ubuntu
Communal humanity philosophy
Ubuntu is a Southern African philosophy emphasizing shared humanity and interconnectedness—the idea that a person exists through their relationships with others.
Often summarized as "I am because we are," it stresses compassion, community, and mutual responsibility over individualism: Ubuntu teaches that we are all bound together.
The concept gained wider recognition through figures like Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. (Capitalized Ubuntu is also a Linux operating system.)
People as a whole
- interconnectednessState of mutual linkage
- compassionConcern for others' distress
- communityCollective of connected people
- relationshipsLinks between individuals
Mandela · African · togetherness · belonging
humanity
People as a whole
- interconnectednessState of mutual linkage
- compassionConcern for others' distress
- communityCollective of connected people
relationships · Mandela · African · togetherness · belonging
- African proverbs
- AfricaEgypt, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania
- community valuescommon good, solidarity, social cohesion, diversity, mutual respect
- Southern African cultureindaba, traditional healers, ancestral worship, biltong, pap
- African traditionsinitiation ceremonies, naming ceremony, ancestral worship, rites of passage, tribal chiefs
- Black DiasporaAfrican American, African Americans, African diaspora, African heritage, African roots
ubuntuindividualism
Doctrine of personal independence
atomism · egoism · libertarianism · rugged individualism · social Darwinism
ubuntuinhumanity
Extreme cruelty toward others
cruelty · misanthropy · callousness · selfishness · heartlessness
ubuntucoldness
Low temperature state
detachment · indifference · hostility · contempt · dehumanization