An African Process Philosophy
In Appreciation of Emmanuel Ofuasia
An African Process Philosophy
“In this timely work, Emmanuel Ofuasia throws down a challenge to African philosophers with the claim that process thinking runs through African philosophy from the contested Egyptian past down to contemporary times. His claim culminates in the articulation of Ìwà ontology, which he presents as a contemporary philosophical expression of process metaphysics. This is a bold, insightful, and impressive work that will brighten the ever-expanding horizon of 21st-century African philosophy.”
— Ada Agada, Federal University Otuoke
“This book is a welcoming addition to African metaphysical scholarship, as the process-relational approach used to explore Egyptian and ancient Yorùbá thought systems in this work creatively intersects with emerging discourses on agency, both in the animate and what humans call inanimate, ontology, plant sentience, African medicine, cosmogony, the physical sciences, neutral nihilism, and other related metaphysical topics. The eclectic interrogation of classical concepts of Ìwà and Nun from the Yorùbá and Egyptian intellectual traditions, respectively, is a trailblazing contribution. ”
— Ademola Kazeem Fayemi, Queensland Bioethics Center, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane
Interview with Emmanuel Ofuasia
Correction: In the interview, the host mistakenly mentioned that Prof. Ofuasia is teaching the University of Pretoria. In reality, Prof Ofuasia is currently a decoloniality research associate at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Previously, he has taught at the National Open University of Nigeria, FCT Abuja.
Ìwà: the Process-Relational Dimension to African Metaphysics (Springer, 2024) approaches the subject of African metaphysics historically as it connects Ancient Egypt to Yorùbá. It provides a history of African metaphysics from ancient Egypt or Kemet down to John Boakye Danquah and Placide Tempels in the 20th century and then Innocent Asouzu, Ada Agada, and Aribiah David Attoe, in the 21st century.
As it surpasses the deductions of these previous works, it moves further to showcase African originality and approaches to studying reality, whilst resisting the temptation to deduce conclusions from Western philosophy.
It is the first book in the history of African philosophy to use a process-relational approach to interrogate African metaphysics. It also serves to harmonize and engage prominent African scholars who have written on the subject of African metaphysics.
The general scope of this book centers on engaging the history of distortion and misunderstanding of African metaphysics by providing a relevant and reliable process-relational background as well as an alternative trivalent logic system.
Unless African metaphysical theories are understood from this perspective, they will remain powerless to overcome these misrepresentations. It appeals to students and researchers internationally actively working in the fields of African philosophy, Intercultural African studies as well as process studies.
Two other books by Prof. Ofuasia on related topics
1. Panentheism and Concepts of God in African Traditional Religions: A Third-Wave Proposal, Springer 2026
2. An Exploration of the Parallels Between African and Process Metaphysics: Introducing the Metaphysics of Force and Becoming, Springer 2026.
Ìwà: the Process-Relational Dimension to African Metaphysics (Springer, 2024) approaches the subject of African metaphysics historically as it connects Ancient Egypt to Yorùbá. It provides a history of African metaphysics from ancient Egypt or Kemet down to John Boakye Danquah and Placide Tempels in the 20th century and then Innocent Asouzu, Ada Agada, and Aribiah David Attoe, in the 21st century.
As it surpasses the deductions of these previous works, it moves further to showcase African originality and approaches to studying reality, whilst resisting the temptation to deduce conclusions from Western philosophy.
It is the first book in the history of African philosophy to use a process-relational approach to interrogate African metaphysics. It also serves to harmonize and engage prominent African scholars who have written on the subject of African metaphysics.
The general scope of this book centers on engaging the history of distortion and misunderstanding of African metaphysics by providing a relevant and reliable process-relational background as well as an alternative trivalent logic system.
Unless African metaphysical theories are understood from this perspective, they will remain powerless to overcome these misrepresentations. It appeals to students and researchers internationally actively working in the fields of African philosophy, Intercultural African studies as well as process studies.
Two other books by Prof. Ofuasia on related topics
1. Panentheism and Concepts of God in African Traditional Religions: A Third-Wave Proposal, Springer 2026
2. An Exploration of the Parallels Between African and Process Metaphysics: Introducing the Metaphysics of Force and Becoming, Springer 2026.
From the Preface
Emmanuel Ofuasia
“The twenty-first century is an age where modern science is struggling with the capacity to explain the origin of consciousness as well as structure or subcomponents of electrons. It is an era where scientific materialism, with the substance metaphysical orientation that reinforces it, is beginning to receive serious backlash. Ìwà metaphysics enters the discursive fray to harmonize our experience and place in the world as humans. Even as it is not a flawless account of reality, Ìwà surely surpasses previous mainstream and dominant metaphysical systems both in Africa and beyond.
It is not flawless because as humans we see and interpret the world as we are. And we are imperfect to offer a complete flawless vision of reality. Ìwà’s fallibilism recognizes this primordial flaw and does not boast to possess a grand unifying metaphysical system that explains the whole of reality. However, it beckons the readers to try to interpret their places in the world from the perspective of Ìwà to see whether it provides a more coherent and logical explanation of experience.
Ìwà is wary of the sin that has confronted previous metaphysicians and their systems and shies away from it. This sin is well articulated by Alfred North Whitehead: ‘The besetting sin of philosophers is that, being merely men, they endeavor to survey the universe from the standpoints of gods.’ In this book, I have tried to avoid this sin as I provide a metaphysical analysis inspired by ancient Egyptian thought system, codified in a way that bears semblance with process-relational philosophy to help to understand our natural experience with ourselves as humans and with the other or fellow occupants of the world comprising of both the perceivable and the unperceivable.
The foregoing points are the principal inspirations for the present book which is the first to offer an original analysis of the principal character of African metaphysics through a combination of the ancient Egyptian/Kemite, ancient Yorùbá traditions, and a process-relational or event metaphysical standpoint. Whilst assessing the Yorùbá thought system with that of Kemet, some dominant ideas between them were quickly impressed on me. First, these two traditions emphasize the harmony of seemingly opposite aspects of reality. Second, the cosmogonies of the two traditions adduce attention to creatio ex materia. Third, the two traditions address the ontological question—the distinction between Being and beings without the compromise where God is passed as Being as the dominant tradition of metaphysics in the West do. Fourth, the cosmogonies of these two traditions have explanatory powers that reinforce the Big Bang hypothesis concerning the origin of the universe. Surely, these semblances cannot be coincidental.
The arguments that will be encountered in the pages ahead will definitely be thought-provoking as I make the effort to offer a coherent depiction of reality from the simplest to the complex. Of course, being a human invites that outlook that in the analysis of reality, one must both be humble and hesitant because in any philosophic discourse, the merest hint of certainty and finality is an exhibition of folly. Yes, the metaphysical system that I offer in this book is not flawless. However, I can only encourage my readers to try my metaphysical system and see if it is able to offer a more comprehensive and relatable vision of reality to them. I encourage them to replace this ‘goggle’ of event with the popular substance-based ontology that they are used to in order to decide if the world is more intelligible.
A work of this caliber will definitely be handy for whoever wishes to have a sound knowledge of African metaphysics which owes no allegiance to ancient Greece. As one of the first few efforts on African metaphysics with its alternative system of logic, this book will assist students and researchers on any area of African philosophy.”
FCT, Abuja, Nigeria
September, 2024
Emmanuel Ofuasia
Ìwà Ontology
A First Interpretation
(based on an interview above with Jessica Zu
on New Books Network and selected abstracts)
Listening to Jessica Zu’s interview with Emmanuel Ofuasia will be, for most readers, an act of pre-reading his work—an initial encounter that invites listeners to turn to his books and articles in order to deepen and complete their understanding. At the same time, given the expense and relative inaccessibility of some of these texts, the interview can also function as a springboard for reflection based on what he shares there. In this sense, it becomes an entry point into thinking about his articulation of a distinctively African view of the world and of life. I offer here a set of such springboards, best understood as points of entry rather than final claims.
I offer these springboards in a Whiteheadian spirit as invitations to reflection: ideally accompanied, and eventually corrected and enriched, by direct engagement with his writings, but capable of standing on their own as prompts for thought. They are, in Alfred North Whitehead’s phrase, “lures for feeling”—ways of opening up possibilities for understanding, even when they remain incomplete.
I also offer them in the spirit of what the Nigerian philosopher Jonathan O. Chimakonam calls Conversational Philosophy and Ezumezu logic—a way of doing philosophy that is relational and dialogical, inviting thoughtful exchange rather than binary and agonistic debate. In the interview, Ofuasia explicitly draws on Chimakonam as he articulates a vision of reality that is relational, processive, and deeply rooted in African sources, while also engaging contemporary philosophical currents.
I also offer them in the spirit of Ofuasia’s preface to his own work, where he emphasizes the fallibilism of all metaphysical claims, the need to test ideas against experience, and the importance of philosophical humility. In this sense, what follows is not a system but an invitation—to see whether viewing the world through the lens of ìwà renders experience more coherent, more intelligible, and perhaps more deeply lived.
Ìwà as Evental Being Itself (in Comparative Perspective)
Ìwà functions as Being itself, understood in event terms—the ongoing, qualitative happening of existence rather than a static substance. It names not a thing but an activity: a continuous coming-into-being in which each moment inherits from the past and contributes to the future. In this sense, it resonates with Alfred North Whitehead’s notion of Creativity and the early Martin Heidegger’s understanding of the Being of beings, both of which shift attention from fixed entities to dynamic processes of becoming.
Ìwà as Distinct from God
Ìwà is not God; rather, God is one expression of ìwà among many others. This distinction preserves a layered ontology in which the divine is real and significant, yet not identical with the ultimate ground of existence. God participates in the unfolding of reality—responsive, relational, and engaged—rather than standing outside it as its total explanation. The divine thus belongs within the living field of existence, alongside other expressions of ìwà, including natural processes, human lives, and spiritual agencies.
No Bare or Neutral Existence
Reality is intrinsically meaningful and affective, not neutral or value-free. To exist is always to exist in a certain way—to bear a tone, quality, or character. Every entity embodies a mode of ìwà, whether harmonious or dissonant, integrated or fragmented. Value is therefore not something imposed upon the world from outside; it is woven into the very texture of being itself.
A Living, Pan-Experiential Cosmos
The universe is alive with degrees of responsiveness, extending even into what might otherwise be considered inert matter. This does not imply universal consciousness in the human sense, but rather a spectrum of receptivity, interaction, and response. From the simplest physical processes to complex organisms and human awareness, reality displays increasing depth and integration of experience, suggesting that responsiveness is a fundamental feature of existence.
Continuity with Hierarchical Differentiation
Reality forms a continuum of existence, without absolute breaks between matter, life, mind, and spirit. The same principle--ìwà as qualitative becoming—runs throughout, binding all levels into a shared field.
At the same time, this continuity coexists with real differences in organization, intensity, and unity: The world is thus graded and internally differentiated—a layered continuum in which more complex forms emerge without breaking continuity with simpler ones.
Some entities are aggregates of smaller parts, with relatively loose unity.
Others are integrated wholes, in which many components are coordinated into a higher-order unity.
The distinction lies not between the presence and absence of ìwà, but between different modes and intensities of its expression.
Plant Sentience as a Mode of Ìwà
Plant life exemplifies a distinct form of responsiveness, expressing a distributed, non-conscious mode of ìwà. It reveals how responsiveness can be environmentally attuned without centralized awareness. Plants respond to light, gravity, touch, moisture, and even to one another, suggesting a kind of situated sensitivity. In this sense, they are participants in the field of becoming, manifesting a form of ìwà that is diffuse, rhythmic, and relational. The remarkable sentience of plants calls into question the animal-centric approach which sometimes grounds vegetarian philosophies.
Relational Constitution of Being (as Experiential and Communal)
Beings are constituted through relationships, and these relationships are experiential in nature. To be related is to be affected by others and to carry traces of them within one’s own becoming.
These relations extend into a broader community of existence that includes human beings, the natural world, and spiritual realities such as ancestors and divinities. Relationality is thus both ecological and cosmological, linking the visible and invisible in a shared web of life.
Possibility, Destiny, and Logical Pluralism
Possibility is ontologically real, and destiny (òrì) is a field of potential that includes genuine freedom in the present. Destiny is not fixed but open, shaped by inherited conditions and creative response.
This vision is reinforced by non-binary, multi-valued reasoning, akin to the logic developed by Jonathan O. Chimakonam, in which multiple possibilities coexist without collapsing into rigid oppositions.
Ethical-Aesthetic Unity
The ethical and aesthetic dimensions of life are intertwined, such that to be good is also to be beautiful in one’s way of being. Goodness becomes a matter of harmony, balance, and relational attunement. Moral failure appears as dissonance or fragmentation within the web of relationships. Ethics is thus an art: the cultivation of a way of being that resonates well within the larger field of life.
A Plurality of Actualities (Spirits, Divinities, Ancestors)
Reality includes spirits, divinities, and living ancestors as real participants within a shared continuum of existence. These are not merely symbolic or cultural projections, but belong to the ontology itself as forms of actual existence, potentially inhabiting dimensions not ordinarily accessible to the senses. Their presence points to a cosmos that is more densely populated, relational, and communicative than a strictly materialist worldview allows.
This perspective finds a suggestive resonance in the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead, particularly in his notion of an extensive continuum—a multidimensional field of potentiality that exceeds the familiar three dimensions of space. Whitehead leaves open the possibility that such a continuum could be inhabited by forms of actuality that are sentient yet unlike human beings. African metaphysics, by contrast, advances the more definite proposal that the cosmos is indeed so inhabited.
God as a Being Within the Field of Ìwà
God is a real being within the broader field of ìwà—an expression of it rather than identical with it. God is more than the divinities, a distinctive and encompassing presence within the relational field of existence. At the same time, God is not the totality of ìwà itself. This invites a panentheistic understanding: all things exist within the divine, yet the divine also exceeds them. Such a view is neither traditional Western monotheism nor simple polytheism, but a relational vision of the divine within a plural and dynamic cosmos.
Taken together, these impressions invite us to imagine a world that is alive, relational, and in process—a world in which being is not static but eventful, not isolated but interconnected, and not predetermined but open to possibility. Whether or not one turns to Emmanuel Ofuasia’s writings, the vision suggested here can itself become a site of reflection: a way of rethinking reality and our place within it. These theses remain what they were meant to be--lures for feeling in the spirit of Alfred North Whitehead—invitations not only to think differently, but to live differently within a shared and unfolding world.
- Jay McDaniel
I offer these springboards in a Whiteheadian spirit as invitations to reflection: ideally accompanied, and eventually corrected and enriched, by direct engagement with his writings, but capable of standing on their own as prompts for thought. They are, in Alfred North Whitehead’s phrase, “lures for feeling”—ways of opening up possibilities for understanding, even when they remain incomplete.
I also offer them in the spirit of what the Nigerian philosopher Jonathan O. Chimakonam calls Conversational Philosophy and Ezumezu logic—a way of doing philosophy that is relational and dialogical, inviting thoughtful exchange rather than binary and agonistic debate. In the interview, Ofuasia explicitly draws on Chimakonam as he articulates a vision of reality that is relational, processive, and deeply rooted in African sources, while also engaging contemporary philosophical currents.
I also offer them in the spirit of Ofuasia’s preface to his own work, where he emphasizes the fallibilism of all metaphysical claims, the need to test ideas against experience, and the importance of philosophical humility. In this sense, what follows is not a system but an invitation—to see whether viewing the world through the lens of ìwà renders experience more coherent, more intelligible, and perhaps more deeply lived.
Ìwà as Evental Being Itself (in Comparative Perspective)
Ìwà functions as Being itself, understood in event terms—the ongoing, qualitative happening of existence rather than a static substance. It names not a thing but an activity: a continuous coming-into-being in which each moment inherits from the past and contributes to the future. In this sense, it resonates with Alfred North Whitehead’s notion of Creativity and the early Martin Heidegger’s understanding of the Being of beings, both of which shift attention from fixed entities to dynamic processes of becoming.
Ìwà as Distinct from God
Ìwà is not God; rather, God is one expression of ìwà among many others. This distinction preserves a layered ontology in which the divine is real and significant, yet not identical with the ultimate ground of existence. God participates in the unfolding of reality—responsive, relational, and engaged—rather than standing outside it as its total explanation. The divine thus belongs within the living field of existence, alongside other expressions of ìwà, including natural processes, human lives, and spiritual agencies.
No Bare or Neutral Existence
Reality is intrinsically meaningful and affective, not neutral or value-free. To exist is always to exist in a certain way—to bear a tone, quality, or character. Every entity embodies a mode of ìwà, whether harmonious or dissonant, integrated or fragmented. Value is therefore not something imposed upon the world from outside; it is woven into the very texture of being itself.
A Living, Pan-Experiential Cosmos
The universe is alive with degrees of responsiveness, extending even into what might otherwise be considered inert matter. This does not imply universal consciousness in the human sense, but rather a spectrum of receptivity, interaction, and response. From the simplest physical processes to complex organisms and human awareness, reality displays increasing depth and integration of experience, suggesting that responsiveness is a fundamental feature of existence.
Continuity with Hierarchical Differentiation
Reality forms a continuum of existence, without absolute breaks between matter, life, mind, and spirit. The same principle--ìwà as qualitative becoming—runs throughout, binding all levels into a shared field.
At the same time, this continuity coexists with real differences in organization, intensity, and unity: The world is thus graded and internally differentiated—a layered continuum in which more complex forms emerge without breaking continuity with simpler ones.
Some entities are aggregates of smaller parts, with relatively loose unity.
Others are integrated wholes, in which many components are coordinated into a higher-order unity.
The distinction lies not between the presence and absence of ìwà, but between different modes and intensities of its expression.
Plant Sentience as a Mode of Ìwà
Plant life exemplifies a distinct form of responsiveness, expressing a distributed, non-conscious mode of ìwà. It reveals how responsiveness can be environmentally attuned without centralized awareness. Plants respond to light, gravity, touch, moisture, and even to one another, suggesting a kind of situated sensitivity. In this sense, they are participants in the field of becoming, manifesting a form of ìwà that is diffuse, rhythmic, and relational. The remarkable sentience of plants calls into question the animal-centric approach which sometimes grounds vegetarian philosophies.
Relational Constitution of Being (as Experiential and Communal)
Beings are constituted through relationships, and these relationships are experiential in nature. To be related is to be affected by others and to carry traces of them within one’s own becoming.
These relations extend into a broader community of existence that includes human beings, the natural world, and spiritual realities such as ancestors and divinities. Relationality is thus both ecological and cosmological, linking the visible and invisible in a shared web of life.
Possibility, Destiny, and Logical Pluralism
Possibility is ontologically real, and destiny (òrì) is a field of potential that includes genuine freedom in the present. Destiny is not fixed but open, shaped by inherited conditions and creative response.
This vision is reinforced by non-binary, multi-valued reasoning, akin to the logic developed by Jonathan O. Chimakonam, in which multiple possibilities coexist without collapsing into rigid oppositions.
Ethical-Aesthetic Unity
The ethical and aesthetic dimensions of life are intertwined, such that to be good is also to be beautiful in one’s way of being. Goodness becomes a matter of harmony, balance, and relational attunement. Moral failure appears as dissonance or fragmentation within the web of relationships. Ethics is thus an art: the cultivation of a way of being that resonates well within the larger field of life.
A Plurality of Actualities (Spirits, Divinities, Ancestors)
Reality includes spirits, divinities, and living ancestors as real participants within a shared continuum of existence. These are not merely symbolic or cultural projections, but belong to the ontology itself as forms of actual existence, potentially inhabiting dimensions not ordinarily accessible to the senses. Their presence points to a cosmos that is more densely populated, relational, and communicative than a strictly materialist worldview allows.
This perspective finds a suggestive resonance in the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead, particularly in his notion of an extensive continuum—a multidimensional field of potentiality that exceeds the familiar three dimensions of space. Whitehead leaves open the possibility that such a continuum could be inhabited by forms of actuality that are sentient yet unlike human beings. African metaphysics, by contrast, advances the more definite proposal that the cosmos is indeed so inhabited.
God as a Being Within the Field of Ìwà
God is a real being within the broader field of ìwà—an expression of it rather than identical with it. God is more than the divinities, a distinctive and encompassing presence within the relational field of existence. At the same time, God is not the totality of ìwà itself. This invites a panentheistic understanding: all things exist within the divine, yet the divine also exceeds them. Such a view is neither traditional Western monotheism nor simple polytheism, but a relational vision of the divine within a plural and dynamic cosmos.
Taken together, these impressions invite us to imagine a world that is alive, relational, and in process—a world in which being is not static but eventful, not isolated but interconnected, and not predetermined but open to possibility. Whether or not one turns to Emmanuel Ofuasia’s writings, the vision suggested here can itself become a site of reflection: a way of rethinking reality and our place within it. These theses remain what they were meant to be--lures for feeling in the spirit of Alfred North Whitehead—invitations not only to think differently, but to live differently within a shared and unfolding world.
- Jay McDaniel
The Importance of Ìwà Ontology
for the World and Process Philosophy
The perspective suggested here is rooted in African sources, yet it carries a claim to universality—not in the sense of imposing a single, final framework upon all peoples, but in offering a way of understanding reality that speaks to features of experience that are widely shared. If ìwà names the ongoing, relational, and qualitative character of existence itself, then it is not confined to a particular culture, even as it is articulated through specific cultural traditions. It invites participation, testing, and reinterpretation across contexts.
At the same time, this perspective does not simply mirror existing philosophical traditions; it adds to and corrects them. In particular, it offers a distinctive contribution to process philosophy as developed by Whitehead and his interpreters in predominantly Western contexts. While Whitehead’s thought already moves beyond substance metaphysics toward a relational and event-based understanding of reality, it has often been developed within conceptual frameworks that remain, in subtle ways, shaped by Eurocentric assumptions—including tendencies toward abstraction, a relative neglect of lived communal experience, and a limited engagement with spiritual plurality.
By contrast, the ìwà-centered vision foregrounds community as ontologically basic, extends relationality into explicitly ecological and spiritual dimensions, and situates metaphysical reflection within lived practices, stories, and ritual forms. It resists the temptation to separate metaphysics from life, insisting instead that philosophical ideas must be tested against experience and embodied in ways of living. In doing so, it deepens the meaning of relationality itself, showing it to be not only structural but experiential, communal, and cosmological.
Moreover, this perspective broadens the scope of process thought by affirming a plurality of actualities, including ancestors, divinities, and other spiritual presences, thereby challenging more secularized or naturalistic interpretations of process philosophy. It also introduces forms of reasoning—such as those articulated by Jonathan O. Chimakonam—that move beyond binary logic and open space for a more flexible and inclusive metaphysical imagination.
In this way, the vision of ìwà enriches and re-situates it, inviting a more globally grounded, culturally responsive, and experientially attuned form of metaphysical reflection. It suggests that process thought itself can become more fully what it already aspires to be: a philosophy of becoming that is not only conceptually coherent, but also deeply connected to the diverse ways human beings inhabit and interpret the world.
At the same time, this perspective does not simply mirror existing philosophical traditions; it adds to and corrects them. In particular, it offers a distinctive contribution to process philosophy as developed by Whitehead and his interpreters in predominantly Western contexts. While Whitehead’s thought already moves beyond substance metaphysics toward a relational and event-based understanding of reality, it has often been developed within conceptual frameworks that remain, in subtle ways, shaped by Eurocentric assumptions—including tendencies toward abstraction, a relative neglect of lived communal experience, and a limited engagement with spiritual plurality.
By contrast, the ìwà-centered vision foregrounds community as ontologically basic, extends relationality into explicitly ecological and spiritual dimensions, and situates metaphysical reflection within lived practices, stories, and ritual forms. It resists the temptation to separate metaphysics from life, insisting instead that philosophical ideas must be tested against experience and embodied in ways of living. In doing so, it deepens the meaning of relationality itself, showing it to be not only structural but experiential, communal, and cosmological.
Moreover, this perspective broadens the scope of process thought by affirming a plurality of actualities, including ancestors, divinities, and other spiritual presences, thereby challenging more secularized or naturalistic interpretations of process philosophy. It also introduces forms of reasoning—such as those articulated by Jonathan O. Chimakonam—that move beyond binary logic and open space for a more flexible and inclusive metaphysical imagination.
In this way, the vision of ìwà enriches and re-situates it, inviting a more globally grounded, culturally responsive, and experientially attuned form of metaphysical reflection. It suggests that process thought itself can become more fully what it already aspires to be: a philosophy of becoming that is not only conceptually coherent, but also deeply connected to the diverse ways human beings inhabit and interpret the world.
The Metaphysical Implications of the Parallels between Traditional Yorùbá Theology and Process Theology
"Process theology, an emergent of process metaphysics was hitherto unknown to academics of theology until the intellectual intrepidity of Alfred Whitehead, Charles Hartshorne and other process scholars. The ignorance of this brand of theology is chiefly responsible for the ethnocentric warrant that the entirety of African traditional religion is paganism. In recent times, and owing to the overwhelming influence of Christianity and Islam in contemporary Yorùbá living, the Yorùbá has come to endorse a similar outlook too. What then is the implication of this ignorance for traditional Yorùbá religion? Is there any future for traditional Yorùbá theology if it remains paraded as paganism? In the face of these posers, this study argues for the contemporary relevance of this theology. This is precisely because mainstream process theology not only bears semblance with traditional Yorùbá theology but finds the full exemplification of its metaphysics therein. I therefore submit that process theology has implications not only for traditional Yorùbá theology but even for classical theology especially when gleaned from the nature of Olódùmarè which coincides with Jehovah’s and Allah’s persuasive natures that are subtly rendered in the bible and qur’an respectively, albeit depreciated. "
- Emmanuel Ofuasia, The Metaphysical Implications of the Parallels between Traditional Yorùbá Theology and Process Theology,
For PDF of the essay, click here.
Neither Monotheistic Nor Polytheistic
"Traditional Yorùbá theology has been construed by some African scholars as monotheism albeit with slight but significant departures from the mainstream and dominant variety. Of these scholars, Bolaji Idowu [1962]; Omotade Adegbindin [2011]; and Akintola Adebowale [1999] are foremost. Their agenda derives from the attempt of circumventing the polytheism that is seemingly suggestive of the theology. But since metaphysics necessarily informs theology, these scholars have yet to provide a comprehensive metaphysical context that endorses monotheism in Yorùbá philosophy.
As a consequence, there has been little or no reason to further explore this research gulf among scholars conversant with Yorùbá theology. Using the method of conversational philosophy, I make a concerted effort to propose that traditional Yorùbá theology is neither polytheistic nor monotheistic. When the study proposes that it is panentheistic, the process metaphysical groundwork upon which the theology and the entire thought system of the Yorùbá thrives is unpacked. The conclusion is therefore not far-fetched–traditional Yorùbá theology has a process metaphysical groundwork from which panentheism but not monotheism is discernable."
- Emmanuel Ofuasia
As a consequence, there has been little or no reason to further explore this research gulf among scholars conversant with Yorùbá theology. Using the method of conversational philosophy, I make a concerted effort to propose that traditional Yorùbá theology is neither polytheistic nor monotheistic. When the study proposes that it is panentheistic, the process metaphysical groundwork upon which the theology and the entire thought system of the Yorùbá thrives is unpacked. The conclusion is therefore not far-fetched–traditional Yorùbá theology has a process metaphysical groundwork from which panentheism but not monotheism is discernable."
- Emmanuel Ofuasia
More Books by Emmanuel Ofuasia
and Abstracts
|
|
Ìwà: The Process-Relational Dimension to African Metaphysics
Springer Nature Switzerland. 2024.
"This book approaches the subject of African metaphysics historically as it connects Ancient Egypt to Yorùbá. It provides a history of African metaphysics from ancient Egypt or Kemet down to John Boakye Danquah and Placide Tempels in the 20th century and then Innocent Asouzu, Ada Agada, and Aribiah David Attoe, in the 21st century. As it surpasses the deductions of these previous works, it moves further to showcase African originality and approaches to studying reality, whilst resisting the temptation to deduce conclusions from Western philosophy. It is the first book in the history of African philosophy to use a process-relational approach to interrogate African metaphysics.
It also serves to harmonize and engage prominent African scholars who have written on the subject of African metaphysics. The general scope of this book centers on engaging the history of distortion and misunderstanding of African metaphysics by providing a relevant and reliable process-relational background as well as an alternative trivalent logic system. Unless African metaphysical theories are understood from this perspective, they will remain powerless to overcome these misrepresentations. It appeals to students and researchers internationally actively working in the fields of African philosophy, Intercultural African studies as well as process studies."
It also serves to harmonize and engage prominent African scholars who have written on the subject of African metaphysics. The general scope of this book centers on engaging the history of distortion and misunderstanding of African metaphysics by providing a relevant and reliable process-relational background as well as an alternative trivalent logic system. Unless African metaphysical theories are understood from this perspective, they will remain powerless to overcome these misrepresentations. It appeals to students and researchers internationally actively working in the fields of African philosophy, Intercultural African studies as well as process studies."
Panentheism and Concepts of God in African Traditional Religions:
A Third-Wave Proposal
"This book offers a bold re-examination of how African spirituality and religion are understood, challenging centuries of misrepresentation shaped by colonial and Abrahamic thought. It argues that describing African religions through any form of modified monotheism, whether “implicit,” “diffused,” or “accommodated”, distorts their true nature and philosophical depth. Critiquing both colonial and postcolonial scholarship, the author shows how figures such as John Mbiti, Bolaji Idowu, John Bewaji, Thaddeus Metz, Motsamai Molefe, and Kirk Lougheed remain confined by Abrahamic categories that obscure African metaphysical perspectives.
Drawing on the ritual systems and spiritual knowledge of six major Afro-religious traditions (Kemet, Yorùbá, Anlo-Ewe, Igbo, Akan, and Shona) the book advances panentheism, a non-Abrahamic monotheistic framework, as the most accurate model for understanding African religions. Combining philosophical analysis with ethnographic insight, it redefines the conceptual vocabulary for African religious scholarship, resolving long-standing debates and demonstrating the value of thick description for studying African religiosity. An original contribution to African philosophy, religious studies, and decolonial theory, this book reshapes how African spirituality is to be studied and understood."
Drawing on the ritual systems and spiritual knowledge of six major Afro-religious traditions (Kemet, Yorùbá, Anlo-Ewe, Igbo, Akan, and Shona) the book advances panentheism, a non-Abrahamic monotheistic framework, as the most accurate model for understanding African religions. Combining philosophical analysis with ethnographic insight, it redefines the conceptual vocabulary for African religious scholarship, resolving long-standing debates and demonstrating the value of thick description for studying African religiosity. An original contribution to African philosophy, religious studies, and decolonial theory, this book reshapes how African spirituality is to be studied and understood."
An Exploration of the Parallels between African and Process Metaphysics: Introducing the Metaphysics of Force and Becoming
"This book articulates how African metaphysics (characterized by force) and process metaphysics (characterized by becoming) are similar on several fronts. On the one hand, the vitalist and relational characters of African metaphysics have engrossed researchers as unique and original to Africa, but they have yet to articulate where this leads – processism. On the other hand, the becoming or event underpinning of process metaphysics which has been the focus of Anglo-American processism, has not courted deserving academic attention, due chiefly to the influence wielded by substance metaphysics.
This is the primary research gap which the present book magnifies, and then addresses, while contending for intellectual exchange(s) among specialists in processism, irrespective of the philosophic tradition. To accomplish this, this book admits intercultural philosophy for assessing the principal claims of some African and process philosophers and to bring them into a conversation, with an alternative system of logic in Ezumezu, to mediate thought, theory, and method. This effort assists in addressing the history of misrepresentation and distortion which process metaphysics, as an under-explored tradition, has suffered and endured."
This is the primary research gap which the present book magnifies, and then addresses, while contending for intellectual exchange(s) among specialists in processism, irrespective of the philosophic tradition. To accomplish this, this book admits intercultural philosophy for assessing the principal claims of some African and process philosophers and to bring them into a conversation, with an alternative system of logic in Ezumezu, to mediate thought, theory, and method. This effort assists in addressing the history of misrepresentation and distortion which process metaphysics, as an under-explored tradition, has suffered and endured."
Contemporary African Metaphysical Thought (edited book)
with Ada Agada and Bruno Yammeluan Ikuli
"African metaphysics question a variety of issues, ranging from the nature of fundamental reality to the meaning of human existence. African philosophers have introduced groundbreaking metaphysical theories in response to these metaphysical issues and questions. These theories provide uniquely African perspectives that challenge philosophers to look inwards and produce globally competitive ideas instead of exoticising traditional African worldviews for the intellectual entertainment of a non-African audience.
This volume advances the field of African metaphysics by critically engaging with key metaphysical ideas and concepts developed by African metaphysical thinkers. The chapters contributed in this volume by established researchers and promising young scholars challenge and modify existing metaphysical theories while proposing novel theories that shape debates in the field.
Ada Agada is a leading contemporary African metaphysical thinker and the major proponent of consolationism in African philosophy. He is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, Federal University Otuoke, Nigeria. He is the author of the 2022 landmark work, Consolationism and Comparative African Philosophy. Emmanuel
Ofuasia is a Nigerian philosopher and a recipient of local and international grants and scholarships from organisations and institutions such as Birmingham Centre for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Birmingham, the John Templeton Foundation, and Institute of African and Diaspora Studies at the University of Lagos. Bruno
Yammeluan Ikuli is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, Federal University Otuoke. He specialises in Political Philosophy and African Philosophy. Until February 2024, he was a member of the University Governing Council. Currently, he is the Chairperson of the Academic Staff Union of Universities of the University."
This volume advances the field of African metaphysics by critically engaging with key metaphysical ideas and concepts developed by African metaphysical thinkers. The chapters contributed in this volume by established researchers and promising young scholars challenge and modify existing metaphysical theories while proposing novel theories that shape debates in the field.
Ada Agada is a leading contemporary African metaphysical thinker and the major proponent of consolationism in African philosophy. He is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, Federal University Otuoke, Nigeria. He is the author of the 2022 landmark work, Consolationism and Comparative African Philosophy. Emmanuel
Ofuasia is a Nigerian philosopher and a recipient of local and international grants and scholarships from organisations and institutions such as Birmingham Centre for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Birmingham, the John Templeton Foundation, and Institute of African and Diaspora Studies at the University of Lagos. Bruno
Yammeluan Ikuli is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, Federal University Otuoke. He specialises in Political Philosophy and African Philosophy. Until February 2024, he was a member of the University Governing Council. Currently, he is the Chairperson of the Academic Staff Union of Universities of the University."
A Forthcoming Conference
Event Type: Conference (Online)
Organizers: Decoloniality Research Group (DRG) University of Pretoria South Africa
There are two dominant streams for talking about reality in the history of metaphysical thought – substance and process. These two streams are noticeable in virtually all traditions but the former seems to have gained more attention at the expense of the latter which offers a more robust and insightful framework for codifying reality. The metaphysical framework of substance has been elevated as absolute and universal in humanity’s comprehension of the self and the world. That metaphysical framework fails in providing a springboard on topics such as value and conscious nature of all ontological entities. As a result, topics such as the cellular basis of consciousness or biopsychism in plant neurobiology, panpsychism and its impact over the inter-relationship among all entities for environmental stability have not received penetrating and convincing analysis from the substance-based perspective. This is why an alternative framework in process metaphysics as broadly construed in all religious and philosophic traditions – African, Oriental, Anglo-American, and Continental become pertinent.
In its most commonly shared formulation, process philosophy, regardless of tradition, lays emphasis on vital force, flux, biopsychism, dynamism, relationality and interconnection among entities such that nothing stands in isolation (see Mesle 2008; Ivakhkiv 2018).
Among process philosophers, there is a shared acknowledgement that reality is ‘becoming’ and an interconnected web such that no event stands in isolation. Process philosophers eschew the mainstream and dominant outlook in traditional metaphysics that changelessness implies perfection (see Rescher 1996; Mesle 2008). Extant scholarship offers a more robust explanation for topics like ecology (Ivakhiv 2018; Maffie 2015; McLeod 2023), consciousness (Griffin 2007; Raud 2021; Zu 2025), agency (Valmisa 2025), relationality (Chimakonam & Ogbonnaya 2021; Maffie 2015; McLeod 2023), mystical experiences (Dambrowski 2023), and Being (Ofuasia 2024). These are hot topics that signal the importance of such metaphysics for contemporary scholarship. In spite of this common ground, process scholars in the afore-mentioned philosophical traditions have never engaged one another critically.
This conference will therefore be the first to birth this long overdue intellectual exchange as it offers an improved metaphysical framework for value and consciousness in all ontological entities to address various concerns that are facing humanity: economy, political, and environmental. Although there are hesitant answers to some of these global challenges facing humanity, the influence of substance-based analysis has yet to offer penetrative answers, in addition to the almost complete lack of interaction among scholars of process to explore their common ground for a common voice in the way that substance thought has done over the centuries.
There are no registration fees but all participants and observers must register before they can get the links to the talks/panels. This will be communicated in due course.
For further information, please relate with Dr. Chukwueloka Uduagwu via email: [email protected]. More information will be made available to participants.