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Èṣù and ethics in the Yorùbá world view
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 March 2020
Abstract
Èṣù of the Yorùbá tradition, the custodian of the primordial àṣẹ, embodies the principle of perspicacity and pragmatism that is crucial for the exercise of responsibility by sentient and thinking beings. As such, Èṣù demands the ultimate in consciousness as a basis for just living and for a just measure of reward or sanction. Èṣù calls for painstaking commitment to rigorously distilled information and keen consciousness as preconditions for action of any sort, especially for the exercise of judgement, a compelling gesture of the human will. Scholarly and/or zealous traditions have, however, persistently alienated Èṣù from his native Yorùbá cosmology. This article argues for a need for rehabilitation.
Résumé
Dans la tradition yorùbá, Èṣù, le gardien de l'àṣẹ primordial, incarne le principe de perspicacité et de pragmatisme qui est essentiel à l'exercice de la responsabilité par des êtres doués de sensibilité et de pensée. En tant que tel, Èṣù exige le summum de la conscience comme base pour simplement exister et pour une juste mesure de récompense ou de sanction. Èṣù exige un attachement minutieux à une rigueur de distillation de l'information et une conscience vive comme préconditions à l'action de toute sorte, en particulier à l'exercice du jugement, un signe irréfutable de la volonté humaine. Les traditions savantes ou ferventes ont donc aliéné Èṣù de sa cosmologie native yorùbá de façon persistante. Cet article plaide pour un besoin de réhabilitation.
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- Research Article
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- Copyright © International African Institute 2020
References
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