African Traditional Ethics for Environmental Sustainability

摘要

The importance of environmental sustainability cannot be overemphasized. But it has only recently gained traction in bioethics discourse in the West. Contributors to this traction include Pope Francis’ Encyclical, Laudatio Si', and the Paris Climate Change Conference. Conversely, environmental sustainability is ever present in African traditional ethics, albeit unrecognized in the Western discourse. Therefore, I concur with the African scholars that African traditional ethics is intrinsically orientated towards environmental sustainability, fostering the same values essential for sustainability. But I further argue that this sustainability is directed towards what I call the “cosmic communal good.” To achieve this aim, I outline the following traditional principles and concepts of African traditional ethics: relatedness of all things, cosmic harmony, the cosmic common good, life force (vitality), the interest of the future generation, and respect for the earth; and discuss how they relate to environmental sustainability. Hopefully, this paper contributes to the discourse and literature on environmental sustainability and amplifies the traditional African values and practices essential for the achievement of ecological sustainability.