Beyond continental and African philosophies of personhood, healthcare and difference

Abstract

In this study, I explore the challenges that ideological hegemonies of personhood imbibed by nurses and other healthcare workers could pose for the nursing profession, particularly in terms of inhibiting the acknowledgment of difference. Dominant or hegemonic conceptions of personhood in particular spaces often consist of self-contained ideas and essentialist ontologies and normativity of what it means to be a person, lack of which results in the denial of personhood and the othering as non-person or sub-person. The other as the residue of such selfcontained notions of personhood is most often denied the quality of care that the one who fits within such conceptions enjoy. For nurses and other healthcare workers to overcome such exclusionary tendencies in healthcare, they must overcome hegemonies and ideological dominance and be more open to alternative viewpoints and theories of personhood. I develop these lines of thought by focusing on the rich ideological traditions of Continental and African philosophies showing how exclusion takes place within these traditions based on conceptions of personhood and how such exclusion on the basis of difference impacts negatively on healthcare. I conclude by highlighting the need to go beyond hegemonic philosophies of personhood by decolonizing and demasculinizing healthcare, thereby allowing difference to flourish in an ecology of medical knowledge.

Person‐centred conversations in nursing and health: A theoretical analysis based on perspectives on communication

“…An information‐dense and increasingly globalized and digitalized society exerts demands but also provides opportunities—and this is evident in medium and high‐income countries but clearly limited in underprivileged groups. Special challenges include a risk of excluding the other based on difference (Imafidon, 2022). To try and pinpoint what this can mean, we turn to the North American sociologist Giddens (1997).…”

“…Leplege et al, 2007) and an idealizing and stereotyped view of the person. Equally, however, it may also reproduce stereotypes (Foth & Leibing, 2022; Imafidon, 2022; Smith et al, 2022; Tieu et al, 2022). Thus, person‐centredness must be related to the circumstances and conditions of our time and can be seen as a centrally ethical positioning for the shaping of healthcare practice and promotion of health.…”

African philosophy and nursing: A potential twain that shall meet?

“…The ontological dimension focuses on both the physical body of the person, psyche, and spiritual aspects (Imafidon, 2022). Though this is relevant to Western philosophy, this is insufficient for a human being to be a 'person' from the African lens (Bodunrin, 1981;Imafidon, 2022).…”

“…The contrast between ‘human beings’ and ‘persons’ in African philosophy therefore challenges the traditional Western notion of ‘person’ in nursing theory. As noted by Imafidon (2022), it is the community‐defined individual who has fulfilled the ontological and normative notions of personhood who qualifies to be a ‘person’ whose needs inform healthcare or nursing practice. Those who do not meet the requirements may therefore be excluded or their needs poorly met (Imafidon, 2022).…”

“…As noted by Imafidon (2022), it is the community‐defined individual who has fulfilled the ontological and normative notions of personhood who qualifies to be a ‘person’ whose needs inform healthcare or nursing practice. Those who do not meet the requirements may therefore be excluded or their needs poorly met (Imafidon, 2022). Indeed, a sick ‘person’ admitted to the hospital suggests a distortion to the community's balance or throwing the community into disequilibrium.…”