Violence against Nature in African Traditional Thought and Practice

This chapter departs from the romanticized view of the role of African traditional beliefs and myths in shaping attitudes to nature. The discussion decouples cultural reasoning and critical thinking (see McClymont, J. D. (2018). “Some Misconceptions about Culture: Views from a Zimbabwean Classical Thinker.” In F. Mangena and J. D. McClymont (Eds.), Philosophy, Race and Multiculturalism in Southern Africa, (pp. 233–250). (The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy).). The chapter argues that myths and traditional beliefs are part of culture and often involve cultural reason as opposed to critical reasoning, although not all myths and tradition lack critical reason. The main argument is that violence against nature committed in certain cultural processes betrays cultural reasoning as opposed to critical thinking.