AN ETHICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE ANTHROPOCENE: AN AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The Anthropocene is a geological epoch characterized by human-induced disruption and its corresponding adverse effect on the ecosystem. Human activities have exerted disruptive effects on the environment resulting in imminent global challenges ranging from climate change to deforestation, and these pose a threat to human habitation. There is an obvious correlation between environmental degradation and human habitation. In Africa, it has become problematic to articulate the nature of ethics that ought to guide the human-nature relationship which is founded on indigenous environmental orientation. Some researchers have seriously argued that Africa is ontologically anthropocentric, given the idea of human persons being the center of reality. The research employs the method of hermeneutics to examine the environmental orientation of the African people and argues for suitable environmental ethics that can address the recent environmental challenges and ensure sustainability. The research adopts the concept of Ubuntu to argue for the extension of the principles of Ubuntu to the environment because the health of the environment is invariably the health of humans.