IGWEBUIKE AS AN IGBO-AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN WELLBEING

Abstract

The Igbo world has the understanding that we are all related- each aspect relates with the whole: the dynamics of reality are based on the relationships and experiences of interrelationships and interconnections. And this to a great extent determines the IgboAfrican understanding of human wellbeing. The major distinction between the western and Igbo-African conception of wellbeing is shaped by this interrelationships of reality. At the anthropological level, this piece argued that it is not enough to think of human wellbeing within the context of an individual’s state. An individual’s wellbeing is understood within the parameters of his or her relationships with other metaphysical unities within the community of forces that make up the whole of reality. At the ontological level, wellness goes beyond a person’s physical health to encompass his or her spiritual and physical relationships. At the ethical level, the researcher further observed that the character of the metaphysical unities that make up the human community determines the quality of wellbeing realizable. This research would study the Igbo concept of wellbeing. Igwebuike philosophy would be employed for the interpretation of the Igbo concept of wellbeing. The wholistic approach would be patronized for the purpose of this inquiry.