Flikschuh, Katrin
(2019)
Can I choose to be who I am not? on (African) subjectivity.
Angelaki, 24 (2).
pp. 78-91.
ISSN 0969-725X
Abstract
This article engages Abraham Olivier’s recent distinction between ‘being’ and ‘choosing to be’ within his phenomenological approach to subjectivity in general and to African, communal subjectivity in particular. I recapitulate and problematize aspects of Olivier’s reverse phenomenological analysis, briefly contrasting it with more orthodox African approaches to the ontology of the self. I then hone in on the distinction between being who I am and choosing to be who I am not. I argue that I can indeed choose to be who I am not, subject to the proviso that I cannot choose to be who I am. I close with some reflections on the moral significance of conscientiously choosing to be who I am not.
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