ABSTRACT
Epistemic interactivism, an aspect of the epistemology of representation, is a cognitive
intercourse between the subject and person-object of knowledge that underlies the conception of
a person in Esan thought. Earlier studies separated the subject from the object of knowledge, and
classified persons and non-persons as object of knowledge. This separation ignored the cognitive
and moral values of persons, thereby creating a dehumanised relationship between the subject
and person-object of knowledge. This study, therefore, employed epistemic interactivism in reconstructing
the relationship between the subject and person-object of knowledge. This is with a
view to re-establishing the cognitive and moral values that distinguish persons from non-persons
upon which personhood is grounded in Esan thought.
This study adopted Hegel‟s dialectics which unified the subject and object of knowledge at the
“Absolute”. Major works on epistemology, specifically Hegel‟s The Phenomenology of Mind
(TPM), Descartes‟ A Discourse on Method (ADM), Locke‟s An Essay Concerning Human
Understanding (ECHU), and works on Esan culture, particularly Okojie‟s Words of Wisdom
from Ishan Elders (WWIE), and Esan Native Laws and Customs (ENLC), were purposively
selected. These works articulated the traditional theories of representation, personhood and
epistemic interactivism. The conceptual method was used to clarify concepts such as
representation, personhood and epistemic interactivism. Critical analysis was employed to
explain the dehumanising problems in the traditional theories of representation, and the reconstructive
method was used to re-establish the cognitive and moral values of a person in
epistemic interactivism.
Traditional theories of representation separated subject and person-object of knowledge,
grouping person-object and non-person-object (ADM, ECHU). This separation ignored the
cognitive and moral values of persons, creating propositional knowledge that dehumanised the
relationship between the subject and person-object of knowledge (ADM), and the possible unity
of the subject and object of knowledge at the “Absolute” (TPM). However, Esan culture
distinguishes persons from non-persons, bonding the subject and person-object of knowledge to
arrive at an epistemic intercourse as captured by the Esan dictum: ai yole abha len oria (we
never say we do not know someone) (ENLC, WWIE). Critical interrogation revealed that
conventional theories of representation were influenced by the materialism of Western science
that described persons and non-persons impersonally, ignoring the human values of cognition
and morality. These cognitive and moral values formed the basis of personhood in Esan thought,
such that the subject engages in an epistemic intercourse with the person-object of knowledge in
a way that sustains the dignity of persons, creating the grounds for a humane relationship
between the subject and person-object of knowledge.
Conventional theories of representation separated the subject and person-object of knowledge,
ignoring the cognitive and moral values of persons and creating a dehumanised relationship
between the subject and person-object of knowledge. Epistemic interactivism of Esan thought,
which unified the subject and person-object of knowledge on cognitive and moral grounds,
provides adequate basis for personhood and resolving the dehumanised relationship between the
subject and person-object of knowledge.
IDEMUDIA, O (2021). Personhood And Epistemic Interactivism In Indigenous Esan Thought. Afribary. Retrieved from https://afribary.com/works/personhood-and-epistemic-interactivism-in-indigenous-esan-thought-1
IDEMUDIA, ODIA "Personhood And Epistemic Interactivism In Indigenous Esan Thought" Afribary. Afribary, 12 Apr. 2021, https://afribary.com/works/personhood-and-epistemic-interactivism-in-indigenous-esan-thought-1. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.
IDEMUDIA, ODIA . "Personhood And Epistemic Interactivism In Indigenous Esan Thought". Afribary, Afribary, 12 Apr. 2021. Web. 10 Oct. 2024. < https://afribary.com/works/personhood-and-epistemic-interactivism-in-indigenous-esan-thought-1 >.
IDEMUDIA, ODIA . "Personhood And Epistemic Interactivism In Indigenous Esan Thought" Afribary (2021). Accessed October 10, 2024. https://afribary.com/works/personhood-and-epistemic-interactivism-in-indigenous-esan-thought-1