INTERROGATING THE NOTION OF BIOSOCIAL PERSONHOOD IN UKWUANI WORLDVIEW

By

Nicholas Onyemechi Alumona

&

Chinye Magdalene Alumona

Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy

Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper identifies the ubiquity and increasing rate of social problems in African societies in spite of the attempts at providing solutions to them. Such problems include insecurity, ethno-religious crises, poor governance/leadership at various levels amongst others. As a result of all these social misdemeanors, human relationships are not only strained but humanity is debased as orientations of personhood are not given attention in human actions, the resultant social problems and even the solutions provided to the problems. The objective of this paper is to show the relevance of personhood, through the Ukwuani biosocial perspective with its attendant ethical values, in solving certain social problems confronting African societies and even the world at large. The methods adopted in this paper are ethnophilosophy and philosophical analysis in order to understand the orientation of personhood among the Ukwuani and also to interpret it with the aim of showing their particular and universal relevance, both in African societies and beyond. The paper concludes that a collaborative approach between indigenous ethical values of the Ukwuani biosocial personhood and the humane aspects of the individualist attitude of western liberalism would avert atomic individualism which is a major source of the social problems. The approach must be critically rooted in the indigenous value system of the Ukwuani biosocial personhood for a more participatory outcome in addressing the problems.