Ubuntu Philosophy

This essay will emphasize on how the philosophy of Ubuntu is being practiced, its benefits to the community and the challenges in this modern era. This assignment will discuss in detail how each of the mentioned points will be deduced in this essay. The word Ubuntu, is a strong, meaningful and loaded concept or value. African people consider it the most important quality of a human being. The word Ubuntu is found in almost all African languages. Ubuntu is an old philosophy and way of life that has for many centuries sustained African communities across the continent. The concept of Ubuntu is practised in many South African communities and I am specifically going to put my focus on the Xhosa community in South Africa in relation to Ubuntu. Ubuntu in the Xhosa culture means: I am because we are. The Xhosa culture is the one I have chosen from the African Community.

The word Ubuntu comes from one of the Bantu dialects of Africa. It is a traditional African philosophy that gives an understanding of us as human beings in relation with the rest of the world. Ubuntu is a Xhosa word which serves as the spiritual foundation of African societies. It basically means what makes us human is the humility we show each other. It articulates a basic understanding, caring, respect, and compassion for others. Ubuntu is a belief in a universal bond of sharing that unites all of humanity. It represents a world-view that sees humanity as a web of family, rather than a mass of individuals.

The philosophy affirms that a person is a person through other people that we are all related, interdependent and connected to each other. This is similar to what we know as compassion, compassion for ourselves, our families, our community, the global community and the earth. Ubuntu is an African word for universal concept. Furthermore, Ubuntu is the potential for being human, to value the good of the community above self –interest. Later I will outline in depth how the philosophy of the Ubuntu is...