The Notion of Truth among the Yoruba’s

Authors: Oluwatobi David E

DOI: 10.23880/phij-16000232

Volume 5, Issue 1

Abstract

The problem of language translation poses several epistemic challenge to understanding what a concept meant per time. The Yoruba people of Nigeria are one tribe that if not properly understood, one could run into several epistemic problem. A single word could have close to twenty denotative meanings aside connotative meanings. This paper examines the subject matter of ‘Truth’ among the Yoruba people; that this word among the Yoruba people have both epistemic and ethical meaning. The paper exposes the nature of truth among the Yoruba, the distinction between epistemic and ethical use of the word. The paper discusses what constitute an epistemic truth for the Yoruba taking leap from the work of Barry Allen and Olubi sodipo ‘Knowledge and Belief’ in Yoruba. The paper concludes with a comparative analysis of the concept of truth in western thought and among the Yoruba people of Nigeria.

Keywords: Truth; Ooto; Iro; Igagbo

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