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Abstract
Anti-essentialism and social constructionist thinking prevail in Western discourse about human nature. Because the centered African view of the nature of prototypical human nature is that ontologically "spirit" is the life force, it is an essentialist position necessarily. This centered African view, which precedes and significantly differs from the essentialism notion in Western thought, is explicated. The explication serves two purposes: (1) as an example of opening up Western discourse on the nature of human nature to include the deep thinking of African civilizations and (2) to refresh African deep thinking on this issue. Anti-essentialism and social constructionist thinking are critiqued from this vantage.
Keywords: essentialism, social construction, spirit, Ka, African-centered psychology.
Psychology has been described as a truly Western enterprise (Murphy and Kovach, 1972). Western psychology, in turn, has been accused of attending only to its own view myopically (Azibo, 2006a) suggesting an academic narcissism (Hilliard, 1991). This "eliminate [s] from consideration avenues of knowing not necessarily consistent with [the West's]" (Finch, 1998, 261). Western philosophy has been criticized similarly (Ani, 1994; Asante, 1987; Caruthers, 1995; Diop, 1991; Karenga, 1984; Keita, 1993; Kudadjie, 1997; Osci, 1970).
Regarding the nature of human nature (NOHN) subject, centered African perspectives seem to be almost nonexistent in Western-based periodicals and even more so in textbooks. It is not sufficient for multicultural competence to approach and write about African descent people with sensitivity with only Western models of what it is to be human. It is also not the best practice to engage studying Caucasian living without something of a non- Western knowledge base, especially where the NOHN is a central concern. Paradoxically, culture-focusing would seem requisite for multi-cultural competence in today's global village. This seems to be the case in psychology (Azibo, 2003), especially postmodern (Benjafield, 1996, chap. 15) and critical (Fox and Prilleltensky, 1997) psychology.
So to Africa itself and its deep thinking or philosophy we turn for a non-Western view on the NOHN (Abraham, 1962; Carruthers, 1984, 1995, 1999, chap. 17;Gyekye, 1995; Griaule, 1965;Obenga, 1992). There we find a trove of general ideas about African human nature deriving from African's self-conscious study of themselves (e.g., Akbar, 1985, 1996; Azibo, 1996b; Erny, 1973;Grills and Ajei, 2002; Hallen and Sodipu, 1994; Karenga, 1984, 1990, chap. 1;...