BOOK REVIEW - AFRICAN COMMUNITARIAN ETHIC: THE BASIS FOR THE MORAL CONSCIENCE AND AUTONOMY OF THE INDIVIDUAL

Résumé

The centre of the debate on colonization is the recognition of the difference between the Western European way of life and that way of life in which the African feels at home. Europeans had thought that there was only one cultural destination for the entire human race, namely, the one that emerged from Western Europe. Unfortunately, Africans embraced this doctrine and the result is that, like their white counterparts, they now cast aspersion to their rich cultural heritage and they approach it with much levity and cynicism. The West claims superiority and absolutism even in questions of morals. On the controversial issue of moral autonomy, the question people ask is, who determines what is moral and ethical? What part do the individual and the community respectively play in this regard?