Ubuntu

Introduction

In a world increasingly defined by cultural and ethical diversity, how do we create a cohesive and practical moral framework? This question is deeply personal for me, as I have grappled with cognitive dissonance arising from my upbringing in a Western culture heavily influenced by Christian values such as care, altruism, and compassion. While spiritually uplifting, these values often felt disconnected from the practicalities of improving society.

Through my exploration, I found two traditions, Confucianism and Ubuntu, that framed these values as transactional and interdependent, emphasising their role in fostering societal harmony and mutual benefit. Yet, neither fully addressed the complexities of Western society or the pressing challenge of leaders who exploit power for personal gain, disrupting collective well-being.

This article examines Confucianism and Ubuntu as distinct but complementary ethical systems, highlights the challenges posed by dark leadership, and proposes a fusion of these traditions into a practical framework. This ethical code aims to balance individual rights, values regarding relationships, societal responsibilities, and collective well-being, offering a roadmap for a more harmonious society.

Ubuntu is an African philosophical concept originating from the Bantu-speaking peoples of sub-Saharan Africa. The term “Ubuntu” is often translated as “humanity” or “humaneness,” encapsulated in the phrase Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, meaning “A person is a person through other people.”

Rooted in communal societies, Ubuntu emphasises interconnectedness, mutual aid, and collective well-being. It shaped how people resolved conflicts, managed resources, and interacted socially. Colonialism disrupted these principles, introducing hierarchy and individualism. Yet Ubuntu endured, particularly during the liberation struggles in South Africa. Leaders like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu invoked Ubuntu to promote reconciliation and justice, guiding initiatives like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Ubuntu teaches that humanity is built through relationships. A person’s identity and well-being are tied to their community. Celebrations and shared meals highlight collective joy, while communal farming and child-rearing ensure no one is left behind.

Compassion and kindness are central to Ubuntu. Helping others and sharing resources strengthen the community and reflect shared humanity. The philosophy upholds dignity and fairness, ensuring every voice is heard and respected.

Ubuntu prioritises healing over punishment, advocating forgiveness to restore harmony. This principle was vital in South Africa’s post-apartheid reconciliation process. Ubuntu also emphasises harmony with nature, advocating for sustainable living to benefit future generations.

Today, Ubuntu’s values of connection, mutual aid, and collective well-being offer a counterbalance to individualism and provide solutions to challenges like social inequality, environmental sustainability, and cultural fragmentation.

Confucianism

Confucianism is a philosophical and ethical system rooted in the teachings of Confucius (Kong Fuzi), a Chinese philosopher who lived during the politically unstable Spring and Autumn Period (551–479 BCE). Confucius sought to restore order by emphasising moral conduct, proper governance, and harmonious relationships.

His teachings, recorded in the Analects, form the foundation of Confucian thought. Over millennia, Confucianism evolved, shaping Chinese culture and much of East Asia. Institutionalised during the Han Dynasty, it influenced education, governance, and societal organisation. Despite challenges during modernisation and political upheavals, Confucianism has resurged in recent decades as a source of moral philosophy and cultural identity.

The core teachings of Confucianism revolve around harmonious relationships, often described as the “Five Key Relationships”:

Ruler and subject.
Parent and child.
Husband and wife.
Older sibling and younger sibling.
Friend and friend.

These relationships are hierarchical but reciprocal, with mutual responsibilities. Filial piety (xiao), or honouring one’s parents and ancestors, is central to Confucianism, reflecting gratitude and ensuring family harmony.

Confucius emphasised cultivating virtues to live a good life and contribute to society, such as:

Compassion and putting others first.
Respecting traditions and social customs to maintain order.
Acting morally, even when it is challenging.
Pursuing lifelong learning and self-improvement.

Confucius also advocated for ethical leadership. A virtuous leader inspires others through fairness and wisdom, fostering harmony. His version of the Golden Rule, “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself”, promotes empathy and consideration in interactions.

Confucianism’s focus on relationships, ethical leadership, and moral cultivation offers insights into strengthening family ties, promoting just governance, and encouraging personal growth for societal betterment.

Dark Leadership

Approximately 13% of the population is estimated to exhibit dark personality traits such as narcissism, psychopathy, or Machiavellianism. These traits are not pathologies but rather personality characteristics within the range of normal behaviour. However, individuals with these traits often have reduced moral standards and heightened self-interest, making them more likely to rise to positions of power. Unfortunately, this means many leaders in society exhibit such traits.

People are often reluctant to challenge those in power due to fear of reprisal. Responses vary: some support these leaders for personal gain, others seek refuge elsewhere, but the most common reaction is denial. Many refuse to acknowledge the presence of dark leaders until their actions cause significant harm, such as war or societal collapse.

The persistence of dark leaders in cooperative societies has multiple explanations. Some theories point to brain dysfunction or traumatic childhood experiences, while others attribute their success to their wealth, power, or charisma. Evolutionary perspectives suggest they thrive as defectors in systems reliant on cooperation, exploiting others without destabilising the system entirely.

These leaders rely on transactional relationships. Their power is sustained by followers who anticipate personal gains, such as wealth or influence. Followers with similar traits may support such leaders, hoping to benefit or even inherit their status. This dynamic can create a vicious cycle, perpetuating leadership that prioritises self-interest over collective well-being.

Recognising and addressing the influence of dark leaders is crucial. Education, awareness, and systemic changes are necessary to ensure leadership serves humanity rather than personal ambition.

Ethical Code

The following ethical code integrates the best elements of Confucianism and Ubuntu, addressing the challenges posed by dark leadership. Designed for Western contexts, it balances individual rights, relational values, structural responsibilities, and collective well-being.

Core Principles

Relational Humanity: Treat all people with compassion, dignity, and respect, understanding that personal fulfilment is inseparable from communal well-being.
Moral Leadership: Lead with integrity, fairness, and compassion. Prioritise the welfare of those you serve and inspire trust through ethical behaviour.
Balance of Individual and Collective Good: Uphold individual rights while recognising responsibilities to the community. Foster solutions that benefit both individuals and society.
Responsibility to Others: Strengthen relationships by fulfilling duties to family, friends, colleagues, and society. Value reciprocity and mutual aid.
Education and Self-Cultivation: Pursue lifelong learning and foster moral development in others, emphasising respect, empathy, and responsibility.
Harmony Through Justice and Fairness: Promote fairness and resolve conflicts constructively. Prioritise reconciliation and peace over retribution.
Sustainability and Stewardship: Protect the environment for future generations. Act as stewards of nature, balancing resource use with ecological care.
Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Heal relationships through forgiveness and mutual understanding. Take meaningful steps toward justice and harmony.
Responsible Followership: Educate yourself to recognise harmful leaders. Withhold support from those who act against the common good and oppose harmful actions responsibly.

Practical Applications

Leadership: Leaders must act transparently and ethically, prioritising inclusivity and fairness.
Followership: Followers should recognise harmful leaders, withhold support, and oppose harmful actions responsibly.
Education: Teach moral values alongside academic excellence to foster responsibility and compassion.
Business: Companies should balance profitability with social responsibility and environmental sustainability.
Community: Build inclusive, supportive communities and promote civic engagement.
Personal Life: Align personal actions with shared values and invest in self-reflection and moral growth.

Conclusion

This ethical code respects Western individualism while introducing Ubuntu’s relational ethos and Confucianism’s structured responsibilities. By offering guidance across personal, professional, and civic spheres, it draws on universally relevant values like compassion, fairness, and sustainability. Ultimately, this framework empowers individuals and communities to navigate ethical challenges, fostering a more harmonious and just society.

Introduction

This article marks a departure from my usual writing, as I delve into my personal experiences with cognitive dissonance. Readers familiar with my past work might wonder, “Does he practice what he preaches?” I hope to answer with a resounding “Yes, very much so.”

Recently, I encountered several instances of cognitive dissonance, a mental state in which something feels misaligned without a clear understanding of why¹. These experiences were unsettling, eroding my confidence and leaving me feeling depressed. Resolving this dissonance became a priority, therefore, prompting me to draw upon my professional and theoretical knowledge.

Understanding Cognitive Dissonance Through Theory

My knowledge of the Morphogenetic Cycle² provided a starting point. I realised that these dissonances stemmed from a conflict between my personal beliefs and practices and the apparent societal expectations surrounding me. Specifically, the culture of my society seemed to demand behaviours and values that clashed with my subconscious frameworks, known as schemata³.

Systems theory⁴ further illuminated the issue by revealing how levels of abstraction shape our understanding. Abstraction allows us to aggregate concepts into wholes (holism) or disaggregate them into parts (reductionism). For example, the concept of “justice” is the aggregate of many just acts, while a single just act can be broken down into components of legal and ethical processes⁵. Understanding these levels of abstraction helped clarify the disconnect between my thought processes and societal expectations.

The Role of Levels of Abstraction in Cognitive Dissonance

Societal norms often prioritise certain levels of abstraction. In Western culture, for instance, concepts like “holism” are favoured in addressing social issues. However, this term represents merely one level of abstraction among many⁶. My professional engineering background and systems thinking approach enable me to operate across multiple levels, from the granular (just acts) to the overarching (systems theory). This flexibility, while beneficial professionally, sometimes creates friction with societal norms that favour a narrower scope of abstraction.

Additionally, my exploration of ethical and moral terms, such as care, generosity, altruism, forgiveness, sacrifice, compassion, and benevolence, revealed further conflicts. While these terms align with the Christian values deeply ingrained in Western culture, they often obscure the transactional nature of human interactions⁷. For example, acts of benevolence may appear altruistic but often also satisfy spiritual or social needs for the benefactor. Recognising this transactional dimension can be controversial, as it challenges deeply held beliefs about what is good human behaviour.

Exploring Cultural Perspectives

To resolve my cognitive dissonance, I explored how other cultures frame these concepts. Other cultural traditions do, in fact, recognise their transactional. Sub-Saharan Africa’s Ubuntu philosophy emphasises communal well-being, where acts of kindness contribute to a better society⁸. Similarly, Confucianism in China focuses on societal structure and hierarchy, with moral behaviour reinforcing social harmony⁹. Unlike Western perspectives that emphasise spiritual rewards, these frameworks highlight social benefits.

This realisation was pivotal. By viewing human interactions through a transactional lens rooted in social rewards, rather than spiritual ones, I found a framework that resonated more closely with my values.

Personal Resolution and Future Directions

How does this relate to my cognitive dissonance?

Firstly, societal tropes¹⁰ often emphasise certain levels of abstraction, such as justice, while I operate across a broader spectrum. This led to concerns about being perceived as overly reductionist or excessively abstract. Secondly, my belief in the transactional nature of human interactions conflicted with societal narratives of pure altruism or spite. Finally, I questioned the utility of certain religious beliefs, which can obscure practical ways to improve society.

To reconcile these differences, I investigated whether the ethical principles of Ubuntu and Confucianism could be synthesised into a model acceptable to Western society. Ubuntu emphasises culture, one of the two key components of society, while Confucianism addresses societal structure, the other key component. Together, the two traditions provided a balanced ethical approach applicable to the realities of Western society; one that I and, hopefully, others could readily adopt.

Conclusion

By identifying the cultural roots of my cognitive dissonance and reframing my perspective, I have gained confidence in my approach. While criticism remains inevitable, I am better equipped to address it constructively.

In my next article, I will outline the proposed synthesis of Ubuntu and Confucian ethics in greater detail. For now, I leave you with the assurance that understanding and resolving cognitive dissonance begins with acknowledging its sources and embracing diverse frameworks to navigate complex societal challenges.

Finally, readers may have noticed that my process for resolving cognitive dissonance has been a practical reflection of the Morphogenetic Cycle, reinforcing my confidence in its truth.

Footnotes

Cognitive dissonance: A psychological phenomenon identified by the American social psychologist, Leon Festinger (1919 – 1989) where an individual experiences discomfort due to holding conflicting beliefs or attitudes.
Morphogenetic Cycle: Introduced by the British sociologist Margaret Archer (1943–2023), this concept explains the relationship between he structure and culture of society and individual agency. In this cycle the structure and culture of a society place demands on an individual. If those demands are satisfactory, the individual automatically affirms their society. If not, then they engage in reflexivity to identify solutions and then attempt to propagate those solutions into society. This process is continuously ongoing, a multitude of individual agents interact with society and there are time delays at each stage.
Schemata: Subconscious mental frameworks identified by the British psychologist Frederic Bartlett (1886 – 1969) and used to organise and interpret information.
Systems theory: An interdisciplinary approach to understanding complex systems by examining their components, relationships, and emergent properties.
Levels of abstraction: The process of aggregating or disaggregating concepts to focus on broader wholes or detailed parts. What is considered holistic or reductionist is relative to the context, a “whole” at one level may be a “part” at another.
Holism: A perspective that emphasises the whole rather than its individual components.
Transactional relationships: Interactions where parties exchange resources or benefits, mutually satisfying their needs. Transactional relationships can also comprise an exchange of disbenefits together with various intermediate interactions of a more transient nature. There is considerable scientific evidence to support the view that all human interactions are transactional in nature.
Ubuntu: A Southern African philosophy emphasising communalism and the interconnectedness of humanity. It suggests that “a person is a person through other people,” fostering mutual care and respect.
Confucianism: An ethical and philosophical system originating in China, focusing on societal roles, relationships, and moral conduct. It emphasises hierarchy and the importance of family and social harmony.
Trope: A shared cultural schema or pattern of thought that emerges as an aggregate of individual schemata within a society. Schemata are subconscious mental frameworks that individuals use to interpret and organise information, and when these frameworks are collectively aligned across a group, they form tropes. Tropes represent higher levels of abstraction compared to individual schemata and are more holistic, encapsulating collective cultural values, norms, and ideas.