Abstract
In an era occasioned by the rise of identity conflicts and cumulative social fragmentation, the question of co-existence remains essential to the survival of multicultural societies. Nigeria, with its vast ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity, symbolizes both the potentials and the dangers of such plurality. While legal and political agendas have attempted to manage these tensions, a deeper, more existential crisis endures, one entrenched in the destruction of authentic human relationships and the objectification of the “Other.” The paper argued that achieving true inter-ethnic diplomacy, national integration, and peaceful co-existence goes beyond mere structural reforms and rhetorical appeals to national harmony. Rather, it requires a re-engineering of how individuals perceive and engage one another across lines of conflict. This transformation in perspective is essential for fostering genuine connections and understanding among diverse groups. In light of this need, the paper explored Gabriel Marcel’s existentialist notion of intersubjectivity as a pathway for reclaiming the moral and interpersonal foundations of national co-existence. Marcel’s concept of intersubjectivity offers both metaphysical and ethical frameworks that challenge instrumental and depersonalized modes of relating by calling instead for openness, fidelity, and shared being. Within the Nigerian context, this reorientation entails both personal and collective responsibility to rehumanize the “Other” and to rethink the polity as a space of mutual recognition. The paper concluded that repositioning the “Other” in our consciousness through Marcelian intersubjectivity offers a viable philosophical contribution to the ongoing quest for meaningful and sustainable national co-existence.
Keywords: The Other, Intersubjectivity, National Co-existence, Relational Ethics, Reconciliation
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21214686
Authors:
Terzungwe Inja
Senior Lecturer at Department of
Philosophy
Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi
Phone: 08061117453
ORCID ID: 0009-0008-9653-1530
Paul Terkimbi Chiahemba
postgraduate student Department of
Philosophy
Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu
University, Makurdi
Email: pkumbur94@gmail.com
Phone: 07030636555
ORCID ID: 0009-0004-5942-8404
Copyright © [2026] The Author(s). Published by the Journal of People and Worldviews (JPW). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited.