Fundamental Reality in African Metaphysical Thought

This chapter critically explores the question of being and fundamental reality in the thought of Placide Tempels, Kwame Gyekye, Innocent I. Asouzu, and Aribiah D. Attoe. Specifically, the chapter focuses on the vitalist tradition of Tempels and Gyekye and the non-vitalist tradition of Asouzu and Attoe. While the vitalist tradition of Tempels and Gyekye locates fundamental reality in a spiritual entity, namely, God, the non-vitalist tradition of Asouzu and Attoe avoids supernaturalist commitment and rethinks reality in the framework of Afro-relationality. The chapter evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches to understanding fundamental reality adopted by the four philosophers and examines the place of God in their metaphysical systems. The chapter analyses the notions of vital force, sunsum, missing links, and singular realities and exhibits their conceptual structures and relationship, with the ultimate goal of showing how the articulation of these notions has deepened contemporary African metaphysical thought.