Cookies?
Library Header Image
LSE Research Online LSE Library Services

Can I choose to be who I am not? on (African) subjectivity

Flikschuh, Katrin (2019) Can I choose to be who I am not? on (African) subjectivity. Angelaki, 24 (2). pp. 78-91. ISSN 0969-725X

[img]
Preview
Text - Accepted Version
Download (646kB) | Preview

Identification Number: 10.1080/0969725X.2019.1574080

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.

Item Type: Article
Official URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/cang20
Additional Information: © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
Divisions: Government
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Date Deposited: 03 Oct 2018 13:40
Last Modified: 21 Sep 2024 22:09
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/90301

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics