week 7 Flashcards
what is the anthropological conception of Akan personhood that Gyekye aims to reject, and what alternative conception does he propose
- he aims to reject the tripartite anthropological conception, and endorses a dualist conception of persons- he sees a person as constituted by two principal substances, one spiritual, and the other physical (material).
what argument does Wiredu give for the view that “okra” for the Akan and “soul” for Westerners are non-identical and how does he defend the claim that Western philosophers equate “soul” and “mind”
Wiredu gives an argument from language
- okra is categorically distinct from the mind (adwene), Westerners equate “soul” and “mind”
1. The only translation of mind in Akan is adwene
2. adwene accounts for thought, but okra does not
3. for westerners, the soul accounts for thought, and the soul is identical to mind.
4. therefore, okra cannot be rendered as soul in English
- his justification for premise 3 derives from descartes. he says that the soul in western philosophy is intended to account for not just life, but also for thought. In Cartesian philosophy, the sole purpose of introducing the soul is to account for the phenomenon of thinking.
how does Gykeye object t to Wiredu’s linguistic argument concerning the difference between “okra” in Akan and the characterization of “soul” in Western philosophy
He says that he equivocates thought (consciousness) and thinking (activities)
- he says that what Descartes means by mind or thought is something broad: consciousness. In that sense, soul can properly be translated as Okra
- thought also has a narrow sense of “act consciousness”
- he further claims that thought (adwene) in this narrow sense is a function of sunsum
what is one point that Gyekye makes to establish that the sunsum is not physical?
Gyekye’s first point from personality
- he cites a number of expressions that indicate that sunsum is the basis of personality.
- one expression can be translated to “his sunsum is heavy or weighty” another can be translated as something said when one is generous and has a good sunsum
- he claims that this indicates the sunsum is the basis for personality, and thus not physical- he sees sunsum as ones ego
according to Gyekye, what variety of dualism is the Akan philosophy of persons, and why?
The akan philosophy of persons can be describes as interactionist dualism because the akan view of persons sees that the body influences the soul and the soul influences the body
- certain physical diseases are believed to be “spiritual diseases” (sunsum yare) and cannot be healed by the application of physical therapy.
Describe Menkiti’s linguistic argument for the maximalist view of persons. How does Gyekye reject each of these arguments?
Menkiti’s linguistic argument: in English one might say “we rushed the child to the hospital but before we arrived it was dead”
- the option for “it” for infants suggests something important, as there is no such option for older individuals
Gyekeye rejects this argument by claiming that it does not work in Akan
- he says that the answer to the question, “where is the old man?” in Akan will be owo dan no mu, that is he/it is in the room”
- this would mean that older people are not persons, which is absurd.
Gyekye gives an argument that simultaneously refutes two claims made by the anthropological view of sunsum. What is the argument, and what two claims does Gyekye’s argument reject?
Gyekye argues that there’s a general confusion between sunsum and ntoro
- ntoro (sperm-transmitted characteristic) and mogya (blood) are endowed by human beings at conception while the sunsum and okra are divine and present at birth- the sunsum cannot derive from the father because trees, plants, and other natural objects contain sunsum
- secondly he argues that there are genetic (non-spiritual) factors that are responsible for inherited characteristics. he argues this by appealing to proverbs- “the crab does not give birth to a bird” and “the offspring of an antelope cannot possibly resemble a deers offspring”
What argument does Gyekye give to demonstrate that Menkiti’s view is contradictory?
menkitis thesis is that community defines a person, and is not an isolated and static individual quality life rationality, will, soul or memory.
- according to menkiti, communities hold that personhood has to be attained by discharging various duties
- the ability to discharge the moral obligations necessary for personhood requires a “widened maturity of ethical sense” that children do not yet possess
- A “widened maturity of ethical sense” is a static individual quality
- therefore 1 is false
Gyekye argues that the community does not create an individuals moral sense, but rather discovers and nurtures it
What is supererogation, and why does Gyekye deny the possibility of supererogation on his moderate (restricted) communitarianism
supererogation refers to acts that are beyond an individuals duty
- he says that there is no distinction between supererogation and duty
for example if you need somewhere to stay for one night, but I let you stay for three nights- some moral theories might say that letting you stat for three is supererogatory however it is not because letting someone stay in the first place is a positive contribution to them without any corresponding right to stay.
Describe Menkiti’s social arguments for the maximalist view of persons. How does Gyekye reject each of these arguments?
Menkitis social argument is that the lack of ritualized grief for infants while elders are given elaborate burials and become the ancestral living dead. He argues that this suggests a difference in personhood between infants and the elderly which is due to the notion that personhood is not an isolated or static individual property but a cultivated one.
- Gyekye responds to this by claiming that sometimes superstition motivates behavior and that the lack of ritualized grief for the death of infants has nothing to do with personhood. For example one belief is that the excessive demonstration of greed will render the mother infertile and make her reach menopause more quickly another is that excessive grief might drive the child too “far away” to reincarnate
- he claims further that it does not matter that the beliefs are superstitious- all that matters is that they influence behavior and don’t reflect upon the notion of personhood.
