Accounts of Life’s Meaningfulness from a Contemporary African Perspective

Abstract

Examining the literature on the question of life’s meaning from an African perspective, I find that existing theories almost solely stem from the context of traditional African thought. Thus, very little, if anything at all, is said about contemporary African accounts of meaningfulness. It is this gap that this article fills. In this article, I identify two major accounts of meaningfulness that can be derived from the contemporary African context. The first is what I call “living a religious life (LRL)” theory and the second is a conglomeration of three theories of meaning, which I call the cluster view. The first view locates meaning in living honorably and pursuing the religious ideals of one’s religious sect. The second view locates meaning in a cluster of ideals (self-sufficiency, raising a child, and achieving certain socio-cultural milestones as well a high status in society) and in the pursuit of these ideals.