African Holistic Perspectives, the Vital Force Orientation, and Panpsychism
Adá Agadá
August 25, 2026 DOI: 10.4324/9781003390787-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the vital force tradition's holism supports reconceptualizing vital force as a ubiquitous consciousness principle, making panpsychism an attractive framework for explaining nature's unity. Proposes that African philosophers should take panpsychism seriously, while noting the problem of how consciousness can be fundamental in a physical universe given their acceptance of a spiritual dimension. |
Abstract
I argue in this chapter that commitment to the holistic perspectives in the vital force tradition advanced by African philosophers like Kwame Gyekye, Motsamai Molefe, and Ada Agada motivates the reconceptualisation of the vital force in terms of an ubiquitous consciousness principle. I point out that this reconceptualisation of the concept of vital force presents panpsychism as an attractive explanatory framework that accounts for the unity of nature. Panpsychism is the view that mind-stuff or mindedness or experience (consciousness) is a fundamental irreducible feature of the world. While making a case for African philosophers to take panpsychism seriously, I point out a basic problem that a panpsychist view of reality raises. Since Gyekye, Molefe, and Agada accept that there is a spiritual (non-material) dimension of reality, the problem that commitment to panpsychism raises revolves around the question of how consciousness can be fundamental in a presumed physical universe.