IGWEBUIKE AS AN IGBO-AFRICAN ETHIC OF RECIPROCITY

Résumé

The ethics of reciprocity holds that “we do unto others as we would like done unto us”. It has the capacity to provide a ready precept for the handling of conflicts and promotion of harmony among peoples. It is derived from human feelings and behaviour; and is also relatively simple to articulate and understand, and yet, addresses an enormous range of human behaviour. However, for the purpose of a more particular study in African thought in relation to the ethic of reciprocity, this piece focuses on IGWEBUIKE, which is an Igbo-African philosophy of complementarity to explain how the ethic of reciprocity is at the heart of African philosophy and religion. For the purpose of this study, the indigenous holistic method of inquiry is adopted.