Traditional Rational Arguments for the Existence of God (Chukwu) in Igbo Traditional Philosophy

Abstract

The question on whether or not the Supreme Being is a stranger in Igbo traditional philosophy is a question on being and its being there. This paper adopts an analytico- deductive method to examine some clues on this existence -question of God among the pre- modern Igbo; and the implication is that due to hasty generalizations and false certainty some scholars even of
philosophy still maintain that the Supreme Being is of Western importation. Both Christianity and Igbo traditional philosophy, the paper also argues, have something to contribute to the debate but the contribution of Christianity far outweighs that of the pre- modern Igbo since the former has the epistemological advantage of the Supernatural revelation and in possession of literacy before the latter. Nevertheless, prior to Christianity the raw materials for the philosophy of God were encapsulated in the Igbo man’s oral tradition only to be highlighted by a culture that is highly literate and philosophical.