In African thought a person is fundamentally a relation, not an individual

Evidence

Therefore, a human being is seen in African thinking as a relation (between himself and his peers, himself and the world, himself and God). Based on this primordial characteristic of the human being, of the human person, one can easily affirm that saying “I” is equivalent to saying “you” or, better still, saying “the other” and saying “us” means affirming “human existence”. If someone wants to know the sense of his or her life, then he or she interrogates the world and, finally, interrogates God. Therefore, all the realities (pain, the destiny of man, spiritual life, the system of thought itself, life and immortality) are all arguments within the horizon of human beings. From this discussion regarding the living being (human being), we can conclude that he/she is the love of God personified in the world. The global vision of creation is therefore in the human being. In African thinking, it is impossible to think of a person without thinking of the relation which characterises the world linked with God, the Creator. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 306

Therefore, a human being is seen in African thinking as a relation (between himself and his peers, himself and the world, himself and God). Based on this primordial characteristic of the human being, of the human person, one can easily affirm that saying “I” is equivalent to saying “you” or, better still, saying “the other” and saying “us” means affirming “human existence”. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 306

Categorization

• XREF: Recalls the relational self in African ubuntu thought and contrasts with Cartesian individualism; resonates with the reader’s comparative philosophy interest. — connects to: The person is defined as a free relation to oneself; A person can be defined by the structure of their relations to the dead — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 1262
• SEED: An essay contrasting the relational African person (‘I equals you’) with Cartesian ‘I think therefore I am’ as competing foundations for ethics and epistemology.
• DEFINE: Defines the relational anthropology at the core of African/Bantu personhood.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 306