The Ethics of African Societies and Western Industrial Nations - Essay Example

This chapter occurs in the middle section of a book which places a great deal of emphasis on African ethics. One big difference between the ethics of African societies, and that of Western Industrial nations, is there is less reliance on formal written laws, with all the structures of courts and prisons, and much more reliance on the ability of groups to regulate their affairs on a case by case basis, involving the elders of a group talking things over and weighing up issues. This is a very important distinction, because it elevates certain individuals to a position of responsibility within the community, and requires them to hold in their memories all the values and traditions of the group.

Culture, laws, and history are traditionally preserved through oral means, which entails a lot of reciting of material, and listening, as well as ritual performances of various kinds which serve to remind those present of essential underlying principles which are used to pass judgment on particular cases. Another major difference between Western and African ways is that societal groups in Africa are usually very much smaller scale, so people know those who are leaders, and have some sort of relationship through kinship with them. Hereditary social structures create bonds that last over generations and ensure certain stability in society. Ancestor worship is an extension of the strong ties that exist within and between clans and tribes in the present time. The whole system is hierarchical, with each layer courting the approval of the one above, from the king or chief at the top right down to the family unit where the child is subordinate to the father.

The main values of African societies are “good company, dignity, display, decency, and wisdom,” (Magesa, 1997, p. 258), and these are embodied in the leaders in a system that the author calls “relative gerontocracy” (Magesa, 1997, p. 265) Conflict resolution is done in a consultative way, with several people sitting in judgment, and an audience listening to complaints and defenses. By making the preservation of human life the main point of moral behavior, Magesa argues that African societies emphasize making amends, with a view to reconciliation rather than punishment and any abstract sense of justice. The presence of wars and raids on the property of neighboring groups can be justified in terms of the preservation of the well-being of the group who is carrying out the proposed activity, or criticized in terms of those who suffer loss. (Magesa, 1997, pp. 271-272)

The chapter illustrates how religion, politics, and ethics are intertwined in African societies, and how this further affects attitudes to property, which can be owned or shared in a community, according to certain rules which maintain the preservation of the group as a whole as being more important than the needs of the person. Read More