Egbe belu ugo belu: The Igbo-African Approach to the Principle of Letting-be in Martin Heidegger’s Philosophy

Abstract

The treatment of the principle of letting-be by Martin Heidegger, reveals an attempt to articulate an actionable attitude to guide human behaviour and conduct. Heidegger believes that man is often caught in the web of prejudices and the urge to dominate while relating with his object of experience. As such, this desire to always have our object of interaction produce a specific outcome often defines our relationship with phenomenon including fellow human beings; which in turn engenders conflict and crisis. In view of this, Heidegger makes a case for man to adopt a phenomenological attitude of letting-be of reality as it is, so that nature can yield freely without necessarily creating the kind of tension that is destructive to human civilization. While this paper agrees with the notion of letting-be as attitudinal disposition which allows reality to negotiate for meaning based on the attitude of openness, respect and recognition in a non-compelling manner, it however critiques its susceptibility to misconstruction and misapplication in human relations. Consequent upon this, the objective of the paper is to reinforce this principle with the Igbo-African construct egbe belu ugo belu, nke si ibe ya ebelu ka nku kwa ya (literarily translated as; let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too, if one says no to the other, let its wing break). It ethically implies “live and let live”. The paper adopts the method of phenomenological investigation which insists on the rule of patience, respect and openness of mind towards the object of experience.