The Body-Mind Dualism: An African Response

Do Africans have a unique approach to the age-old metaphysical bodymind problem? If so, how does it differ from the Western conception that appears to be firmly upheld and promoted? This paper contributes to the scholarly discourse on African philosophy, examining African metaphysics and its implications for the body-mind problem. The paper argues that while duality exists in African cosmology, it differs fundamentally from Western dualism. Where Western philosophers emphasize a sharp distinction between the physical and metaphysical, African thought emphasizes an intertwined reality encompassing both physical and non-physical dimensions in continuous interaction.