Abstract

In recent times, there have been a series of unresisted temptations to argue that the Yoruba concept of the human person fits very well into the framework of central state materialism, which states that mental events are identifiable with physical events occurring in the brain and central nervous system. This is because ara (human body), which is purely physical, can be taken to perform both material and immaterial functions. The chapter argues that while this is true; nonetheless, it is totally incorrect to reduce the Yoruba to central state materialists. The chapter states unequivocally that the performance of other vital components of the human person like emi (life-giving entity), ori (the bearer of human destiny), and ese (symbol of physical legs and spiritual efforts), suggests that the Yoruba concept of person, falls within the purview of dualism. It is argued further that the dualism of the Yoruba, which encourages harmonious interaction in the performances of both organs (material and immaterial), is fundamentally different from Cartesian dualism, which operates on the watertight distinction between the functions of the body and mind. The chapter recommends that a proper understanding of the Yoruba concept of a person can serve as a philosophical defence of Yoruba beliefs in spiritual entities, resolution of the traditional mind-body problem, and decolonization of the concept of mind, in contemporary Yoruba thought.