African Ethics - by Jonathan O Chimakonam & Luis Cordeiro-Rodrigues (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This is the first comprehensive exploration of African ethics covering everything from normative ethics and applied ethics, to meta-ethics and methodology, as well as the history of its evolution.

African Ethics provides an in-depth exploration of Ubuntu ethics which is defined as a set of values based on concepts such as reciprocity, mutual respect, and working towards the common good. Ubuntu ethics also strongly emphasize the place of human dignity. The book engages with both theory and practice and how these ethical ideas impact upon the actual lived experience of Africans.

It also includes important political considerations such as the impact of imperialism, colonialism, and capitalism on African ethics as well as the negative impact of apartheid and the renaissance made possible by the 'The Truth and Reconciliation Commission' whose work was premised heavily on African ethical ideas.

This book is not just a wide-ranging and incisive introduction but also a reformulation of key concepts and current debates in African ethics. Crucially, African Ethics is an inclusive text, one that speaks from an African perspective and contributes to the decolonizing of contemporary ethics.

Review Quotes

African Ethics is a thrilling contribution to Africana philosophy and contemporary ethics. This is a powerful scholarly collection that introduces systematic formulations of Africa's ethical norms dictating individual acts and communal practices. For decades African peoples, and their beliefs, have been the object of colonial postulations doubting the existence of ethical systems among African peoples. This book not only shows that Africans have developed ethical systems, but convincingly demonstrates the incompleteness of contemporary ethical thought. This text is a fantastic addition to Black philosophy, Africana Studies, and decolonial theory.

Tommy J. Curry, Professor of Philosophy and Chair of Africana Philosophy and Black Male Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK

In this fascinating and compendious collection of writings from different African ethical traditions the newcomer teacher, the student, and the seasoned researcher in African philosophy alike can look forward to an enriching read, exploring concepts and framework ideas, such as ubuntu, ukama, complementarity reflection, egbe bere ugo bere, and Afro-communitarianism.

Miranda Fricker, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, The Graduate Center CUNY, USA

About the Author

Jonathan O. Chimakonam is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, University of Pretoria, South Africa. He is the editor of Atuolu Omalu: Some Unanswered Questions in Contemporary African Philosophy (2015); African Philosophy and Environmental Conservation (2018) and African Philosophy and the Epistemic Marginalization of Women (2018).

Luis Cordeiro-Rodrigues is Associate Professor of philosophy at the Department of Philosophy, Hunan University, China. He is the editor of Animals, Race and Multiculturalism (2017), Philosophies of Multiculturalism (2019) and Comparative Just War Theory (2019).