Epilogue : reflections on personhood through the eyes of A.C. Jordan's The Wrath of Ancestors

Abstract

BOOK ABSTRACT : This book examines the relationship between Ubuntu and the idea of personhood. Ubuntu in its broadest sense is rooted in the belief that the full development of personhood comes with shared identity and the idea that an individual’s humanity is fostered in a network of relationships: I am because you are; we are because you are. The chapters in this book seek to interrogate this relational quality of personhood embodied in Ubuntu. The book further seeks to examine whether we can talk about relational personhood without running the risk of essentialism. It argues that no human society is possible without a network of relations, which involves, among other elements, communication and interaction between individuals. It is a critical engagement with how Ubuntu shapes those ethical values of connectedness and interdependence within society. The book also asks whether we can find relevance in Ubuntu as an ethical value system, which is likely to mediate our daily activities and the social institutions, which serve communities in post-colonial societies. Further, the book grapples with many questions: Can Ubuntu’s idea of human inter-dependence complement the “European” idea of freedom of the individual, thus lead to a hybridised ethical foundation for a future society? Does Ubuntu share any similarities with other intellectual and philosophical streams from the African continent such as Nyerere’s Ujamaa? If our own idioms and concepts of personhood come with moral entitlements, as they must, how are we to evaluate the conduct of persons whose identity is constructed differently? Finally, how are we to understand agency in a context in which relational quality of personhood is granted alongside individual autonomy?