Environmental Ethics and Values Research Group 

The major objective of this project is to examine the environmental values and ethics of different ethnic groups in Ethiopia and their unique contribution to environmental ethics in general and to Ethiopian environmental ethics in particular. The members of the research group will examine the conceptual structure and presuppositions that underlie the philosophies and thought world of diverse ethnic groups in Ethiopia.

Research Questions

  • What is the environment?
  • In what ways and why do people value their environment and its parts? What are the differences and similarities between environmental values and norms?
  • What are the major indicators of environmental degradation?
  • What are the indigenous conservation methods and measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change in Ethiopia? How can these methods be integrated into modern policies, institutions, and extension programs?
  • How can environmental protection and human development be balanced?
  • How have human relationships with the non-human world been conceived of in Ethiopia and across different traditions? Do humans have direct responsibilities for the non-human world? Are humans the only intrinsically valuable beings or are nonhumans, trees, flowers, and even entire ecosystems also intrinsically valuable?
  • What is Ethiopian indigenous water ethics? What mechanisms do the local people use to manage water resources – and how effective are they?
  • To what extent can those religious traditions of Ethiopia which preceded Christianity and Islam provide us with environmental perspectives that supersede anthropocentrism and offer theoretical positions to confront the growing environmental crisis?
  • What is the role of oral traditions in indigenous environmental knowledge and ethics?
  • Who possesses indigenous environmental knowledge, and how is such knowledge gained?
  • Are indigenous and modern knowledge systems and ethical norms compatible? How is indigenous environmental ethics related to modern environmental ethics? Is it possible to base environmental ethics on indigenous values?
  • What are the challenges to and limitations of indigenous environmental values, beliefs, and ethics?

Research Methodology

Ethiopian indigenous environmental ethics is not explicitly found in written form although Ethiopia has both written and sapiential philosophical literature. Indigenous environmental knowledge and values are embodied in the social norms and myths, legends, religious symbols, folktales, folk arts, carvings, paintings, proverbs, riddles, songs, chants, beliefs, dramatic rituals, community laws, local languages and taxonomies, and practices of a particular culture. Therefore, in order to distil indigenous environmental values and ethics, qualitative research methods will be employed. The principal sources of this study are various relevant texts, interviews, observations, narratives, life histories, ordinary conversations, and focus group discussions. The research team will interview religious leaders, indigenous sages, academics, and experienced farmers and pastoralists while doing fieldwork throughout Ethiopia. Separate questions will be designed for each group at the different study sites. In parallel, ethical analysis in the manner of applied ethics will be conducted on various concepts, and on their applications.


Research Project Leader

Prof. Workineh Kelbessa


Project Researchers

Getahun Dana is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He obtained his BA, MA, and Ph.D. degrees in Philosophy from Addis Ababa University. He also earned a Master’s degree in Social and Political Philosophy from Linkoping University, Sweden. From 2016-2017, he served as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programmes in the College of Social Sciences at AAU. His research interests include indigenous studies, African philosophy, indigenous environmental ethics and social and political philosophy. His recent publications include: “The Impacts of a Multi-lingual Educational Approach in Enhancing Democratic Values in Multi-ethnic Societies: The Case of Ethiopia” (2022) and “A Critical Analysis of Michel Foucault’s Historical Analysis of Power: Can He Avoid the Goods of Freedom and Truth?” (2023).

Fasil Merawi is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He obtained his BA, MA, and Ph.D. degrees in Philosophy from Addis Ababa University. Dr. Merawi is the Chair of the Department of Philosophy. His research interests include metaphysics, epistemology, critical theory, Ethiopian philosophy, and applied ethics. His recent publications include “Philosophy Education and the Reconstruction of Subjectivity and Modernity in Africa” in Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory, 2024, 71(2):108-128, “The Rise and Fall of Marxism in Ethiopia: A Critical Analysis of Emancipatory Paradigms” in Critique, 2024, 52(1): 91-106, and “Overcoming Eurocentrism: Exploring Ethiopian Modernity Through Entangled Histories and Coloniality” in Social Epistemology, 2024, 38(2): 222-234.

Mindaralew Zewdie is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He obtained his BA in Philosophy, MA in Social Anthropology, and Ph.D. in Philosophy from Addis Ababa University. He also taught courses in philosophy and anthropology at the universities of Unity and Rift Valley. His research interests include metaphysics, environmental ethics, political and social philosophy, and social anthropology. His most recent publications include ነገ መቼ ነው? (When is Tomorrow?) (2022), “The Metaphysical Implications of Environment Friendly Ritual” (2022), “The Matrix of Resonance” (2023), “A Philosophical Perspicacity into Environment-centered Ritual in Ethiopia” (2024), and “A Metaphysical Odyssey: Reconnecting with the Cosmic Dimension” (2024).

Aden Husien is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Philosophy at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He earned his BA and MA in philosophy from Addis Ababa University. Prior to his Ph.D., he was a lecturer in philosophy at Bule Hora University, Ethiopia. Previously, he taught courses in philosophy at the universities of Mizan-Tepi and Dilla in Ethiopia. His research interests include ethics, environmental ethics, and climate ethics. His doctoral dissertation focuses on the impacts of climate change and climate ethics in Borana region of southern Ethiopia.

This project is supported by the Institute of Global Value Inquiry.

Institute of Global Value Inquiry

info@igvi.org

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