In Tempels’s ontology, beings grow by increasing their vital force, which others can diminish.

Evidence

For Tempels, the increase in “force” demonstrates the growth of an entity – that the entity is becoming more and more of what its type is supposed to be. This is particularly so for human beings, who are expected to become more human as they grow. Becoming is what all individuals aim at, and that becoming is through increase of “force”. “Force”, however, can be threatened by the agency of others. They can either diminish it or completely annihilate it through use of harmful entreaties to magic, herbs or other harmful forces. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 454

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the core concept of ‘force’ (vital force) in Tempels’s Bantu ontology — growth by force increase, vulnerability to others’ agency.
• XREF: Connects to similar vital-force ontologies in African philosophy and to the general idea that personhood is achieved through growth, echoing Placid Tempels’s own legacy in modern African philosophy.