AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS

Civilization
Human civilization is a complex relationship of factors influencing the behaviour of people who are concentrated within specific territories and have a common identity. An analysis of civilization involves examining factors such as sources f livelihood, means of survival, forms of government, architecture, economic systems, literacy, or education systems, as well as settlement patterns. Culture is the broadest factor that influences civilization since it defines the underlying factors such as the political systems, social interactions, education and dissemination of life skills, economic activity, and relationships with external factors. Anthony Kwame addresses some important factors from African culture that influence the continent’s approach to civilization in the book In My Father’s House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture. He attempts to explain the African civilization through the existing literary works at the time.
Lessons of human civilization from African civilizations
In the analysis, the author publishes a narrative based on events that took place in West Africa. The narrative revolves around spirituality, beliefs, and the welfare of the community. The narrative revolves around traditional beliefs and the fulfilment of cultural requirements. The community’s culture required that the King’s horseman be buried together with the king to help him ride to the abode of the gods . Since killing is strictly prohibited in most African cultures, the horseman must commit suicide to help fulfil the cultural requirements. a colonial official who is an outsider tries to intervene and prevent the loss of life by preventing the horseman from committing suicide.

However, the effort to save one life turns tragic as the king’s son learns of the failed suicide and takes his own life . The late king’s son is determined to fulfil the cultural requirement and help his father travel to heaven. Also, the horseman eventually commits suicide while in custody thus leading to the loss of two lives. The actions of the king’s son and the horseman tell of dire consequences if the cultural requirement is not fulfilled. The colonial official’s actions indicate that he held divergent views on death and other related concepts and therefore felt that losing a life to fulfil the natives’ meaningless cultural requirements was irrational. However, the king’s son and the horseman chose to protect the greeter good by offering the ultimate sacrifice.
The concept of pursuing the greater good as opposed to individual gains even when the former causes personal loss is not new. Many societies held this belief but it has since lost its application in most civilizations . Professionals in the philosophy have studied the values that govern different societies and have developed a concept that defines the greater good concept highlighted in the narrative. The utilitarianism concept states that the actions of an individual must always be driven to achieving the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
In most societies, the concept is captured under the law where the government reserves the right to nationalize different laws that allow it to act in the interest of the public. While pursuing the greater good is a great lesson to learn from the African culture, the loss of life is a high price to pay and multiple restrictions prevent the same level of commitment in other cultures. These restrictions include the constitutional protection of life that illegalizes practices that endanger or result in loss of life as well as divergent beliefs on fundamental issues such as life and death.

Universal sense of civilization among African Populations
The author highlights an important characteristic of human civilization demonstrated by Africans that is common across the globe. He notes that African Americans have an emotional attachment to the African continent despite most African Americans belonging to a generation that has not set foot on the continent. They like to identify with the African people and feel good in doing so even though they cannot trace their African roots. Appiah concludes that the popularity of the African identity lies in the romantic racism past that exists due to historical events such as pan-Africanism . The need to belong is defined as the desire to create and maintain stable relationships with people who share similar traits or beliefs . The need to belong is universal and is therefore not restricted to the African population. the need to belong has become a complex sociopolitical issue in recent years as many countries embrace protectionism policies at the expense of globalization. Renewed nationalism has taken over Europe with the Eurozone struggling to fully implement the integrated economic system that was envisioned during the launch of the Euro . In addition, most countries that adopted the currency are still sceptical of the idea of a European central bank while others have or are contemplating a gradual withdrawal from the union. These decisions follow the union’s failure to offer a common identity thus giving room for renewed nationalism to grow.
Universal desire to belong and the need for an identity
Differences between African civilization and the rest of the world
One of the glaring differences demonstrated between African cultures and other cultures is the importance given to collective responsibility among African populations. In the narrative, the subjects are committed to fulfilling their responsibilities irrespective of the personal cost since it has some perceived benefits for the community. A critical analysis of the narrative reveals some sacrifices made by other people to support the community’s belief system and sustain their culture. Other than the death of the king’s son, which was not planned, the planned suicide of the horseman and the bride’s acceptance to wed him on the eve of his death demonstrate this important concept. On the other hand, the colonial officer found this absurd and tried to stop it indicating. This incident demonstrates the glaring differences in African and European civilizations as the former values collective responsibility while the latter values self-interest more than the collective responsibility.
Conclusion
Civilization is a broad concept that derives most of its defining factors from the culture of the population. for example, a nomadic population will rarely construct permanent houses due to their need to move from one place to another in search of pasture or commercial ties. However, civilizations exist in dynamic environments and many external influences cause significant changes to occur in different civilizations. The African continent has faced various events that have shaped the current civilizations such as wars and colonization. These events have had a significant influence on the culture of the African people. External influences have also caused significant changes across the civilization but this is not unique to the continent since many other regions are also improving their cultures/civilizations.