TRADITION AND MODERNITY IN AFRICAN THOUGHT: RECONCILING INDIGENOUS VALUES WITH CONTEMPORARY ETHICAL CHALLENGES

Abstract

The unresolved moral gap between traditional African values and imported modern structures remains a critical problem in postcolonial societies. This paper argues that African philosophy must actively reconcile these forces to foster ethical coherence and human-centred development. Employing a method of critical hermeneutics and conceptual analysis of key thinkers including Wiredu, Gyekye, Hountondji, and Eboh. The study examines the entanglement of indigenous relational ethics with the disruptive forces of modernity. It finds that tradition, when critically interpreted, offers a vital ‘moral grammar’ for navigating change, while modernity must be ethically domesticated to serve communal flourishing. The paper concludes that a reconciled African modernity, grounded in principles like Ubuntu, provides a constructive framework for governance, education, and ecological stewardship, measuring progress by the depth of human relationships rather than material accumulation alone.