African Philosophy: Ethics

In post-colonial Africa, conceptions of the nature and purposes of development as well as the theories and strategies for achieving them have remained a territory traversed predominantly by non-African social scientists. In this context, social scientists studying Africa's development proclaimed, at the dawn of the 1990s, a "paradigmatic crisis" and embarked on a quest for new paradigms . In advancing this quest, a number of "homegrown" development strategies have emerged. This work argues that these are mere adaptations and reconstructions of (...) dominant Eurocentic paradigms that exaggerate the value of economic goods and wealth creation founded on a competitive marketplace by making them immutable features of development. Yet the ethic of competition theoretically condones a trajectory of killing in the quest for wealth accumulation. In this way, internalist epistemologies perpetuate epistemicide and valuecide in Africa's strides towards development. The stranglehold of internalist epistemologies has resulted in the impasse of rationality. By this we mean that Reason, apotheosized since the Enlightenment, has advanced humanity out of barbarism to "civilization" but has now placed humanity on the brink of unredeemable barbarism. Reason, through its manifestations in the philosophy of Mutual Assured Destruction and global warming, has condemned humanity to willful but avoidable suicide. Since the subjects and objects of development must be one and the same, development is necessarily culture-derived and culture-driven, with the preservation and improvement of human dignity and welfare as its ultimate aims. Accordingly, we defend the thesis that it is necessary for a framework meant for Africa's development to be founded on indigenous knowledge and values, if it is to succeed. And at this moment of impasse reached by Reason, an African ethics-based development paradigm, predicated on humaneness and "life is mutual aid", can restore Reason to sober rationality and liberate Africa's development efforts from the intoxicating prison of profit making. Hence the institutions and frameworks devoted to Africa's development, such as the Constitution and Strategic Plan of the African Union as well as NEPAD, must incorporate salient features of the philosophic ethic emanating from the knowledge and ontological systems of indigenous Africa into visions of the African future. (shrink)

Hunhu/Ubuntu in the Traditional Thought of Southern Africa Philosophically, the term Hunhu or Ubuntu emphasizes the importance of a group or community. The term finds a clear expression in the Nguni/Ndebele phrase: umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. This article reflects upon Hunhu/Ubuntu as a traditional, indigenous philosophy of Southern … Continue reading Hunhu/Ubuntu →.

The paper discusses the notion of authentic motherhood within the frame work of the traditional Yoruba-African society. It argues that an authentic mother, according to the traditional Yoruba-African understanding, is one who performs all her responsibilities as stipulated by the norms and precepts of society. It also points out that the responsibilities of an authentic mother are holistic in nature and when wholesomely fulfilled, have prudential, egoistic, and utilitarian justifications. The paper further provides a philosophical comparison of motherhood in Yoruba-African (...) and in Western understanding. The paper tries to establish that the Yoruba qualities of motherhood are essential to being a good mother no matter where in the world one lives, and irrespective of the culture one belongs to. It concludes that the Yoruba notion of authentic motherhood is relevant to the process of social reconstruction in the contemporary world. (shrink)

This paper posits that there are elements of oppression in some of the Yoruba proverbs that relate to women. It argues that these proverbs violate the rights and dignity of women, and that they are indicators of discrimination against women in Yoruba culture. The paper further argues that the most fundamental but neglected aspect in gender discourse lies in the proverbial resources of the community. The paper provides textual evidence of proverbial oppression of the feminine gender in Yoruba culture, and (...) also underscores their pernicious effects on the struggle for gender balance. The paper contends that there is an urgent need to review the assumptions underlying these proverbs. (shrink)

Here I argue that aspects of Nietzsche's thought may be productively compared with the role played by the concept of ubuntu in talk of cultural renaissance in South Africa. I show that Nietzsche respects and writes for humanity conceived of in a vital sense, thereby imagining a sense of authenticity that may prove significant to talk of cultural renaissance in South Africa. I question the view that Nietzsche is an individualist, drawing on debate between Conway (1990) and Gooding-Williams (2001), concerning (...) the interpretation of ‘The Dance-Song' in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, as well as on the notion of reciprocity intrinsic to the concept of ubuntu (Shutte, 1993). South African Journal of Philosophy Vol. 26 (1) 2007: pp. 85-97. (shrink)

Ubuntu is an African way of seeing the world-and the people in it-as an intricate web of relationships.

What follows is a discussion, in three parts, of the African concept of ubuntu and related issues. In the first part of the discussion J.A.I. Bewaji assesses an essay by W.M.J. van Binsbergen on Ubuntu and the Globalisation of Southern African Thought and Society (2001). In the second part Bewaji reviews M.B. Ramose's African Philosophy through Ubuntu (2002). And in the third part Ramose responds to both Bewaji and Van Binsbergen. Although Ramose disagrees with some of Bewaji's comments and interpretations (...) – especially with regard to the thesis on which ubuntu is, according to the former, founded (i.e. “that ontology proper is a rheology”) – both Bewaji and Ramose agree that Van Binsbergen's critique of ubuntu philosophy, and specifically of Ramose's explication thereof, is untenable. S. Afr. J. Philos. Vol.22(4) 2003: 378-414. (shrink)

In this essay I argue that the notion of ubuntu offers a way of rethinking the negative discourses on homosexuality in Africa and in the African church. Ubuntu promotes accepting communication within the ecclesial community in Africa. The essay selectively reviews some of the negative discourses from political and religious leaders, and then discusses the possibilities which ubuntu philosophy offers for addressing the divisions over homosexuality.

International Journal of Radical Critique is a peer-reviewed open-access journal of radical inquiry edited by international academics and intellectuals. IJRC publishes speculative interventions of analytical rigor and encourages philosophical, sociological, cultural, political, and media studies that provide revolutionary appraisals of historical and contemporary social issues.

From early sage philosophers to Senghor of Senegal and Biko of South Africa, African thinking has challenged the way we think. As we enter a new millenium, the perspectives provided in this volume offer wise and refreshing alternatives to problems of self and society, culture, aesthetics, metaphysics and religion. Out of Africa always something new, and in these pages contemporary problems of cross-cultural cognition and post-coloniality are not only addressed, but also enacted. The reader witnesses the collision and the coalescence (...) of cultures in the writings of philosophers from Africa. -/- The authors are South African academics involved in the teaching and development of courses in African Philosophy in South Africa, Malawi and Botswana. Most are also associated with the Research Unit for African Philosophy, established at the University of South Africa in 1994, which has initiated programmes and activities that have gained support from African philosophers from all over the continent. -/- . (shrink)

The African Philosophy Reader, Second Edition , is a substantially revised and greatly enhanced collection of writings on African philosophy. Editors P.H. Coetzee and A.P.J. Roux have brought together thirty-seven philosophers, thirty-three of whom are black Africans, to present the most current philosophical discussions. Divided into eight sections, each with introductory essays, the selections offer rich and detailed insights into a diverse multinational philosophical landscape. Revealed in this pathbreaking work is the way in which traditional philosophical issues related to ethics, (...) metaphysics, and epistemology, for instance, take on specific forms in Africa's postcolonial struggles. Much of its moral, political, and social philosophy is concerned with the turbulent processes of embracing modern identities while protecting ancient cultures. (shrink)

This considerably revised second edition of Philosopy from Africa presents the current philosophical debate in Africa to a diverse, multicultural world. Its major themes include decolonization, Afro-centrism vs. Euro-centrism, the struggle for cultural freedoms on the continent, and the historic role of Black Consciousness in the liberation struggle. Writers and thinkers, Steve Biko, Kwasi Wiredu, Abiola Irele, Mogobe Ramose, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o and Wole Soyinka, among others, explore the debate surrounding: restitution and reconciliation in the post-colonial milieu, pressures on the (...) tradition of Philosophy in the modern world, the reconstitution of the African self, the conflict between African and Westwern epistemological paradigms, justice and globalization, and the continuity of religion and metaphysics in African thought. Africa is reconstituting its post-colonial character; much of its moral, political, and social thought is concerned with the turbulent process of embracing its modern identity while protecting its ancient cultures. Reflecting this process, this new edition of Philosophy from Africa also addresses provocative ideas about gender and race in Africa. When was the African woman 'invented'? What is the political morality of race? Africa's place in the global context, and the much publisized 'African Renaissance', are put under the prism of critical analysis. These pressing and increasingly urgent issues are eloquently addressed in a fascinating interplay of voices from both Africa and the West. Philosophy from Africa is the perfect guide to the fascinating world of African thought. (shrink)

In this paper I attempt to show how the African philosopher - Kwasi Wiredu - constructs an ethnic perspectival model of ethics from the structure of kinship relations found among the Akans of Ghana. The specifics of this structure generate a notion of particularity in morals, which is carried from its origins in civic society, through a process of contested dialogue, into civil society where it is validated as norm-setter in an actual public forum of debate. The dynamics of this (...) forum ensures that the renewal of tradition remains an ongoing process and that a participatory ethos remains ascendant. I hope that my interpretation and reconstruction of Wiredu is correct. I have not attempted to cover the entire picture of Akan ethics, but only that part of it which deals with members of Akan society, and not strangers. (shrink)

In this paper I attempt to show how the African philosopher - Kwasi Wiredu - constructs an ethnic perspectival model of ethics based on the structure of kinship relations found among the Akans of Ghana. The specifics of this structure generate a notion of particularity in morals, which is carried from its origins in civic society, through a process of contested dialogue, into civil society where it is validated as norm-setter in an actual public forum of debate. The dynamics of (...) this forum ensures that the renewal of tradition remains an ongoing process and that a participatory ethos remains ascendant. I hope that my interpretation and reconstruction of Wiredu is correct. I have not attempted to cover the entire picture of Akan ethics, but only that part of it which deals with members of Akan society, and not strangers. (shrink)

Leonhard Praeg’s A Report on Ubuntu is a clever, if dense, treatise about the potential of Ubuntu as an emancipatory concept in the context of adjudication because of its function as a persistent demand to re-ask the question: ‘what is justice?’. The book is a welcome defense of Ubuntu and a mesmerizing synthesis of existing literatures that, in combination, point to the transformative potential of Ubuntu as it may be deployed in adjudication in South African court cases. However, the ultimate (...) place and thrust of Ubuntu in this equation is not entirely apparent. While Praeg admits that this project is messy, some of the messiness, especially that brought about by material inequalities as opposed to epistemological differences, might be more helpfully brought to the fore. (shrink)

These are major excerpts from an interview that was conducted with Professor Kwasi Wiredu at Rhodes University during the 13th Annual Conference of The International Society for African Philosophy and Studies in 2007. He speaks on a wide range of issues such as political and personal identity, racism and tribalism, moral foundations, the Golden Rule, African communalism, human rights, personhood, consensus, meta-philosophy, amongst other critical themes.