Currently, more than ever, the issue of the human
being has been at the centre of debates. Each culture, each philosophical trend
has been trying to break the mystery of Man and to give meaning and value to
human activities. Throughout the world, “personalism” has taken many forms in
the history of peoples’ philosophy. Therefore, in sub-Saharan Africa, some
communities of the Bantu and of the Mossi developed their own “personalism”
based on their cosmogonic and anthropological notion which shaped their ethical
vision of Man and his behavior in society. As for the Bantus, there is no
dichotomy between the being and the Vital Force which vivifies anything that
exists and lasts. Any attempt to reduce or to destroy the Vital Force of a person
is gross guilt to be punished. With respect to the Mossi in Burkina Faso who
are eager to show both the richness and the ambiguity in the human being, they
designed anthropology based on four things: The “sigré”, meaning the
primary Vital Force inherited from their forefathers; The “kinkirga” who
represents the private and immortal unearthly vital energy; The “siiga”,
the earthly vital energy; and, lastly, the “yinga”, the Human Body, the
carnal structure in which these three types of vital energies join to form the
human being who expresses himself in society in an ambivalent manner. The
objective of this research was to study the phenomenology of the human being
among the Bantu and Mossi, in order to better understand their ethical and
social personalism. A synthesis study, based on a specialized scientific
bibliography related to their culture and anthropology, will allow presenting
their ethical and social personalism. Under the auspices of African
anthropology and through the advent of philosophical trends, such as “ontological
vitalism” by Tempels and “vitalogy” by N’kafu, who rank life as the primary
principle and emphasize and praise man’s action in society, Africa has been
developing a “personalism” of the social brand.
References
[1]
Husserl, E. (2002). Idee per una fenomenologia pura e per una filosofia fenomenologica. Einaudi.
[2]
Igwebuike, G. O. (2001). Chi è l’uomo? Risposte dei filosofi africani, in prospettive di filosofia africana. Edizioni Associate.
[3]
Kouam, M. (2017). Réception de la philosophie bantoue. Alioune Diop et L’ontologie vitaliste de Tempels: Pour une autre Problématique “foi et raison”. Présence Africaine , N-196, 279-300. https://doi.org/10.3917/presa.195.0279
[4]
Marcel, G. (1940). Du refus à l’invocation. Edité par GALLIMARD.
[5]
Marcel, G. (1944). Homo viator. Edité par Aubier Editions Montaigne.
[6]
Maritain, J. (1988). La filosofia morale, Esame storico e critico dei grandi sistemi (5th ed.). Morcelliana.
[7]
Maurier, P. (1959). Christianisme et croyances mossi, tome I. Pabré.
[8]
Mounier, E. (1999). Il personalismo. AVE.
[9]
Mouroux, J. (1945). Sens chrétien de l’homme (Collezione «Théologie», N˚ 6). Aubier.
[10]
Nkafu, N. M. (2010). Vitalogie comme expression de la pensée africaine. Città Nuova Editrice.
[11]
Ouedraogo, R. (1973). L’être humain d’après la conception du milieu traditionnel en Haute Volta. Enquêtes de la 2˚ promotion CFPR (Manuscrit).
[12]
Sgreccia, E. (1999). Manuel de Bioéthique. Editeur MAME-Edifa.
[13]
Sgreccia, E. (2004). Manuel de Bioéthique, Les fondements et l’éthique biomédicale. Mame Edifa.
[14]
Simporé, J. (1986). Anthropologie moaaga et foi chrétienne. Mémoire de théologie, Grand séminaire de Koumi.
[15]
Simporé, J. (2002). L’Anthropologie des Mossi et défis actuels du droit à la vie, in Natura e dignità della Persona umana a fondamento del diritto alla vita. Le sfide del contesto culturale contemporaneo, Pontificia Academia Pro Vita. Libreria E. Vatican.
[16]
Simpore, J. (2004). Personalism in the Cultural Area of the Africa. Medicina e Morale, 54, 353-360.
[17]
Simpore, J. (2012). Prévention de la Transmission vertical du VIH: Enjeux biomédicaux, implications éthiques, juridiques et culturelles. Paulines.
[18]
Tempels, P. (1948). La philosophie bantoue, Traduit du néerlandais par A. Rubbens. Editions Africaines.
[19]
Tosam, M. J. (2019). African Environmental Ethics and Sustainable Development. Open Journal of Philosophy, 9, 172-192. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojpp.2019.92012
[20]
Wedraogo, E. (1973). Du Gomde au Verbe incarné. Mémoire, Grand Séminaire de Koumi
