Ubuntu/Botho: Ideologie oder Versprechen?

Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie, vol. 68, pp. 928–942

Abstract

Abstract This article investigates the concept of Ubuntu/Botho as a possible foundation for an African moral theory. It departs from an analysis of the idea of “human personhood” as a basis for moral agency, which is controversially debated within African philosophy. This notion of personhood relies on an understanding of the mutual interdependence of human beings. As a next step, the author critically assesses the discursive function of Ubuntu/Botho in African societies and its misuse by political elites as ideological cover for exclusionary and violent practices. By way of conclusion, the article stresses restoration as a key value associated with African humanism based on Ubuntu/Botho.

Authors 1

1. Michael Onyebuchi Eze corresponding Aachen Institute for Philosophy, Postbus Institute for Philosophy

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden University, Institute for Philosophy , Postbus , RA Leiden , Niederlande

   Leiden University, Institute for Philosophy, Postbus 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, Niederlande