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African Ethics: Human Being is Beautiful

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Stanley Anozie discusses Igbo Nigeria African ontology on the intrinsic being of a harmonious kind or / the beauty of life.

Image courtesy of interviewee. May 9, 2024

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This video video discusses an individual's exploration of African philosophy, particularly focusing on Igbo philosophy and the concept of personhood. The speaker expresses excitement about contributing to the understanding of African philosophy, highlighting the significance of cultural context in philosophical inquiry. They emphasize the necessity of engaging with different worldviews and the role of language as essential to comprehending a people's philosophy.

The notion of 'person' is central to their discussion, framed in the Igbo language as "M-M-A-D-U," which means "the beauty of life." The speaker argues that recognizing the interconnectedness of individuals within a community ("I am because we are") is crucial for understanding personal identity and ethics.

The speaker also explores the relationship between ontology (the study of being) and ethics, asserting that understanding what it means to be a person is vital for discussing moral conduct. They connect their research to themes of interculturality and epistemic decolonization, emphasizing the importance of recognizing the dignity and perspectives of others in a multicultural world. Overall, the speaker advocates for a deeper understanding of African philosophical traditions and their relevance to contemporary ethical discussions.

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The question about, you know, human right, a human being

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as beautiful in African philosophy is

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quite an interesting one.

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And it is my, you know, exciting journey to contribute

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to understanding African philosophy as much as possible.

00:15.825 --> 00:19.485
The evils of Nigeria, you consider them to be one

00:19.485 --> 00:21.445
of the tribes in Nigeria.

00:21.985 --> 00:25.885
So they, based on the current population analysis, is about,

00:26.265 --> 00:30.045
50 million people considering those

00:30.705 --> 00:34.565
Ebu men and women who reside outside of Nigeria

00:34.745 --> 00:36.405
as a geographical territory.

00:37.105 --> 00:41.805
So some people consider them in IBO language to be indeed

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or, you know, IBO people, as the case may be.

00:45.945 --> 00:47.925
And that is my focus of research.

00:48.705 --> 00:53.485
My context of research is on African tic philosophy.

00:53.915 --> 00:56.885
Some people have called that African philosophy.

00:57.385 --> 01:00.125
Uh, it will have different dimensions depend on

01:00.125 --> 01:01.325
where people are coming from.

01:01.455 --> 01:02.765
Especially for myself.

01:03.445 --> 01:06.285
I do think you can't really do philosophy without the

01:06.285 --> 01:08.005
context, which is the background

01:08.005 --> 01:09.325
where you are thinking from.

01:10.025 --> 01:11.565
I'm joking. I could,

01:11.595 --> 01:13.005
connect with what we're doing today.

01:13.245 --> 01:17.525
I am answering your questions from Boston, Massachusetts.

01:17.665 --> 01:20.285
So that becomes the contest of reflection.

01:20.745 --> 01:24.205
So also with philosophizing or thinking aloud

01:24.305 --> 01:26.725
or thinking about problems and concerns.

01:27.425 --> 01:30.885
Now the literature that really fascinated me in terms

01:31.265 --> 01:35.765
of my journey were works by, Panal

01:36.505 --> 01:39.805
Ibu, who was at the forefront of my philosophical journey,

01:40.235 --> 01:43.045
what he calls the aim of philosophy,

01:43.225 --> 01:47.405
the aim he used the IBO word, KPIM,

01:47.745 --> 01:50.765
to suggest that which is the substance of all things.

01:50.915 --> 01:52.885
What is it that is most important?

01:53.235 --> 01:55.005
What is at the foundation of everything?

01:55.275 --> 01:58.485
Another scholar that caught my attention was Chen Chair.

01:58.485 --> 02:01.725
These things fall apart even though it's a fictional

02:01.725 --> 02:04.685
narrative, but it encapsulated the concept

02:05.145 --> 02:07.045
of African historical condition

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that affected whether you think about it from the

02:10.325 --> 02:12.605
philosophical or theological, economic,

02:13.045 --> 02:16.165
spiritual journey here within the context of the world.

02:16.425 --> 02:19.285
So these are the basic books that cut my attention

02:19.665 --> 02:24.205
and motivated my research, my work coming within the contest

02:24.425 --> 02:27.885
of humanistic philosophy as well as what Europeans consider

02:27.885 --> 02:29.765
to be continental philosophy.

02:30.305 --> 02:32.125
Uh, first of all, you know,

02:32.125 --> 02:34.685
when I'm thinking about African philosophy

02:34.785 --> 02:36.565
or African tic philosophy,

02:36.665 --> 02:38.525
I'm thinking about interpretation.

02:39.145 --> 02:41.565
I'm thinking about discuss philosophy.

02:41.745 --> 02:44.765
I'm thinking about engaging in the dialect, dialectics

02:44.765 --> 02:48.085
of conversation with people from other, you know,

02:48.095 --> 02:49.565
world co world views

02:49.665 --> 02:52.445
or cultural world, whether they're European scholars,

02:52.445 --> 02:54.085
whether they're Asian scholars,

02:54.155 --> 02:56.485
whether they're even African scholars

02:56.505 --> 02:58.605
who may not be at home with the philosophical

02:58.605 --> 03:00.805
Traditions of their own people.

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So this is the context of my work.

03:04.285 --> 03:08.205
I do argue that you can't really talk about metaphysics

03:08.205 --> 03:11.205
or ethics of a people without understanding

03:11.235 --> 03:12.725
what is going on within that culture.

03:13.025 --> 03:15.325
And this is where hermetics becomes important,

03:15.735 --> 03:19.485
especially within the gamian, hence Gu Gama tradition,

03:19.735 --> 03:23.205
which is about fusion of horizons, fusion

03:23.625 --> 03:27.245
of perspectives, and, recognizing our biases

03:27.905 --> 03:29.845
or prejudices as the case may be,

03:30.185 --> 03:33.205
and then be able to stay on with the positive biases

03:33.515 --> 03:36.245
that are important in understanding the other person.

03:37.025 --> 03:39.925
The idea of the notion of the person as the beauty

03:39.985 --> 03:44.765
of life emanates from going to the language of the people.

03:45.425 --> 03:49.125
You know, someone like Ingo talks about the importance

03:49.125 --> 03:52.245
of language in understanding the other as the memory

03:52.345 --> 03:55.005
of the people or the reserve of the research

03:55.145 --> 03:56.365
or the wealth of the people.

03:56.745 --> 04:01.005
And so this is important if one is to understand the

04:01.585 --> 04:04.845
IBO philosophy in the context African philosophy,

04:04.985 --> 04:07.725
the concept of what it means to be a person is important.

04:08.025 --> 04:12.885
And so in IBO language, the person is said

04:13.145 --> 04:15.285
to be du

04:15.925 --> 04:19.965
M-M-A-D-U-M-M-A-D-U, meaning

04:20.625 --> 04:22.685
the beauty of life.

04:22.945 --> 04:27.125
And it's important here to suggest that if human beings are

04:27.665 --> 04:30.845
the beauty of life, it is important to see

04:30.845 --> 04:34.205
that we can get a lot more done within the African

04:34.205 --> 04:38.205
philosophical tradition in terms of seeing who we are.

04:38.475 --> 04:39.805
When you know who you are,

04:40.075 --> 04:42.125
then it will help you determine the purpose

04:42.185 --> 04:45.645
of one's existence and how to go about accomplishing that.

04:45.875 --> 04:49.565
Another thing that is important there in relation to model

04:49.785 --> 04:54.085
as the beauty of life is this idea that ma

04:55.065 --> 04:59.005
the other person is a peace and parcel of you.

04:59.475 --> 05:04.405
Your being in the world is a being in the we form, so

05:04.405 --> 05:07.565
to say the belongingness of a community.

05:08.365 --> 05:11.885
I am because we are, because we are,

05:12.315 --> 05:14.525
therefore I am that kind of narrative.

05:14.745 --> 05:17.245
And I do think that is important in understanding

05:17.315 --> 05:20.325
what it means to be a person, ontologically, as well as

05:20.325 --> 05:23.205
what it means to be a person from the ethics point of view

05:23.585 --> 05:25.325
of, relationship.

05:25.875 --> 05:28.925
When you, in philosophy, when we use the concept

05:28.985 --> 05:32.885
of ontology, some people also use it as metaphysics.

05:32.885 --> 05:36.965
You're talking about the science of being, what a theme is,

05:37.715 --> 05:41.005
what it is as against what it is not to know

05:41.005 --> 05:44.285
what a theme is, is about the ontology, the beingness

05:45.145 --> 05:46.645
to be what Athe is.

05:47.145 --> 05:49.805
And Aristotle, you know, in terms

05:49.805 --> 05:52.885
of Greek philosophy was very,

05:53.205 --> 05:54.925
prominent in making this distinction.

05:55.195 --> 05:59.325
What Athene is is important in understanding what it is

05:59.705 --> 06:01.085
as against what it is not.

06:01.265 --> 06:05.485
And he also said something like this as a being is so what?

06:05.485 --> 06:09.565
That being act. So understanding ontology, what question

06:10.105 --> 06:14.765
is central to understanding ethics, how the being has

06:14.765 --> 06:16.045
to conduct itself.

06:16.265 --> 06:18.325
And so that becomes the high question.

06:18.585 --> 06:21.965
And so if you were to relate this in terms of the purpose

06:21.985 --> 06:25.565
of lytics, cross pollination of ideas, what

06:25.705 --> 06:28.445
or how the Europeans look at ontology and ethics

06:28.665 --> 06:32.885
and apply it to Ebo, the lytics of African philosophy

06:32.885 --> 06:37.765
of person, the model becomes an ontological question.

06:38.195 --> 06:40.085
What does it mean to be a person?

06:40.745 --> 06:44.565
And then how that person interconnects with the beingness

06:44.565 --> 06:47.805
of other people, which will now, get into the idea

06:47.865 --> 06:51.205
of interpersonal relationship, interpersonal engagement,

06:51.245 --> 06:54.325
encountering the other, the quality of that encounter,

06:54.455 --> 06:57.005
which is at the heart of what ethics is all about.

06:57.465 --> 07:02.045
My current research is kind of connected with this idea of,

07:02.145 --> 07:05.685
African philosophy, African ethics, as well

07:05.685 --> 07:07.245
as this idea of belongingness.

07:07.665 --> 07:10.285
Uh, but centrally I'm connecting with the question

07:10.285 --> 07:14.845
of interculturality as epistemic decolonization through,

07:15.305 --> 07:16.965
appropriate nude.

07:17.425 --> 07:19.365
You know, what does it mean to have a,

07:19.505 --> 07:21.125
to live in a multicultural world

07:21.145 --> 07:22.805
or what you may call interculturality?

07:23.185 --> 07:26.085
It means that we have to recognize the dignity of the other,

07:26.105 --> 07:27.285
the philosophical perspective

07:27.345 --> 07:30.965
or horizons of the other in order to be able

07:31.025 --> 07:33.245
to get along without that,

07:33.245 --> 07:36.565
living in the world becomes really a challenge.

07:36.665 --> 07:40.485
And so that is the dimension of my current research.

00:00 - The question about, you know, human right, a human being as beautiful in African philosophy is quite an interesting one. And it is my, you know, exciting journey to contribute to understanding African philosophy as much as possible. The evils of Nigeria, you consider them to be one

00:19 - of the tribes in Nigeria. So they, based on the current population analysis, is about, 50 million people considering those Ebu men and women who reside outside of Nigeria as a geographical territory. So some people consider them in IBO language to be indeed or, you know, IBO people, as the case may be. And that is my focus of research. My context of research is on African tic philosophy. Some people have called that African philosophy.

00:57 - it will have different dimensions depend on where people are coming from. Especially for myself. I do think you can't really do philosophy without the context, which is the background where you are thinking from. I'm joking. I could, connect with what we're doing today. I am answering your questions from Boston, Massachusetts. So that becomes the contest of reflection.

01:20 - So also with philosophizing or thinking aloud or thinking about problems and concerns. Now the literature that really fascinated me in terms of my journey were works by, Panal Ibu, who was at the forefront of my philosophical journey, what he calls the aim of philosophy, the aim he used the IBO word, KPIM, to suggest that which is the substance of all things. What is it that is most important? What is at the foundation of everything?

01:55 - Another scholar that caught my attention was Chen Chair. These things fall apart even though it's a fictional narrative, but it encapsulated the concept of African historical condition that affected whether you think about it from the philosophical or theological, economic, spiritual journey here within the context of the world. So these are the basic books that cut my attention and motivated my research, my work coming within the contest of humanistic philosophy as well as what Europeans consider

02:27 - to be continental philosophy. first of all, you know, when I'm thinking about African philosophy or African tic philosophy, I'm thinking about interpretation. I'm thinking about discuss philosophy. I'm thinking about engaging in the dialect, dialectics of conversation with people from other, you know, world co world views or cultural world, whether they're European scholars,

02:52 - whether they're Asian scholars, whether they're even African scholars who may not be at home with the philosophical Traditions of their own people. So this is the context of my work. I do argue that you can't really talk about metaphysics or ethics of a people without understanding what is going on within that culture. And this is where hermetics becomes important, especially within the gamian, hence Gu Gama tradition,

03:19 - which is about fusion of horizons, fusion of perspectives, and, recognizing our biases or prejudices as the case may be, and then be able to stay on with the positive biases that are important in understanding the other person. The idea of the notion of the person as the beauty of life emanates from going to the language of the people. You know, someone like Ingo talks about the importance of language in understanding the other as the memory of the people or the reserve of the research

03:55 - or the wealth of the people. And so this is important if one is to understand the IBO philosophy in the context African philosophy, the concept of what it means to be a person is important. And so in IBO language, the person is said to be du M-M-A-D-U-M-M-A-D-U, meaning the beauty of life. And it's important here to suggest that if human beings are the beauty of life, it is important to see

04:30 - that we can get a lot more done within the African philosophical tradition in terms of seeing who we are. When you know who you are, then it will help you determine the purpose of one's existence and how to go about accomplishing that. Another thing that is important there in relation to model as the beauty of life is this idea that ma the other person is a peace and parcel of you. Your being in the world is a being in the we form, so to say the belongingness of a community.

05:08 - I am because we are, because we are, therefore I am that kind of narrative. And I do think that is important in understanding what it means to be a person, ontologically, as well as what it means to be a person from the ethics point of view of, relationship. When you, in philosophy, when we use the concept of ontology, some people also use it as metaphysics. You're talking about the science of being, what a theme is, what it is as against what it is not to know

05:41 - what a theme is, is about the ontology, the beingness to be what Athe is. And Aristotle, you know, in terms of Greek philosophy was very, prominent in making this distinction. What Athene is is important in understanding what it is as against what it is not. And he also said something like this as a being is so what? That being act. So understanding ontology, what question is central to understanding ethics, how the being has

06:14 - to conduct itself. And so that becomes the high question. And so if you were to relate this in terms of the purpose of lytics, cross pollination of ideas, what or how the Europeans look at ontology and ethics and apply it to Ebo, the lytics of African philosophy of person, the model becomes an ontological question. What does it mean to be a person? And then how that person interconnects with the beingness of other people, which will now, get into the idea

06:47 - of interpersonal relationship, interpersonal engagement, encountering the other, the quality of that encounter, which is at the heart of what ethics is all about. My current research is kind of connected with this idea of, African philosophy, African ethics, as well as this idea of belongingness. but centrally I'm connecting with the question of interculturality as epistemic decolonization through, appropriate nude. You know, what does it mean to have a,

07:19 - to live in a multicultural world or what you may call interculturality? It means that we have to recognize the dignity of the other, the philosophical perspective or horizons of the other in order to be able to get along without that, living in the world becomes really a challenge. And so that is the dimension of my current research.

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