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African Communitarianism and the Misanthropic Argument for Anti-Natalism Kirk Lougheed African Communitarianism and the Misanthropic Argument for Anti-Natalism Kirk Lougheed African Communitarianism and the Misanthropic Argument for Anti-Natalism Kirk Lougheed Center for Faith and Human Flourishing LCC International University Klaipeda, Lithuania ISBN 978-3-031-11850-0 ISBN 978-3-031-11851-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11851-7 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover pattern © Melisa Hasan This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland For Thad Metz, Thanks for introducing me to African Philosophy Preface The idea for this short book was born while I was writing an encyclopedia entry on anti-natalism for the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. While the arguments for anti-natalism appeared relatively neutral with respect to normative ethics, I wondered whether they could ever really be justi- fied to someone committed to African Communitarianism. I decided to focus on just the one argument (i.e., the Misanthropic Argument) I thought was the best candidate for demonstrating that African Communitarianism entails anti-natalism. I was supposed to take up a postdoctoral fellowship under the supervi- sion of Thaddeus Metz at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, in the summer of 2020. Due to the covid pandemic I was prevented from phys- ically relocating to Africa. My first book to significantly feature African philosophy, Ubuntu and Western Monotheism: An Axiological Investigation (2022), was therefore written without the benefit of being in residence at a major research university in Africa. Since then, I have taken up a per- manent academic position in Lithuania, which prevents me from spend- ing significant time on the African continent. More importantly, however, at the time of writing this book, the pandemic continues to rage on in South Africa and universities there remain almost entirely online. Sadly, this means that this work has also not benefitted from being produced at a research university in Africa. I have little doubt that I would have been able to receive more critical feedback on the manuscript had I been able vii viii Preface to produce it (or parts of it) while interacting more closely with more philosophers familiar with the African tradition. Still, as I said in the preface to the other book, I thought it better to write this book now than to wait (maybe indefinitely) for the perfect circumstances in which to write it. I hope that the pandemic will end one day, and that my personal and professional circumstances will allow me to spend a significant amount of time on the African continent. Until then, I will continue to work on African philosophy at a distance from the continent to the best of my abilities. Kirk Lougheed Acknowledgements There are number of people who helped make this book possible. My editor at Palgrave Macmillan, Brendan George, was enthusiastic about the project and promptly responded to emails. I also wish to thank two anonymous referees. The first reviewed my project proposal and offered particularly helpful advice on Chap. 4. The second reviewed the com- pleted manuscript and made helpful suggestions, especially about how the project fits together with other arguments for anti-natalism. My Dean at LCC International University, J.D. Mininger, has been unwavering in his support of my research programme. I’m grateful for the teaching release and freedom he’s given me to focus on my own projects, including this book. I also remain thankful for my parents, Stephenson and Diane Lougheed, who are consistently supportive of my philosophical endeav- ors (despite being puzzled by many of my interests, which I’m sure include the topic of this book). Though not a person, I also need to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for funding that made this work possible. I dedicate this book to Thaddeus Metz because he is responsible for introducing me to African philosophy. The vast number of unexplored connections between the Anglo-American philosophical tradition and the African philosophical tradition makes me feel like I have an exciting life’s work in front of me. It’s because of him that I have this feeling. Thad has expertly guided me through much of the important literature in ix x Acknowledgements African philosophy, in addition to being a constant source of encourage- ment about the projects I pursue. The generosity with which he gives his time to junior colleagues does not go unnoticed. With respect to this specific project, Thad’s general comments, and specific comments on Chap. 4, helped improve my ideas. I hope that this dedication will serve as some small consolation and perhaps as an act of ‘friendliness’ or ‘har- mony’ since I have little doubt that he will disagree with many of my conclusions, especially the one that says his own moral theory entails anti-natalism. Contents 1 I ntroduction 1 2 What is African Communitarianism? 11 3 Benatar’s Misanthropic Argument for Anti-Natalism 27 4 African Communitarianism and Benatar’s Misanthropic Argument for Anti-Natalism 43 5 C onclusion 83 I ndex 89 xi