Spirituality and Applied Ethics: An African Perspective

Abstract

This paper provides a philosophical assessment of two institutions and their practices: the institution of traditional medicine and the ethical issues generated by its practice; and, the institution of contemporary African philosophy and the relevance of its practice to African societies. Taking one contemporary African society as an example, I argue that the metaphysical assumptions implicit within the practice of medicine provide new insights into the relationship between morality and religion. These assumptions also provide new guidelines on how to make philosophy more relevant to contemporary African societies.