Ubuntu and the Environment

  • Edwin Etieyibo
Chapter
First Online:

Abstract

Some have argued that Ubuntu is anthropocentric and that given this ethic and worldview it is unable to promote the ethics of environmental sustainability. In this chapter, Etieyibo pursues two general lines of thought. Firstly, the chapter argues that there is a sense in which Ubuntu can be taken to espouse a non-anthropocentric ethic and worldview. On this interpretation, the criticism that Ubuntu does not enhance the protection of the environment can be construed as misguided. Secondly, Etieyibo argues that even if one assumes that Ubuntu is an anthropocentric ethic and worldview, the values that flow from it foster a better attitude towards the environment and protect it much more robustly than those that flow from the present dominant “Western” individualistic system of capitalism.

Keywords

Ubuntu Anthropocentrism Environment Environmental sustainability Worldview Capitalism, communitarianism, african philosophy Ethics Ontology Values 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Attfield, Robin. 2003. Environmental Ethics: An Overview for the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
  2. Battle, Michael. 2009. Ubuntu: I in You and You in Me. New York: Seabury Books.Google Scholar
  3. Behrens, Kevin. 2010. Exploring African Holism with Respect to the Environment. Environmental Values 19 (4): 465–484.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Behrens, Kevin. 2017. The Imperative of Developing African Eco-Philosophy. In Themes, Issues and Problems in African Philosophy, ed. I.E. Ukpokolo‚ 191–204. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
  5. Bhengu, Mfuniselwa J. 1996. Ubuntu: The Essence of Democracy. Cape Town: Novalis Press.Google Scholar
  6. Bowers, C.A. 2008. Toward a Post-Industrial Consciousness: Understanding the Linguistic Basis of Ecologically Sustainable Educational Reforms. https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/7411. Accessed 21 Aug 2016.
  7. Broodryk, Johann. 1994. Ubuntuism as Doctrine for the ordering of Society. Tshwane: Ubuntu School of Philosophy.Google Scholar
  8. Broodryk, Johann. 1995. Is Ubutuism Unique? In Decolonizing the Mind, ed. J.G. Malherbe, 31–37. Pretoria: Research Unit for African Philosophy, UNISA.Google Scholar
  9. Broodryk, Johann. 1988. Ubuntuism: Philosophy of the New South Africa. Tshwane: Ubuntu School of Philosophy.Google Scholar
  10. Bujo, Benezet. 1998. The Ethical Dimension of Community. Nairobi: Paulines Publications.Google Scholar
  11. Burck, Jan, et al. 2012. The Climate Change Performance Index: Results. www.germanwatch.org/ccpi. Accessed 21 Dec 2012.
  12. Callicott, J. 1994. Earth’s Insights: A Survey of Ecological Ethics from the Mediterranean Basin to the Australian Outback. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
  13. Climate Central. 2015. 10 Warmest Years on Record Globally. http://www.climatecentral.org/gallery/graphics/10-warmest-years-globally. Accessed 30 May 2016.
  14. Cook, J., et al. 2013. Quantifying the Consensus on Anthropogenic Global Warming in the Scientific Literature. Environmental Research Letters 8: 024024.Google Scholar
  15. Crane, Diane. 2010. Environmental Change and the Future of Consumption: Implications for Consumer Identity. Anuario Filosofico 43 (2): 353–379.Google Scholar
  16. D’Amato, Anthony. 1990. Do We Owe a Duty to Future Generations to Preserve the Global Environment? The American Journal of International Law 84 (1): 190–198.Google Scholar
  17. De Beer, F. 1995. Ubuntu and Community Development. Tshwane: Ubuntu School of Philosophy.Google Scholar
  18. De-Shalit, Avner. 1995. Why Posterity Matters: Environmental Policies and Future Generations. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
  19. Desjardins, Joseph R. 2006. Environmental Ethics: An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy. Boston, MA: Wadsworth.Google Scholar
  20. Ekwealo, Chigbo. 2012. Metaphysical Background to Igbo Environmental Ethics. Environmental Ethics 34 (3): 265–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Enslin, Penny, and Kai Horsthemke. 2004. Can Ubuntu Provide a Model for Citizenship Education in African Democracies? Comparative Education 40 (4): 545–558.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Etieyibo, Edwin. 2011a. The Ethical Dimension of Ubuntu and its Relationship to Environmental Sustainability. Journal of African Environmental Ethics and Values 1 (1): 116–130.Google Scholar
  23. Etieyibo, Edwin. 2011b. Environmental Justice, Population, Consumerism, and Redistribution of Resources. In Environmental Justice, Restoration and Sustainability in Africa Conference, June 30–July 2. Lagos: University of Lagos.Google Scholar
  24. Etieyibo, Edwin. 2014. Psychophysical Harmony in an African Context. In Symposium on the The Metabolism of the Social Brain, October 25–26, Berlin: Akademie der Künste.Google Scholar
  25. Etieyibo, Edwin. 2017. Anthropocentricism, African Metaphysical Worldview, and Animal Practices: A Reply to Kai Horsthemke. Journal of Animal Ethics 7 (2): 145–162.Google Scholar
  26. Gardner, Gary, Erik Assadourian, and Radhika Sarin. 2008. The State of Consumption Today. In Environmental Ethics: Readings in Theory and Application, 5th ed, ed. Louis P. Pojman, and Paul Pojman. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.Google Scholar
  27. Gerland, P., et al. 2014. World Population Stabilization Unlikely this Century. Science 346 (6202): 234–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Global Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity 1961–2007. 2010. Global Environment Outlook, 2010 ed. www.footprintnetwork.org/atlas.
  29. Global Humanitarian Forum. 2009. Human Impact Report: Climate Change: The Anatomy of a Silent Crisis. Geneva. http://www.ghf-ge.org/human-impact-report.pdf. http://www.climatecentral.org/gallery/graphics/10-warmest-years-globally. Accessed 25 Jan 2016.
  30. Goduka, M.I., and Swadener, B.B. 1999. Affirming Unity in Diversity in Education: Healing with Ubuntu. Cape Town: Juta & Co.Google Scholar
  31. Goodland, Robert. 1995. The Concept of Environmental Sustainability. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 26: 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Hellweg, Stefanie, Hofstetter, Thomas, B., and Hungerbuhler, Konrad. 2003. Discounting and the Environment Should Current Impacts Be Weighted Differently than Impacts Harming Future Generations? The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 8 (1): 8–18.Google Scholar
  33. Horsthemke, Kai. 2015. Animals and African Ethics. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Ijiomah, C.O. 2006. An excavation of Logic in African Worldview. African Journal of Religion, Culture and Society 1 (1): 29–35.Google Scholar
  35. International Union for Conservation of Nature. 2010. Why is Biodiversity in Crisis? http://www.iucn.org/iyb/about/biodiversity_crisis/. Accessed 7 Oct 2012.
  36. IPCC. 2014. Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC: Geneva.Google Scholar
  37. Izibili, Matthew. 2005. Environmental Ethics: An Urgent Imperative. In Kpim of Morality Ethics, ed. Pantaleon Iroegbu and A. Echekwube, 383–390. Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books.Google Scholar
  38. Kant, Immanuel. (1785) 1998. Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, ed. Mary J. Gregor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  39. Kaplan, S. 2015. Earth is on the Brink of a Sixth Mass Extinction, Scientists Say, and it’s Humans’ Fault. Washington Post, June 22. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/22/the-earth-is-on-the-brink-of-a-sixth-mass-extinction-scientists-say-and-its-humans-fault/. Accessed 8 Nov 2015.
  40. Karsten, Luchien, and Illa, Honorine. 2001. Ubuntu as a Management Concept. Quest: An African Journal of Philosophy, Secial Issue: African Renaissance and Ubuntu Philosophy, edited by Pieter Boele Van Hensbroek 15 (1–2): 91–112.Google Scholar
  41. Kelbessa, Workineh. 2005. The Rehabilitation of Indigenous Environmental Ethics in Africa. Diogenes 52: 17–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  42. Kelbessa, Workineh. 2011. Indigenous and Modern Environmental Ethics: A Study of the Indigenous Oromo Environmental Ethic and Modern Issues of Environment and Development. Washington, DC: The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy.Google Scholar
  43. Kelbessa, Workineh. 2014. Can African Environmental Ethics Contribute to Environmental Policy in Africa? Environmental Ethics 36 (1): 31–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  44. Kenrick, J. 2009. Commons Thinking. In The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy: Skills for a Changing World, ed. A. Stibbe, 51–57. Devon: Green Books Ltd.Google Scholar
  45. Koka, Kgalushi K. 1997. Ubuntu: People’s Humanness. Tshwane: Ubuntu School of Philosophy.Google Scholar
  46. Lebow, Victor. 1995. Price Competition in 1955. Journal of Retailing 30 (1): 5–10.Google Scholar
  47. Leopold, Aldo. 1949. A Sand County Almanac. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  48. Lewandowsky, S., et al. 2015. Recurrent Fury: Conspiratorial Discourse in the Blogosphere Triggered by Research on the Role of Conspiricist Ideation in Climate Denial. Journal of Social and Political Psychology 3 (1): 142–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  49. Light, A. 2002. Contemporary Environmental Ethics. Metaphilosophy 33: 426–448.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  50. Louw, J. Dirk. 2001. Ubuntu and the Challenges of Multiculturalism in Post-Apartheid South Africa. Quest: An African Journal of Philosophy, Special Issue: African Renaissance and Ubuntu Philosophy, edited by Pieter Boele Van Hensbroek 15(1–2): 15–36.Google Scholar
  51. Mangena, Fainos. 2009. Dismantling ‘Reason-Based Moral Status,’ in Environmental Ethics. http://ir.uz.ac.zw/jspui/handle/10646/619. Accessed 1 July 2014.
  52. Masolo, Dismas A. 1994. African Philosophy in Search of Identity. Bloomington: Indiana University.Google Scholar
  53. Mbigi, Lovemore. 1995. Ubuntu: A Rainbow Celebration of Cultural Diversity. Pretoria: Ubuntu School of Philosophy.Google Scholar
  54. Mbigi, Lovemore, and J. Maree. 1995. Ubuntu: The Spirit of African Transformation Management. Knowledge Resources: Randburg.Google Scholar
  55. Mbiti, John. 1970. African Religions and Philosophies. New York: Doubleday.Google Scholar
  56. McCay, B.J., and J.M. Acheson. 1987. Human Ecology of the Commons. In The Question of the Commons: The Culture and Ecology of Communal Resources, ed. B.J. McCay, and J.M. Acheson, 1–34. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.Google Scholar
  57. Metz, Thaddeus. 2007. Toward an African Moral Theory. Journal of Political Philosophy 15 (3): 321–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  58. Metz, Thaddeus. 2010. Human Dignity, Capital Punishment, and an African Moral Theory. Journal of Human Rights 9: 81–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  59. Metz, Thaddeus. 2011. Ubuntu as a Moral Theory and Human Rights in South Africa. African Human Rights Law Journal 11 (2): 532–559.Google Scholar
  60. Metz, Thaddeus. 2012. Developing African Political Philosophy: Moral-Theoretic Strategies. Philosophia Africana 14: 61–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  61. Metz, Thaddeus. 2017. How to Ground Animal Rights on African Values: Reply to Horsthemke. Journal of Animal Ethics 7 (2): 163–174.Google Scholar
  62. Middlemiss, Lucie. 2010. Reframing Individual Responsibility for Sustainable Consumption: Lessons from Environmental Justice and Ecological Citizenship. Environmental Values 19 (2): 147–167.Google Scholar
  63. Mkhize, N. 2008. Ubuntu and Harmony: An African Approach to Morality and Ethics. In Persons in Community: African Ethics in a Global Culture, ed. R. Nicolson, 35–44. Scottsville: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press.Google Scholar
  64. Murove, Munyaradzi Felix. 2004. An African Commitment to Ecological Conservation: The Shona Concepts of Ukama and Ubuntu. Mankind Quarterly 45: 195–215.Google Scholar
  65. Ndaba, W.J. 1994. Ubuntu in Comparison to Western Philosophies. Pretoria: Ubuntu School of Philosophy.Google Scholar
  66. Nnamani, Amuluche. 2005. Ethics of the Environment. In Kpim of Morality Ethics, ed. Pantaleon Iroegbu, and A. Echekwube, 391–408. Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books.Google Scholar
  67. Nussbaum, Barbara. 2003. Ubuntu: Reflections of a South African on Our Common Humanity. Reflections, the Society for Organizational Learning and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4 (4): 21–26.Google Scholar
  68. O’Neill, J. 1993. Future Generations: Present Harms. Philosophy 68: 35–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  69. Obiajulu, Mulumba I. 2015. The Question of Moral Paradigm in African Philosophy: A Case for Communocentric Ethics. In Atuolu Omolu: Some Unanswered Questions in Contemporary African Philosophy, ed. Jonathan O. Chimakonam, 53–67. Lanham: University Press of America.Google Scholar
  70. Ogbonnaya, Lucky. 2018 Forthcoming. Between the Ontology and Logic Criteria of African Philosophy. In Method, Substance and the Future of African Philosophy, ed. Edwin Etieyibo. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
  71. Ogungbemi, Segun. 1997. An African Perspective on the Environmental Crisis. In Environmental Ethics: Readings in Theory and Application, ed. Louis J. Pojman. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.Google Scholar
  72. Opoku, K. 1993. African Traditional Religion: An Enduring Heritage. In Religious Plurality in Africa, ed. Jacob Olupona, and Sulayman Nyang. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
  73. Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban, and Roser, Max. 2016. World Population Growth. https://ourworldindata.org/world-population-growth/. Accessed 24 Sept 2016.
  74. Onyewuenyi, Innocent. 1991. Is There an African Philosophy? In African Philosophy: The Essential Readings, ed. Tsenay Serequeberhan. 29–46. New York: Paragon.Google Scholar
  75. Oyowe, Anthony. 2013. Strange Bedfellows: Rethinking Ubuntu and Human Rights in South Africa. African Human Rights Law Journal 13: 103–124.Google Scholar
  76. Palmer, C. 2003. An Overview of Environmental Ethics. In Environmental Ethics, ed. A. Light and Rolston, Holmes III, 15–37. Malden: Blackwell.Google Scholar
  77. Partridge, Ernest. 1980. Responsibilities to Future Generations: Environmental Ethics. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.Google Scholar
  78. Partridge, Ernest. 2003. Future Generations. In The Environmental Ethics and Policy Book, ed. D. Van DeVeer, and C. Pierce. Belmont: Wadsworth.Google Scholar
  79. Prinsloo, E.D. 1994. Ubuntu. In Search of a Definition. Ubuntu School of Philosophy: Pretoria.Google Scholar
  80. Prinsloo, E.D. 1995. Ubuntu from a Eurocentric and Afrocentric Perspective and Its Influence on Leadership. Tshwane: Ubuntu School of Philosophy.Google Scholar
  81. Prinsloo, E.D. 1997. The Ubuntu Concept of Caring. Tshwane: Ubuntu School of Philosophy.Google Scholar
  82. Prinsloo, E.D. 1998. Ubuntu Culture and Participatory Management. In Philosophy from Africa: A Text with Readings, ed. P.H. Coetzee and A.P.J. Roux, 41–55. Johannesburg: ITP.Google Scholar
  83. Ramose, Mogobe. 2002. African Philosophy Through Ubuntu, rev. ed. Harare: Mond.Google Scholar
  84. Rolston, Holmes III. 1990. Science-Based Versus Traditional Ethics. In Ethics of Environment and Development: Global Challenge, International Response, ed. J.R. Engel and J.B. Engel, 63–72. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.Google Scholar
  85. Roser, Max. 2015. World Population Growth. http://ourworldindata.org/data/population-growth-vital-statistics/world-population-growth/. Accessed 19 Dec 2016.
  86. Routley, R. 1973. Is There a Need for a New Environmental Ethic? In Proceedings of the 15th World Congress of Philosophy, 1. Sophia: Sophia Press.Google Scholar
  87. Schneider, S.H., et al. 2007. Assessing Key Vulnerabilities and the Risk from Climate Change. In Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, ed. M.L. Parry, et al. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  88. Sindane, Jabu. 1994. Ubuntu and Nation Building. Tshwane: Ubuntu School of Philosophy.Google Scholar
  89. Sindima, Harvey. 1990. Community of Life. In Liberating Life, ed. C. Birch et al. Maryknoll: Orbis.Google Scholar
  90. Smith, J.B., et al. 2001. Vulnerability to Climate Change and Reasons for Concern: A Synthesis, Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, IPCC. http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/tar/wg2/index.php?idp=657.
  91. Tangwa, Godfrey B. 2004. Some African Reflections on Biomedical and Environmental Ethics. In A Companion to African Philosophy, ed. Kwasi Wiredu, 387–395. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
  92. Teffo, Lesiba J. 1994a. The Concept of Ubuntu as a Cohesive Moral Value. Pretoria: Ubuntu School of Philosophy.Google Scholar
  93. Teffo, Lesiba J. 1994b. Towards a Conceptualization of Ubuntu. Pretoria: Ubuntu School of Philosophy.Google Scholar
  94. Teffo, Lesiba J., and Roux, A.P.J. 1998. Metaphysical Thinking in Africa. In Philosophy from Africa: A Text with Readings, ed. P.H. Coetzee and A.P.J. Roux, 134–148. Johannesburg: International Thomson Publishing Southern Africa.Google Scholar
  95. Tutu, Desmond. 1988. Sermon in Birmingham Cathedral, April 21, Transcript Published by the Committee for Black Affairs, Diocese of Birmingham.Google Scholar
  96. Tutu, Desmond. 1999. No Future Without Forgiveness. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
  97. Van Binsbergen, Wim. 2001. Ubuntu and the Globalization of Southern African Thought and Society. Quest: An African Journal of Philosophy, Special Issue: African Renaissance and Ubuntu Philosophy, edied by Pieter Boele Van Hensbroek 15 (1–2): 53–89.Google Scholar
  98. Weiss, Edith Brown. 1990. Our Rights and Obligations to Future Generations for the Environment. The American Journal of International Law 84 (1): 198–207.Google Scholar
  99. White, Lynn, Townsend Jr. 1967. The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis. Science 155: 1203–1207.Google Scholar
  100. World Wildlife Fund. 2008. Living Planet Report 2008. Global Footprint Network.Google Scholar
  101. World Wildlife Fund. 2010. Living Planet Report 2010, Ecological Footprint Atlas, Global Footprint Network.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© The Author(s) 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  • Edwin Etieyibo
    • 1
  1. 1.University of the WitwatersrandJohannesburgSouth Africa

Personalised recommendations