DARTY, Darty Emmanuel (PhD), EKEFRE, Aniekan Ubong (MA)
Abstract
The dynamic conception of African metaphysics as proposed by Placide Tempels has been seen by many
thinkers as an ontological framework that adequately captures the nature of reality in the African context.
Tempels was a Belgian missionary who asserted that there is a rich reserve of philosophical resources in
African culture uses the Bantu tribe of Congo as his case in point. The historical significance of Tempel’s
idea is that it had a legitimizing effect on African philosophy against scandalous claims made by
Enlightenment philosophers like David Hume, Immanuel Kant, G. W. F. Hegel and so on who doubted
the possibility of philosophical resources in African culture. This work attempted to look into the nature
of the metaphysics that Tempels discovered in African culture and philosophy. Since logic is the tool of
philosophy, this research used Innocent Asouzu’s complementary logic in proving that the Tempelsian
legacy is an inadequate model for the explanation of being in the African context. This is because it has a
polarizing effect on the perception of being. This work argued that a complementary notion of being
better captures the way reality presents itself in the African universe of discourse.
Keywords: African philosophy, Being, Complementary logic, Dynamism, Metaphysics, Vital force
