Group welfare and interdependence overrides self-interest. Excessive expressions of selfinterest are morally unjustified. Within its context of interdependency, there is little emphasis in African
ethics upon individual rights. Instead, African ethics stresses duties, and these duties are to the entire
group as one collective body. Du- ties to family members are also duties to the community. Sharing food
with one’s neighbor is also sharing food with the whole group. At the same time, this does not mean
that matters of self-interest are totally absent. Indeed, African moral thought supports the notion that
each person must think critically for him- or herself. Each person must strive to achieve a level of
independence in this respect. Blind conformity to the group is discouraged as antithetical to ethical
behavior. Nevertheless, the good of the group supersedes the good of the individual. For instance, for
the Masai the ideal person is the nganyet, one who lives for others.15 Whatever will harm the group is
prohibited so that intervening with a per- son’s exercise of self-determination is justified if doing so
protects the group. Theologian John Mbiti’s classic statement, “I am because we are, and since we are,
therefore I am,” is a succinct summary of the African view of personal identity. Individual identity makes
little sense in and of itself. The person is defined in terms of his or her relationship within the fabric of
the community. In turn, the individual contributes to communal identity and well-being. Indeed, what
truly matters is the good of the community to which the individual belongs.
This means that moral action is not confined to individual behavior. The person is defined by
and defines the group. There is a necessary interrelational rapport between the individual and the
community, and this harmony establishes moral standards, principles, and rules. Therefore, ethics is not
so much a question of “What should I do?” but of “What should we do?” This is a fundamental starting
point in understanding African morality. Kwasi Wiredu makes this abundantly clear:
The integration of individuality into community in African traditional society is so thoroughgoing
that, as is too rarely noted, the very concept of a person has a normative layer of meaning. A per- son is
not just an individual of human parentage, but also one evincing (presenting) in his or her projects and
achievements an adequate sense of social responsibility.16
The community remains at the heart of moral concern. Exaggerating individual interests at the
expense of the community is a moral aberration. As we said earlier, African ethics emphasizes duties
and obligations within the web of relationships that persons find themselves. Adhering to these duties
will promote communal well-being.
This community-centered morality is further evident in the strong socialization process that
begins at childbirth. For instance, among the Yoruba, elderly women in the household act as midwives
and deliver the newborn, and for a period of time after the birth of her child, the mother’s only physical
contact with her newborn lies in breast-feeding. The baby is physically handled by other females in the
household—other mothers, other wives, sisters, and so on. All adult householders act as keepers and
guardians of the new child. As the child grows, other wives within the household as well as wives of
brothers and cousins play an active role in raising the child. And, more important, there is a shared
participation in the moral training of the child. It is imperative for adults in the household to correct the
child’s misbehavior as soon as it occurs. If the adults do not do so, they abdicate (give up) their moral
responsibility. As we will see below, elders in particular play a special role in the moral training of the
child.
A popular African proverb states: “It is the moral fault of the elder who refuses to admonish a
morally straying child, and it is the moral fault of the child who refuses to heed the moral admonishment
of the elder.” In his selection, Wiredu underscores the importance of constant correction and oversight
from adults: “The need for correction is an unending contingency in the lives of mortals.” African
cultures generally assign special moral weight to the teachings and instructions of the elders within the
community. The elders have the moral obligation to educate, hand down, and embody moral teachings
to all others.
Why are the elders assigned such prominent moral privilege? As a start, elders have lived life in
a fuller sense. They have borne the brunt of experiences both harsh and pleasant. They have gained the
wisdom in dealing especially with life’s obstacles and moral conflicts. They are thus able to provide for
others the kinds of practical lessons that are much more useful than abstract moral principles. It is this
real-life, matter-of-fact knowledge that elders in particular possess. African cultures thus place a
premium on practical wisdom and elders, through their own life experiences, have earned the privilege
of transmitting this practical wisdom. As philosopher Polycarp Ikuenobe puts it with another proverb:
“What a child cannot see while standing on a stool, an elder can see while sitting.”
Furthermore, this practical wisdom is inherently dynamic. It is not some static body of
unchanging teachings. Elders learn to shape prior teachings according to new circumstances. This
flexibility is crucial for it means that practical wisdom refers, in a sense, to unlearning lessons that have
been already learned. This natural cultural deference to the elder differs from our fast-paced culture
that places more pragmatic value on productivity and mistakenly associates productivity with
youthfulness. More- over, positing elders as a source of moral teachings actually grounds morality in
concrete, lived experiences and not in some abstract, transcendent realm. In summary, this emphasis
upon the authority of the elders along with that of the well-being of the community situates African
morality upon a common humanitarian ground so that communal well-being is what is uppermost.