Abstract
seek to consider how the question of responsibility might be approached differently if values
salient in African communitarian thinking are critically explored. I argue that while one may
find almost a uniform framework for the determination of epistemic responsibility in different
philosophical traditions based on the rational scheme, in the dominant African communitarian
tradition, there is more to responsibility than just individualistic traits like rationality. My
argument is based on the premise that, responsibility in African epistemological thinking is
viewed from a communitarian perspective. According to this view, despite most of African
communitarian knowledge conforming to the consciousness and control tests of the rational
scheme, communitarian philosophy still remains cardinal in defining the aspect of
responsibility on the part of both the individual and the community. I therefore partly make
critical comparisons between a Western and African concept of responsibility as I seek to
justify the plausibility of an African model of responsibility based on communitarian habits
and culture.