Filosofia Theoretica: Journal of African Philosophy, Culture and Religions

Necroscapes of social control and the medical philosophy of interment in Cameroon: A study of PfenəMbvɨmə in Kedjom-Keku

Louis Aghogah Wihbongale, Olukayode A. Faleye — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The discourse on death and many indigenous African mortuary practices have received critical attention and scholarship. However, little attention has been paid to indigenous African burial practices in relation to public health, disease and crime control. This article explores how forms and causes of death determine social control systems and medical philosophies of interment in Cameroon. The paper focuses on the philosophical foundations birthing the PfenəMbvɨmə (the bottomless burial site) in Kedjom-Keku. Using critical analysis of oral interviews, archival records and extant literature, we unveil how burial practices have contributed to the philosophy of medicine and history of social change in Cameroon.

“Xenophobia and its Implications for Social Order in Africa”: A rejoinder to Lanre-Abass and Oguh

Ncha Gabriel Buhu — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Xenophobia is a topical issue in contemporary discourses. Questions have been raised on how to solve this menace. For example, different writers and scholars have made efforts to provide solutions to the problem. In this rejoinder, I will engage with Bolatito Lanre-Abass and Matthew Oguh in their paper published in Filosofia Theoretica vol. 5, No. 1 January – June, 2016. These scholars share their views concerning xenophobia in Africa. However, in their attempt to find a solution to the problem, certain arguments and terms were used, which I find unconvincing. I will, therefore, raise three objections to the work: (1) conception of xenophobia (2) tolerance as the solution and (3) the idea of the “other” as used by the authors in the work. I will propose a different solution to xenophobia in Africa, which involves internalizing certain ethical principles.

Exploring African Agrarianism

Nde Paul Ade — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

African Agrarian philosophy encompasses the peculiar worldview, beliefs, norms and values that characterize traditional agricultural practices in Africa. Deeply enshrined in a profound connection to the land and a deep respect for nature, African Agrarianism can be deemed as a holistic approach to farming that globes spiritual, environmental and cultural considerations with practical strategies. This paper portrays the profound interconnection among humans, plants, land, animals and nature, emphasizing the value of maintaining interconnected and friendly links with all other living beings. I argue that humans are not merely separated from land (nature) but are an integral part of a greater web of relations. I demonstrate that human interconnection shapes the agricultural practices of traditional African farmers, directing them to work harmoniously with nature rather than attempting to suppress, dominate, or exploit it. This method is reflected in spiritual rituals involving activities like planting and harvesting, deemed as avenues to show deep respect for land and its values. The communal approach involving collective effort and the entire community reflects mutual assistance, harmony, solidarity and propagates the idea according to which the wellbeing of both the land and the community are interwoven. I conclude that traditional farming techniques should be revisited since they are more environmentally preferable (friendly) and harmonious with the ecosystems. African farmers are expected to readopt traditional farming methods and to scrupulously respect natural seasons, practice crop rotation, soil preservation and other techniques in order to ensure a healthier land for present and subsequent generations.

A critique of Metz’s relational economics in Africa through Marxist political economy

Peter Mwipikeni — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Underdevelopment and poverty are some of the ongoing problems afflicting Africa. Metz diagnoses excessive individualism as one of the main problems that undermines development globally. He does not regard capitalism as the main problem. Metz’s reformist relational economics provides remedies that seek to eliminate excessive individualism by incorporating communal values into the global capitalistic system. On the other hand, Marxist scholars regard underdevelopment and poverty as effects of the intrinsic structural faults of the global capitalist system. These faults include imperialism, primitive accumulation, the creation of a permanent surplus population, and the transfer of value from the Global South to the Global North. In this paper, I use the views of Samir Amin, Michelle Yates, and Rosa Luxemburg to show the limitations of Metz’s reformist relational economics. This paper seeks to use Marxist political economy to contribute knowledge about the plausibility of integrating the global capitalist system with Afro-communal values.

Environmental challenges and the place of African relational environmental ethics of Unhu/Ubuntu

Munamato Chemhuru — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Questions on understanding the connections between human beings and the natural environment have generally been addressed extensively. However, more effort still needs to be made to augment such research by considering how to further understand human-environment connections from ethical perspectives. In this work, I consider how the human-environment relationship might be approached differently by appealing to some underexplored relational values of existence that are salient in the African philosophy of unhu/ubuntu. I argue why these values of unhu/ubuntu ought to be relevant to environmental challenges currently facing the world. After considering some of the implications of the current environmental crisis for the environment and human beings, I will explore what environmental ethical intuitions might be drawn from the African relational ethical view based on unhu/ubuntu. In the end, I argue that an appeal to African ethics of unhu/ubuntu ought to be taken seriously in terms of its implications for the ontological connectedness, communality, relationality, harmonious and intergenerational co-existence between different beings. Ultimately, I show how ubuntu can function as the basis for an environmental philosophy for Africa and elsewhere as I consider some of the environmental challenges facing the world.