User:Nelson masemola

AFRICAN LEGAL PHILOSOPHY .......What is African legal philosophy? African Legal philosophy like any other philosophies,it is still developing. It was shaped by it's oral tradition and communal structure. Philosophers from a Eurocentric point for instance,argue of the existence of a thing called African legal philosophy. Idowu pointing out from the African point rejects this and states that "to be ignorant of a fact or entity does not mean that fact or entity does not exist". In reality, African legal philosophy is not that different from Western philosophy, as it too is still developing and has it's roots in oral transmission. There are three approaches to African philosophy in general. The first is ethno-philosopy, it is philosophy based on communal thought and collective wisdom that is originally transferred, a philosophy known for using metaphors to illustrate a philosophical point. The second is Sage philosophy, which is the opposite of ethno-philosophy,it is based on the idea of one person,a sage. This philosophy is based on the thoughts of individuals who are concerned with the fundamental ethical and legal issues of their society and who have the ability to offer insightful solutions to some of those issues. They have to indicate the best options of social and political organizations for Africa's condition. The third is the National-ideological philosophy, which attempts to produce a unique political theory based on traditional African Socialism. This political philosophy seems to be neither capitalist nor socialist, but is based on an African communalism. It is closely related to ideas like Black conciousness. The African legal philosophy like any other philosophy, it tries to answers the questions all other philosophies are trying to answer,  namely (a) the ontological question and  (b) the epistemological question. It is mostly influenced by the ontological assumptions of African society and that is determined by the integrated view that permeates through that society. That view is based on the fact that religion,ethics,law and customs are closely intertwined and determine one another. The idea of Communitarism is very strong in the ALP. Menkiti say that"as far as Africans are concerned, the reality of communal world takes precedence over reality of the individual life histories,whatever these might be". This view is based on the importance and significance of the family in African societies. It refers not only to the typical Western nuclear family,but includes the extended family ad well as ancestors. That is why conflict amongst members of a community are regarded as destructive. There law is regarded as the safeguard to social existence. In ALP morality and law are not separated. Reconciliation And arbitration is preferred to litigation. The most influential contribution of the ALP to the general theory is the concept of Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a concept that tries to explain the very nature and business of human existence by promoting the basic human rights of all and promotion of law based on this.

By NELSON V MASEMOLA