The Metaphysics of Personal Identity and Its Implications for Succession and Inheritance Law in Igbo Communities: An Empirical-Philosophical Analysis

This study provides an empirical-philosophical analysis of the metaphysics of personal identity and examines its implications for succession and inheritance practices in Igbo communities of South East Nigeria, encompassing Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Abia, and Ebonyi States. The philosophical question of personal identity addresses what makes a person the same entity over time and across transformations, and the answer has direct implications for questions of legal succession, ancestral obligation, and inheritance entitlement. A mixed-methods design is employed, combining philosophical analysis of competing theories of personal identity from John Locke, Derek Parfit, and Ifeanyi Menkiti with a structured survey of 280 Igbo community members on succession practices. Thematic analysis of 30 in-Philosophyh interviews with community elders, customary court judges, and philosophy academics across the five states supplements the survey. The study addresses the research gap created by the failure of legal anthropology to engage with the philosophical foundations of Igbo succession concepts. Findings reveal that Igbo succession philosophy operates on a relational theory of personal identity in which the deceased remains a morally active person within the community through their lineage, an ontological position that generates inheritance obligations not capturable in standard Western legal frameworks. The study contributes an original philosophical account of Igbo personal identity to the literature on African metaphysics. Keywords: personal identity, Igbo philosophy, succession law, African metaphysics, inheritance ethics.