joseph kahiga kiruki, moi university jason t. eberl,...
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Joseph Kahiga Kiruki, Moi University
Jason T. Eberl, IUPUI
Communalistic Predominant among African communities Confined to specific communities bounded by… Tribe Culture Race Gender Religion Class
Transcendentalist Predominant among Western traditions Individual personal identity transcends
aforementioned boundaries Persons have infinite moral value – literally, “without
boundaries” Persons as … Self-conscious Rational Autonomous
In the Gikuyu language, “human being” is expressed by the term “mundu” ‘Mu’ = being ‘undu’ = reason or rationality Hence, a human being is “a being with reason”
Aristotle: human beings are “rational animals”
From the African perspective, personhood may be diminished or lost in two ways: Lessening or loss of connection with other diverse beings
– Kiswahili: “Mtu duni” Being devoid of reason – Gikuyu: “kindu”
From the western perspective, personhood is an “all or nothing” affair… Hence, it cannot be diminished by lack of interrelations
with other beings or diminishment of rationality. Although, complete loss of reason may result in loss of
personhood.
Performance theorists, including Peter Singer, Michael Tooley, and Mary Anne Warren, argue that a human being is a “person” only if they actively instantiate capacities such as: Self-consciousness Rationality Autonomous volition Ability to communicate using language
Other theorists, such as John Finnis, John Kavanaugh, Patrick Lee, and Eric Olson, argue that a human being is essentially a “living animal of the species Homo sapiens.” For Kavanaugh, Lee, and Finnis, all living human animals
count as “persons” due to their intrinsic potentiality for self-conscious rational thought and autonomous volition, even if one cannot yet, or can no longer, actualize that potentiality.
For Olson, personhood is a phase of a living human animal’s existence. You and I are essentially living human animals, but not essentially persons.
From both African and western perspectives, human consciousness arguably transcends the limitations of matter. From the African perspective, consciousness attains
transcendence through human communion. Self-consciousness is achieved through recognition
within a specific community Lack of recognition of “others” results in discrimination
and diminishment of personhood
From the western perspective, consciousness is argued to be an inherently transcendent property of persons.
Jackson’s “knowledge argument” Chalmers’s “zombie argument” – property dualism Swinburne’s “disembodiment argument” – substance dualism
Aquinas: The intrinsic ontological nature of a person as a
self-conscious rational and autonomous being metaphysically precedes the expression of this nature in extrinsic relationships.
This leads to the moral obligation to recognize the presence
of consciousness, and other essential qualities of persons, in all human beings, including those outside of one’s specific community.
African communalistic concept of personhood: “I am, because we are, and since we are, therefore I am.” An individual person does not and cannot exist
alone, only corporately. An individual’s existence is owed to past
generations, as well as contemporaries. Self-communication is essential to an individual
person’s existence as they are involved in a dynamic give-and-take relationship with their community.
Western solipsistic concept of personhood: “I think, therefore I am” (Descartes) An individual person’s existence as a self-conscious
rational and autonomous being is not essentially dependent upon there being any other persons.
Yet, according to Aristotle, human beings are inherent “social animals.” There is an inherently relational dimension to human
personhood, as noted also by Aquinas, even if one’s bare existence is not dependent on that of others.
Alasdair MacIntyre: Human beings are “dependent rational animals,” which entails complementary virtues of “acknowledged dependence” and “acknowledged responsibility.”
Hence, there can be both an ‘I’ that is metaphysically unique, and a ‘Thou’ to whom the ‘I’ naturally gravitates.
Distinction between “ontological” and “moral” concepts of personhood: Person as “being” Person as “agent”
Persons as agents, premised upon their basic existence as self-conscious and rational beings, actualize their capacity for autonomous volition – freedom. This entails moral responsibility for one’s freely willed actions. The “moral self” is shaped over time by one’s freely willed
interior and exterior actions. The ultimate goal of the “moral self” is to enter into meaningful
and quality relationships with the “other” in community.
To be is to be “substance-in-relation.” Invokes the metaphysically prior bare existence of an
“individual substance of a rational nature” (Boethius) influential in western ontology,
as well as the inherently communal dimension of personhood common to African ontology.
Self-realization beyond bare existence requires mutual
recognition within an interconnected web of ‘I-Thou’ relationships (Buber).
Such self-realization allows for the construction of a
person’s authentic “moral self” (Taylor) and the exercise of true “freedom” within, and not in isolation from, one’s community.
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What implications do you see of these differing views of personhood for the ethical conduct of research, particularly when western researchers are working within the African context?
How might the African concept of personhood inform the manner in which, e.g., informed consent is obtained from potential research participants, or attendant risks and benefits are evaluated?
Is there a danger that a communal concept of personhood may lead to the sublimation of individual rights in favor of the community’s interests? If so, how could this danger be avoided in the research context?
Does a communal concept of personhood entail ethical obligations on the part of individuals to voluntarily agree to participate in research that may benefit their community, even if doing so involves some individual risk?
To what extent should researchers attempt to embed themselves within the communities in which they are conducting research to ameliorate their being perceived as “other” or potentially viewing research participants as such?