Papers by Workineh Kelbessa
Filosofia Theoretica: Journal of African Philosophy, Culture and Religions
The Oromo of Ethiopia, the largest ethnic group, have their own indigenous religion known as Waaq... more The Oromo of Ethiopia, the largest ethnic group, have their own indigenous religion known as Waaqeffanna. They believe in one Waaqa guraacha (black God) – the God who created the universe and the various forms of life. Waaqa has multiple attributes. Waaqa is He who is before everything else. Waaqa is Uumaa (a creator of everything in the world). Waaqa is hunda beekaa (omniscient). Waaqni gonkumaa kan hin Duune (God is immortal). Waaqa is hundaa tolaa (omnibenevolent). Waaqa is hunda danda’aa (omnipotent). Nothing is impossible with Waaqa. Waaqa is the source and lover of dhugaa (truth). Waaqa is Qulqulluu (pure). The Oromo people believe that in the olden days Waaqa was living on the Earth and only later that Waaqa left the Earth in anger because of personal sin and became invisible. Waaqa is one and at the same time manifests Himself in different ways. This paper teases out and highlights core Oromo views of God, his relationship with the world and the problem of evil.
Very Short Introductions, 2018
Environmental ethics studies the values and principles involved in combating environmental proble... more Environmental ethics studies the values and principles involved in combating environmental problems such as pollution, loss of species and habitats, and climate change. Environmental Ethics: A Very Short Introduction traces the discipline’s origins and considers how it defends the independent value of living creatures and the need to make decisions informed by the needs and interests of future generations. Exploring the diverse approaches to ethical decisions and judgements, it highlights the importance of making production and consumption sustainable, and of addressing human population levels, together with policies for preserving species, sub-species, and their habitats. It also discusses the different social and political movements involved and considers the environmental attitudes of the world’s religions.
Thought and Practice, Oct 8, 2016
In this article, I use case studies from some African countries to determine whether or not Afric... more In this article, I use case studies from some African countries to determine whether or not African climate management policies have been guided by ethical principles. I argue that although climate change is fundamentally an ethical issue, African policymakers have not paid sufficient attention to ethical principles in this regard. I argue that the major ethical principles embodied in different African traditions can assist African and non-African countries to address the challenges occasioned by climate change. Finally, I suggest that technological societies whose current emissions most exceed their fair share of emissions ought to give attention to justice, and play their respective roles in averting the most extreme effects of climate change.
La rationalité, une ou plurielle?, 2007
32 Réhabiliter l'éthique environnementale indigène Workineh Kelbessa Introduction Cet articl... more 32 Réhabiliter l'éthique environnementale indigène Workineh Kelbessa Introduction Cet article examine la réhabilitation de l'éthique environnementale indigène dans différentes parties du monde. Il cherche à fournir une compréhension de la ma-nière utilisée par de ...
… on Global Ethics, Development, Environment, and the …, 2004
… on Native Solutions: Indigenous Knowledge and …, 2000
This paper examines the role of ethics in development theory and practice. It critically evaluate... more This paper examines the role of ethics in development theory and practice. It critically evaluates competing ethical positions concerning development. It will consider the ethical dimensions and implications of dominant modes of development including the policies and practices of major international institutions, national governments and independent NGOs. The major findings of this paper are that the ethical dimensions of development have been neglected in mainstream development studies. Development theorists have been preoccupied with social and economic concerns, and ignored human and environmental well-being. As a result, development as conceived by its “founding fathers” has not changed the living conditions of the majority of the people in the world. It has not overcome, and in some cases has even led to poverty, malnutrition, high rates of infant mortality, low life expectancy, high rates of morbidity, low rates of health care, low average productivity and environmental degrad...
Environmental Values
This paper explores the role of African worldviews in biodiversity conservation and sustainable d... more This paper explores the role of African worldviews in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. African worldviews recognise the interdependence and interconnectedness of human beings, animals, plants and the natural world. Although it is not always the case that what one does depends on what one thinks and believes, indigenous African people’s ideas and beliefs about the human–nature relationship have influenced what they have done in and to nature. In African worldviews, the present generation has moral obligations to the ancestors and future generations. It ought to preserve the environment, which is rich in biodiversity, for posterity. This paper insists that it is extremely urgent that every effort be made to document the knowledge of peasant farmers and indigenous people in general. This paper further stresses that indigenous environmental knowledge makes a big difference to sustaining diverse environments, and it is imperative to preserve such knowledge before it...
… on Native Solutions: Indigenous Knowledge and …, 2000
Current works on the philosophy of sex are restricted to European culture. There are no systemati... more Current works on the philosophy of sex are restricted to European culture. There are no systematic and comprehensive works on the philosophy of love and sex in Africa and other cultures. Some Western writers have presented distorted views concerning African sexualities. They characterized African sexualities as primitive, exotic, immoral, bestial, lascivious, insatiable, alien, and deviant. Accordingly, Africans were considered as primitive, immoral, hypersexual, promiscuous, less intelligent, and close to animals. This chapter therefore seeks to correct these misconceptions by not only exploring African conceptions of love and sex, but also bringing an African philosophy of sex into scholarly reputation. Since the African philosophy of sex and love, in its broad sense, is expressed in African history, folktales, sayings, proverbs, sex-love songs, riddles, dance, folk art, body markings, clothing, jewellery, names and naming systems, cosmologies, and religious conceptions, Kelbessa ...
This article examines the potential contribution of Oromo love-sex songs to the spread or prevent... more This article examines the potential contribution of Oromo love-sex songs to the spread or prevention of the HIV/AIDS. It also shows how Oromo love songs express Oromo beliefs, sexual values, customs, meanings and interpretations of masculinity. The Oromo recite various songs to praise love/sex and lovers; they express, in a manner as explicit as the so-called modern songs, the joy of loving, being loved and the natural energies of lovely sex. They transmit critical information about the Oromo world view by reflecting the beliefs and the values enshrined in Oromo social institutions. This study reveals that Oromo love-sex songs can encourage or discourage risky sexual behaviour. It explains how some Oromo love songs when misunderstood, can influence people to engage in unsafe sex which can potentially spread the HIV/AIDS Although Oromo sexual ethics are being challenged by external forces, there are some love songs that can educate young people to practise safe sex. Love songs thus c...
Environmental Ethics
Besides normative areas, African environmental philosophy should pay attention to the epistemolog... more Besides normative areas, African environmental philosophy should pay attention to the epistemological and metaphysical dimensions of the worldviews of the African people in order to understand the environmental attitudes and values in African traditions of thought. Unlike mainstream Western ethics, African environmental philosophy has renounced anthropomorphism, anthropocentrism, and ethnocentrism and recognizes the interconnectedness of human beings with the natural environment and its component parts. In African worldviews, the physical and the metaphysical, the sacred and the secular, the natural and the supernatural are interrelated. Human beings are part of the natural environment. African philosophers should continue to explore the potential for a strong African environmental philosophy in African traditions of thought that can contribute to the solution of current environmental crises.
Environmental Ethics, 2015
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Papers by Workineh Kelbessa