliefs and practices of a particular religion to the neglect of moral education. Therefore, virtue theory, will resolve the moral challenge in the Nigerian educational system.
AK{NAUCHE, PERSONHOOD AND SOCIAL ORDER IN CONTEMPORARY IGBO CULTURE
(2017-04) MBARAH, G. O.
Ak[nauche, an ontological and intelligent component of the human person capable of mediating and unifying the individual’s facets of existence, is central in maintaining social order in Igbo culture. Existing studies have addressed the idea of ak[nauche mainly from scientific and aesthetic perspectives, without adequate analysis of the concept in relation to the unity of the individual as a being of many parts, significant to the attainment of social order. This study, therefore, investigates ak[nauche with a view to identifying the ontological roles it plays in mediating between the individual and the community in ensuring social order. The study adopted Strawson’s theory on persons. Six relevant texts in Metaphysics; Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy (MFP), Collins’ Selfless Person (SP), Kim’s Supervenience and Mind (SM). Eight texts in African Philosophy, such as Mbiti’s African Religions and Philosophy ARP). Menkiti’s On the Normative Conception of a Person (NCP), Ikuenobe’s The Idea of Personhood in Chinua Achebe‘s Things Fall Apart (CATFA) and Animalu’s Ucheakolam: A way of Life in Modern Scientific Age (WLMSA), were purposively selected. Hence they addressed the issues of ak[nauche, personhood and social order. Conceptual analysis and reconstruction were deployed. Texts in Metaphysics reveal that human persons are in control of their well-being, do not consider the community as very significant in their explanations, and under-explore the connection between a person and the community (MFP and SM). Texts in African Philosophy show that the individual is bound to behave in certain ways laid down by the community, thereby inhibiting complete individual autonomy (ARP, NCP and CATFA). Igbo proverbs like, nwata kw[zie aka, o soro okenye, rie nri (outstanding achievement is acknowledged and rewarded) not only affirms that ak[nauche is paramount in a person’s relationships in the community, but also emphasises a person’s creativity (WLMSA). Critical reflection reveals that the person is creatively intelligent and that the human will is autonomous because each individual has ak[nauche which supervenes actions and thoughts in a way that enhances social order. The Igbo proverb, eruru si na [ bu uche[ma ka ha jiri t[pu osisi ngw[, ma na, otu-otu ka ha bi (Though we live individually, it is in harmony that we accomplish great feats), emphasises the synchronisation of personal and communal worth in achieving social order. Ak[nauche, an ontological component of a person, demonstrates that the human person is both a metaphysical and social being with creative intelligence. Therefore, ak[nauche in Igbo culture plays both creative and mediating roles in the relationship between the individual and the community in which social order is guaranteed
A DEFENCE OF A MINIMALIST ACCOUNT OF COSMOPOLITAN JUSTICE
(2016-07) OSIMIRI, P. S.
Cosmopolitan justice, the view that justice is a universal idea that should apply to all persons irrespective of nationality has generated a lot of debate among political philosophers. Earlier studies have conceived of justice either as a territorially-bounded concept or as a trans-territorial idea, which must apply globally but failed to provide a trans-culturally persuasive account of justice that would form the basis for regulating transnational relations. This study, therefore, developed an account of cosmopolitan justice founded on the minimum requirement of non-harm that would provide a trans-culturally persuasive basis for regulating relations among nations. The study adopted aspects of Kant’s categorical imperative which emphasised respect for persons as framework. Eight major texts on political philosophy and moral philosophy including Miller’s On Nationality (ON), Beitz’s Political Theory and International Relations (PTIR), Jone’s Global Justice (GJ) and Pogge’s World Poverty and Human Rights (WPHR), O’Neill’s Bounds of justice (BJ), Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (GMM), Norman’s The Moral Philosophers(MP) and Singer’s Practical Ethics (PE) were purposively selected. These works dealt extensively with the question of the proper scope of justice. Conceptual analysis was used to clarify key concepts such as justice, minimalism and non-harm while the critical method was employed to examine earlier approaches to trans-national understanding of justice and to develop a minimalist account of cosmopolitan justice. Texts on political philosophy revealed the nature of the dispute between cosmopolitans who argue that principles of justice must be extended to the global arena while anti-cosmopolitans perceive justice as applicable only within national borders. Cosmopolitans claim that the level of institutional ties that bind societies across the world are morally significant and that the recognition of basic rights to a minimally decent existence is a basis for cosmopolitan justice (PTIR, WPHR and GJ). Against this view, anti-cosmopolitans contend that justice is a context-dependent norm that is only applicable amongst co-nationals who share special associational bonds (ON). Text on moral philosophy stressed the importance of moral equality of persons which imposes on us the duty of beneficence and non-harm as core ethical principles that ought to regulate our interactions with others (GMM and PE). Critical intervention shows that the approaches`` of earlier cosmopolitans and anti-cosmopolitans were inadequate on account of their rigid emphasis on institutional and associational ties. In the contemporary world the consequences of our actions increasingly affect distant others. Paying particular attention to duty of non-harm owed all persons and the phenomenon of transnational harm, the principle of justice remains relevant to individuals who do not belong to a common nationality or institutional scheme. The principle of non-harm thereby provides a more persuasive basis for evolving a theory of justice that will be cross-culturally relevant. Causal responsibility for harm is sufficient to trigger the obligation of justice within and across nations. A minimalist account of cosmopolitan justice founded on the principle of non-harm, therefore, provides adequate basis for regulating transnational relations
PERSONHOOD AND EPISTEMIC INTERACTIVISM IN INDIGENOUS ESAN THOUGHT
(2016-03) ODIA, S. I.
Epistemic interactivism, an aspect of the epistemology of representation, is a cognitive intercourse between the subject and person-object of knowledge that underlies the conception of a person in Esan thought. Earlier studies separated the subject from the object of knowledge, and classified persons and non-persons as object of knowledge. This separation ignored the cognitive and moral values of persons, thereby creating a dehumanised relationship between the subject and person-object of knowledge. This study, therefore, employed epistemic interactivism in re-constructing the relationship between the subject and person-object of knowledge. This is with a view to re-establishing the cognitive and moral values that distinguish persons from non-persons upon which personhood is grounded in Esan thought. This study adopted Hegel’s dialectics which unified the subject and object of knowledge at the “Absolute”. Major works on epistemology, specifically Hegel’s The Phenomenology of Mind (TPM), Descartes’ A Discourse on Method (ADM), Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (ECHU), and works on Esan culture, particularly Okojie’s Words of Wisdom from Ishan Elders (WWIE), and Esan Native Laws and Customs (ENLC), were purposively selected. These works articulated the traditional theories of representation, personhood and epistemic interactivism. The conceptual method was used to clarify concepts such as representation, personhood and epistemic interactivism. Critical analysis was employed to explain the dehumanising problems in the traditional theories of representation, and the re-constructive method was used to re-establish the cognitive and moral values of a person in epistemic interactivism. Traditional theories of representation separated subject and person-object of knowledge, grouping person-object and non-person-object (ADM, ECHU). This separation ignored the cognitive and moral values of persons, creating propositional knowledge that dehumanised the relationship between the subject and person-object of knowledge (ADM), and the possible unity of the subject and object of knowledge at the “Absolute” (TPM). However, Esan culture distinguishes persons from non-persons, bonding the subject and person-object of knowledge to arrive at an epistemic intercourse as captured by the Esan dictum: ai yole abha len oria (we never say we do not know someone) (ENLC, WWIE). Critical interrogation revealed that conventional theories of representation were influenced by the materialism of Western science that described persons and non-persons impersonally, ignoring the human values of cognition and morality. These cognitive and moral values formed the basis of personhood in Esan thought, such that the subject engages in an epistemic intercourse with the person-object of knowledge in a way that sustains the dignity of persons, creating the grounds for a humane relationship between the subject and person-object of knowledge. Conventional theories of representation separated the subject and person-object of knowledge, ignoring the cognitive and moral values of persons and creating a dehumanised relationship between the subject and person-object of knowledge. Epistemic interactivism of Esan thought, which unified the subject and person-object of knowledge on cognitive and moral grounds, provides adequate basis for person-hood and resolving the dehumanised relationship between the subject and person-object of knowledge
AK{NAUCHE, PERSONHOOD AND SOCIAL ORDER IN CONTEMPORARY IGBO CULTURE
(2017-04) MBARAH, G.O.
Ak[nauche, an ontological and intelligent component of the human person capable of mediating and unifying the individual’s facets of existence, is central in maintaining social order in Igbo culture. Existing studies have addressed the idea of ak[nauche mainly from scientific and aesthetic perspectives, without adequate analysis of the concept in relation to the unity of the individual as a being of many parts, significant to the attainment of social order. This study, therefore, investigates ak[nauche with a view to identifying the ontological roles it plays in mediating between the individual and the community in ensuring social order. The study adopted Strawson’s theory on persons. Six relevant texts in Metaphysics; Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy (MFP), Collins’ Selfless Person (SP), Kim’s Supervenience and Mind (SM). Eight texts in African Philosophy, such as Mbiti’s African Religions and Philosophy ARP). Menkiti’s On the Normative Conception of a Person (NCP), Ikuenobe’s The Idea of Personhood in Chinua Achebe‘s Things Fall Apart (CATFA) and Animalu’s Ucheakolam: A way of Life in Modern Scientific Age (WLMSA), were purposively selected. Hence they addressed the issues of ak[nauche, personhood and social order. Conceptual analysis and reconstruction were deployed. Texts in Metaphysics reveal that human persons are in control of their well-being, do not consider the community as very significant in their explanations, and under-explore the connection between a person and the community (MFP and SM). Texts in African Philosophy show that the individual is bound to behave in certain ways laid down by the community, thereby inhibiting complete individual autonomy (ARP, NCP and CATFA). Igbo proverbs like, nwata kw[zie aka, o soro okenye, rie nri (outstanding achievement is acknowledged and rewarded) not only affirms that ak[nauche is paramount in a person’s relationships in the community, but also emphasises a person’s creativity (WLMSA). Critical reflection reveals that the person is creatively intelligent and that the human will is autonomous because each individual has ak[nauche which supervenes actions and thoughts in a way that enhances social order. The Igbo proverb, eruru si na [ bu uche[ma ka ha jiri t[pu osisi ngw[, ma na, otu-otu ka ha bi (Though we live individually, it is in harmony that we accomplish great feats), emphasises the synchronisation of personal and communal worth in achieving social order. Ak[nauche, an ontological component of a person, demonstrates that the human person is both a metaphysical and social being with creative intelligence. Therefore, ak[nauche in Igbo culture plays both creative and mediating roles in the relationship between the individual and the community in which social order is guaranteed

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