Philippine E-Journals

Human Destiny, Reincarnation, and Personal Identity in Yoruba Metaphysics

S. Ade Ali

Discipline: Philosophy

 

Abstract:

In African metaphysics, with special reference to Yoruba thought, human destiny, reincarnation, and personal identity constitute some of the major philosophical concerns. Given that man is trimorphously considered a composite of body (ara), soul (êmi) and inner-head (ori), the last is the metaphysical symbol of human destiny which externally is represented by the physical head. The three elements are classifiable into physical and metaphysical (spiritual) entities with êmi and ori (fate or the alter ego) taken to be immortal. Do these metaphysical entities reincarnate and in what way? This paper tries to show that the problem of personal identity and reincarnation are inconclusively resolved in Yoruba thought.