IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 342 HUMAN NATURE AND THE BINARY OF SOCIAL RELATIONS: AN AFROCENTRIC PERSPECTIVE Maraizu Elechi, PhD Department of Philosophy, Rivers State University Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria drmaraizuelechi@yahoo.com Abstract Human nature is complex, composite and holistic, including the corporeal, intellective, moral, spiritual, and psychophysical elements. It is described by Aristotle as rational and conceived by Antonio Rosmini-Serbati as volitional. The rational and volitional dimensions of human nature are indicative of the moral free will of human beings to make choices and take decisions. This suggests that human nature is the very essence of human action and interpersonal relationships. Binaries of human social relations in the hierarchical structure of contrasts subordinate one element to another and impose a hierarchical order on the world that connects human beings with strands that support pervasive human relations of inequality and dominance. Human nature and the binary of social relations indicate that there is a problem of inclusiveness, identity in difference, whole- hearted acceptance of Africans by their Western counterparts. This negates Africans’ belief in the inter-subjectivity and participatory character of human beings in sharing in the inner richness and divine essence of existential experiences. Thus any discriminatory practice that tends to reify, objectify and marginalize anyone is provocative and unacceptable. This paper, therefore, is a critique of the maltreatment of Africans by the West. The paper ratiocinates on why and how the binary of social relations destroys the sensitivity of naturism and human cohesive rapport. In conclusion, it argues that socio-culturally constructed binaries such as transcendence and immanence need not be hierarchized between Africans and Westerners since both are only a bifurcation of humanity. Keywords: human nature, social relations, binaries of nature, inequality, human dignity, racism. Introduction Among the most perennial and controversial issues in philosophy is the issue of human nature. From the classical history of philosophy till date, the question of human nature has remained the question of questions in the search for human cupido sciendi (will or quest to know). This implies that the quest to unravel the nature and essence of the human being is as old as philosophy itself, thus, precipitating the essentiality of the Socratic IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 343 existentialist assertions – ‘man know thyself’, ‘an unexamined life is not worth living’. The question of human nature has received vast and varied responses, and none of the responses seems holistic and comprehensive enough to properly resolve the philosophical questions and issues gravitating around it. There is, therefore, a chronic lack of consensus in this regard, thus, creating room for the debate to persists. The importance of this debate is predicated on the fact that we need to know who we are as human beings and what constitute our nature. This is the focus of this paper, to understand the key elements of human nature in order to know the reason behind why we act the way we do towards others, especially in consideration of the binaries that characterize human social existence and relationships. This research intends to find out what constitutes human nature that has predisposed and inundated human beings with ever-increasing, unfair, and wicked attitudinal dispositions towards others, as well as the non-rational, mindless and meaningless dispositions of one clime and nation towards another, especially the developed nations towards the underdeveloped nations. It exposes the illogic in the logic of domination and subjugation and advocates the end to such oppressive domineering relationships that give rise to socio-cultural evils like racism, classism, etc. It tries to find out why the use or application of brute tendentious dispositions like slavery, sexism, colonialism, and neocolonialism occasioned by exploitation, victimization, subjugation, and suppression across the globe are rife, in spite of the fact that human beings are rational agents, mindful beings, and free-to-will individuals. The answer is not far-fetched: a human natural inclination towards self-preservation is at the root of every human socio- culturally constructed binaries that result in the evils of segregation, profiling of any sort, and the irrational carnage of exploitation, objectification, and the sub-human status given to Africans by the Europeans. It must, however, be properly situated that slavery, classism, and sexism are consequences of racism, while racism, colonialism, and neo- colonialism on the other hand are products of capitalism. Collectively, these divisive categories, which put people into unjust classes and categorizations are not only meant for the strangulation, suppression, and conquering of a group, but most importantly, for unnecessary stratification, perpetual superiority, and dominance politically and economically, with the social consequences of mutual suspicion, distrust and hatred. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 344 The traditional understanding of human nature, therefore, is that it has to do with those characteristic features which other animals do not possess because they are specifically and peculiarly human beings’. This may sound like a comparative ontological analysis between human beings and lower animals or creatures, but there is no doubt that the issue of human nature, that is, who human beings are, is at the very core of how they relate with others, and what determines our actions towards others in society. The question of who we are is itself a philosophical question. Human beings are supposed to lead a good and happy life, and not to hurt, enslave and discriminate against others. This is why Aristotle argues that human nature gives accounts on how we should properly and adequately relate with other human beings in the world in which we live. According to him, human nature, human happiness, and human flourishing are compatible, and to talk about human nature is to talk about the fundamental elements of human beings that contrasts and distinguishes them from other creatures. The clear sense of nature and humanity is simply and squarely to humanize or “naturalize” human attitude towards others whereby others are seen and treated as human beings in the most proper sense. It conveys a sense of commonality and inclusiveness that supposes mutual tolerance and respect of the being of others. Asouzu rightly calibrates that, one without the opposite-other in the form of an opposite-self losses all forms of legitimization. Any form of selfishness or self-preservation which negates the other-self is a contradiction because it is an indirect negation of its own fundamental essence or quiddity (2004, p.76). Understanding Human Nature As we have pointed out above, the idea of human nature is ambiguous and controversial. However, to reflect on it implies to concede to the very view that human beings actually have nature. This point has to be clearly made because opinion is divided among philosophers on the idea of human nature. Some philosophers claim that human beings have nature, while others think contrarily that human beings do not have nature. Among the philosophers who argued that there is human nature include John Dupre, who submits that, What, if anything, is human nature? One philosophical tradition regrettably revived recently, supposes that this phrase should refer to some real essence of the human species: an internal property of all and only humans that explains why IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 345 they are as they are and why they do as they do (2003, Pp.109- 122). Jean-Paul Sartre, on the other hand, is one of the philosophers who believe that there is no human nature. According to him, “there is no human nature. … Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself” (1948, p.30). For Ruth Hubbard, “‘Human nature’ does not describe people. It is a normative concept that incarnates historically based beliefs about what human beings are and how they should behave. It is questionable whether the concept of human means anything” (1990, p.70). For Michel Foucault “nothing in man is sufficiently stable to serve as a basis for understanding other men” (1977, p.153). Durkheim avers that “Individual [human] nature are merely the interminate material that the social factors molds and transforms” (1962, p.106). Human nature is a natural design, not socio-culturally constructed. It is an aspect of human beings that is innate, inherent, and biologically derived rather than a product of human socio-cultural conditions. It includes certain things or qualities which human beings distinctively share in common by virtue of being human beings. Human nature stands in contradistinction to human acts and creations. As naturally designed, human nature can be socio-culturally deconstructed through learning and socialization. There are many theories of human nature including Christian theory, Classical or Ancient Philosophical ideas that include those of Aristotle, and Antonio Rosmini-Serbati, Blank Slate theory, and the Darwinian Theory. The Christian theory of human nature sees human beings as an imago Dei (image of God), with an immaterial soul and freedom of choice, unlike other creatures. It conceives the nature of a human being to be an end in se, with intrinsic value or worth. Every other being is only a function of human beings and an instrumental value to him. The Blank Slate theory holds that what is known as human nature is a matter of social conditioning, which regulates the way human beings behave and act, and a little of man’s biological nature. Proponents of this theory include Karl Marx, Max Weber, etc. For the Classical or Ancient Philosophical ideas, philosophers like Antonio Rosmini-Serbati, and Aristotle conceive human nature as volitional and rational respectively. Human beings, no doubt, undergo the reasoning process of the mind. The human mind has the ability to create ideas, both simple and complex ones IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 346 since they are already stored in the mind. The human mind has the ability to think; this is what qualifies the human being as a rational being, such that he is thinking whenever his mind is not blank, that is, whenever he is conscious of something. To think of something is to be conscious of that thing, to reason, reflect, will, doubt, question, and remember. Philosophers identify four main functions of the human mind to include memory, cognition, volition or will, and imagination. Memory is the retentive or storage function of the human mind whereby experiences are stored up and recalled or remembered later. The cognitive function is meant for the acquisition of knowledge. It does the function of thinking, speculation, reasoning or arguing, and meditating. Volition or will is the aspect of the mind that makes choices, decisions, accepts, or rejects anything. The capacity for voluntary action, conscious intention, or cognitive self- regulation is seen by Antonio Rosmini-Serbati as a very important aspect of human nature. There is no doubt that every living organism exhibits self- regulation at diverse levels, the highest level of self-regulation is exhibited by human beings, whereby they make choices, control, and regulate the operations of their minds or intellect. They decide whether to act, what action to undertake, and when it is proper to undertake or not to undertake an action. This means that human beings are naturally in control of and responsible for their own actions and choices. They have conscious knowledge of what is right and what is wrong. This makes volition a linkage idea to rationality because to choose or not to choose, as well as to act or not to act requires a rational process that is in sine qua non with cognition and memory. For Aristotle, a philosopher of nature, who strongly believes in the cause of nature, and develops his entire philosophy on the basis of nature, of the various things that exist, “some exist by nature, some from other causes” (1947, 192b8-9). This means that not to exist by nature implies to exist by 'other cause'. The 'other cause' can be a product of a human agent or craft. A thing is said to exist by nature if it comes to be by nature and not by some other causes, and it has as its function the promotion of the natural end (1947, 199a6). A thing’s nature is therefore what such thing is all about, that is, what makes such thing what it is rather than another. It is an innate or inherent propensity of a thing or being. Human beings are by nature rational, political (zoon politikon) and social. As rational beings, human beings deploy the natural credential of rationality for a meaningful life in society through IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 347 enlightened discourses and the resolution of conflicts and differences. Again, human life is naturally socio-political because socio-political life is rooted in human nature and human nature conversely requires socio- political life for its fulfilment, which entails the promotion of good life, happiness, human flourishing, and the development of society. This contravenes the current driving force of politics and human relationships where selfishness has become the defining lineament rather than the advancement of human happiness, good life, and the development of human society. The traditional response of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas that rationality is what distinguishes the human being from other animals was a remarkable effort to settle the issue of what constitutes human nature, yet the debate has persisted simply because this response cannot be seen to completely capture the complex and changing nature of human beings. For instance, the ability of human beings to think and act rationally in an event, according to Innocent Asouzu, can be grossly hindered or impaired by the inability of the mind to insightfully and correctly think out what the situation adequately demands. This means that even with the human natural credential of rationality or rational ability, mistakes and errors are bound to occur. Selfishness can also invalidate or hinder one from reasoning properly. “For this reason, we can understand that in the pursuance of our interests in society, elements of rational and quasi-rational nature can combine to form the foundation of our actions and decisions” (Asouzu 2004, p.51). Wrong reasoning by human beings and the tendency to seek preservation either of self, institution, or nation in an exclusive manner is the root cause of racism, classism, sexism, tribalism, and all manners of tendencies of segregation. "It is one of the hidden reasons for all excuses to confuse and to conceal, to confound and to exploit, to condone and to misuse. In this way, human existence, in all aspects, turns out to be a hidden struggle towards the survival of the fittest." (Asouzu, p.57). Due to our partial reliance on natural insight based on reason, a person learns to define his needs within a wider framework of meaning to include not only himself but also a wider network of people, ideas, and values that enter into his self- definition. Not only do individuals respond to their needs in this way but groups and institutions also undertake all these measures they deem fit to preserve themselves and guard against extinction. This is one of the root causes of such IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 348 extreme exclusive tendencies as racism, ethnicity, tribalism, and nepotism (Asouzu, Pp.51-52). The point is that human social relationships and any other form of relationships are regulated or controlled by self-preservation as a basic law of nature. Inclination towards self-preservation is human nature, although human beings share this nature with other animals. They naturally do everything possible to uphold whatever conditions or advantages that favour their life and continued existence. Self-preservation mostly determines the nature of human relationships, the relationship between institutions, nations, whether diplomatic, economic, political, or cultural relations. The point is that self-preservation can make individuals, institutions, and nations act irrationally to protect and safeguard themselves and their nation. However, the fact that human beings are naturally said to be rational animals does not imply that they must act rationally all the time. In fact, it would amount to mere assumption to think otherwise because natural law just as Innocent Asouzu rightly observed can place enormous demand on the human ability and capacity to think and act reasonably and rationally all the time. Human Nature and the Binary of Social Relations: An Afrocentric Experience Human nature determines what proper relationship should be with other human beings and non-human beings alike, as well as the universe in general in which human beings live. It unveils the central and remarkable features human beings have, and provides traits and dispositions that are uniquely important for the proper understanding of human behaviours, actions, and aspirations. Human nature, human life, existence, and relationships are coded in, hinged on, and operates in binaries like good and bad, success and failure, darkness and light, night and day, new and old, etc. Human thoughts or ideas also operate in binaries, for instance, true and false, plausible and implausible, implicit and explicit, etc. Even in human relationships with others, some experiences show or indicate instances of binaries, most of which are socio-culturally constructed binaries. Binary of social relations, as referred to in this paper include the divisive socio-cultural antecedents like racism, classism, sexism, ethnicism, and gender categorization. These are socio-cultural constructs that show how people are categorized especially in their relationships with others in society. It has to do with anything that attaches importance to people's historical and socio-cultural beings and experiences for profiling and IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 349 discrimination. Binary of social relations is a representation of "Self and Otherness" that puts the “Other” in unjust classes and categories. These binaries come in the form of white race-black race, superior-inferior, oppressor-oppressed, strong-weak, master-slave, subject-object, exploiter- exploited, and to use Marxist parlance, bourgeois-proletariat relationships. For Simone de Beauvoir, it is a matter of the absolute sex versus the second sex, essential-incidental relationships, etc. This means that as we have binaries of nature, we also have human socio-culturally constructed binaries that occur when "we hierarchize the binaries and tag some superior and positive, and others as inferior and negative. It is by mere convention that we regard some modalities as more important than others are” (Eboh, 2014, p.9). According to Eboh, “socio-culturally constructed binaries such as transcendence and immanence need not be hierarchize…”(p.9), because a tacit theory of human socio-culturally constructed nature is based on human thoughts and feelings, which is embedded in the very way we think about people (2002, p.1). Elsewhere in her work, Eboh categorically points out that binaries are supposed to be mutually complementary and inclusive rather than exclusives. She puts it thus: The socio-culturally constructed binaries: transcendence and immanence, active and passive, rational and emotional, producer and reproducer, superior and inferior, alternant and subaltern, projectile and hollow, donor and receiver, cultured and domesticated, need not be hierarchized. In reality, the binaries are not mutually exclusive; they are moods of being which can co-exist even in a person and manifest themselves on different occasions in varying circumstances and degrees (p.17). Human socio-culturally construct of binary, either in thinking or in an application is responsible for the polarization, dichotomy, and division, among human beings consequent upon hatred, subjugation and tension that has left humanity and the world more divided and un-unified than ever. The world appears to have lost the sense of humanity thereby human beings are now seen from the prism of statistics rather than from the point of view of humanitarian and complementary perspectives. Western hegemony and cultures are heavily implicated in this regard, especially in their relationships with Africans and Africa. Africa through racism, classism, slavery and slave trade, colonialism, and neocolonialism has been isolated into these unjust categories by the Western zealous quest for domination, materialism, power, and control. The White, no doubt, are IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 350 human beings with the human rational credential, which allows them to systematically explore the world; it is expected that they use and prudently apply their rationality and knowledge for the safety and benefit of all humankind. But on a contrary note, self-preservation or selfishness, greed and insatiable quest for power, control, and most importantly, the fear of economic, socio-cultural, and political disempowerment seem to have continually taken control of their psycho-mental disposition resulting in a distorted sense of reason and moral consciousness. Innocent Asouzu rightly argues that “The need for self-preservation is the primordial human interest around which human beings articulate their meaning. This motive drives the rules guiding human action either individually or collectively” (2004, p. 52). For him, self-preservation is beneath all manners of segregations and exploitative tendencies caused by racism, colourism, classism, etc. “Any society that insists on self-interest as a means of personal and collective actualization is merely heading to ruins. It is like the proverbial kingdom that turns against itself (Pp.8-9). The Europeans through imperialism introduced all manners of segregation and exploitative practices like slavery and slave trade, colonialism, and neo-colonialism. They employed segregation and discrimination against the Blacks during employment, fixing of wages, the composition of colonial governments, and in many other aspects of life and social relations. There is no doubt that discrimination and domination constitute a hindrance to both individual human prosperity, national and international or global developments. With slavery and slave trade, torture and deprivation come the Western belief that Africans are not better than lower animals; they are savages and barbarians undeserving of humane treatment but should be bought or sold as infra-human dignitatem for exploitation and enslavement by the colonial masters. The justification for purchasing or selling them is that they are not human beings in the most proper sense. With colonialism, there was a connection with racism whereby the Europeans deliberately intended Africans to think that even though they are human beings, they are inferior human beings in nature (Elechi, 2021a p.94). And with neo- colonialism comes the assumption of the Whiteman that even though Africans are human beings, they are not capable of ruling themselves and making progress; no Black African country is capable of feeding its population let alone capable of developing or sustaining any stable social institution because of the African inherent incapacity for organization as well as his propensity towards laziness and corruption (Elechi, p.92). Again, the Western selfish motive to dominate, marginalize, and sustain IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 351 economic gains, political expansion, psycho-mental control, and socio- cultural devaluations escalated exclusivism, classism, and racism in Africa. Classism and racism, for instance, gave rise to what is referred to in Nigeria as Government Reserved Areas (GRA), whereby certain areas in the cities are reserved for the Western imperialists. The colonial masters also practiced racism within the colonies by discriminating against the indigenes and hindering them from entering certain parts of the urban areas, which they referred to as 'Government Reserved Area (GRA)'. These areas were exclusively reserved for white people and their African collaborators. This is the origin of GRA here and there in Nigeria, which only depicts segregation and discrimination between the rich and the poor, rulers and the ruled. The effect of this is yet to be overcome in the country (Elechi, p. 89). Western imperialism eroded the identity of Africans and inflected a euro- centric mentality and dependency. The prejudice and intolerance for the Blacks and Africans lead them into derogatory remarks against the Blacks, especially the deliberate denial of Africans the capacity for critical thinking and philosophy, science, and art. Hegel's remarks that Africans are lacking in reasoning, but exhibits wild and untamed tendencies; and Hume's adumbration that Blacks are naturally inferior to the White only exposes Western hegemony and intention to perpetually conquer and dominate Africans. According to Hume, Negroes naturally inferior to the whites. There never was a civilized nation of any other complexion than white, nor even any individual eminent either in action or speculation (1777, Pp.691- 698). For the West, whiteness represents everything good and pure while blackness stands for everything bad, evil, and immoral. It was Immanuel Kant who conceives black as symbolizing darkness and mental stupidity. This prejudiced conception is responsible for the negative profiling of Africa and Africans and justifies the inhumane and dehumanizing measures against them. An attempt to understand human nature, particularly the nature of Africans, is one of the main issues of Africa philosophy. In Africa, reality is conceptualized as a harmony of opposites or binaries. Natural binaries and their harmony are the necessary epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical significance of African existence, where life is a variorum, and where every being and all existents have a locus of value, thus, the reason Africans frown at any attempt to degrade and subjugate humanity. Humanity in IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 352 Africa is understood in the realms of action and complementary interpersonal relationships. This constitutes the general African approach to their fellow human beings. They do not separate their humanity from those of the others around them. This is why commonality and hospitality combined are very important underlying principles of traditional African nature. This sense of commonality and hospitality is drawn from the African belief that every human being is important, valuable, and is an end in himself or herself (Elechi, 2023, p.210). It is also derived from the African sense of generosity and magnanimity to others, especially to strangers. These resonate with traditional African values for human life and respect for human rights, his interest in interpersonal relations with others, his belief in human dignity, as well as his resolute belief in the humanization of nature and the naturalization of human beings. The inter-subjectivity, complementary character, and human nature of Africans reflect their transcendental, spiritual, and psychophysical relations and participation in the image and inner richness of God. This explains Africa’s richness in spiritual and socio-cultural experiences. The Illogic in the Logic of Bifurcation of Humanity: Consequences of Binary of Social Relations Human beings are naturally corrupt, depraved, selfish, evil, and destructive. Charles Darwin, Thomas Hobbes, and David Hume are united in the calibration that human beings are naturally evil and selfish. Human beings are said to be free yet they use their freedom wrongly for evil and wicked intents and purposes. Contrarily, the optimists have argued that human beings are naturally good and unselfish but become contaminated by socio-cultural practices, indoctrination, civilization, capitalism, false learning, doctrines, and socialization, which have wrongly shaped their nature to be wicked and selfish. This is what Robert Wright articulates when he writes that "there is no inherent human nature driving human events, but, rather, our essential nature is to be driven"(1996, p.5). Whether we believe it or not, the views under consideration intersect. The intersection is that human beings are selfish and wicked, whether this selfishness and wickedness are naturally driven or socio-culturally conditioned is also a question of great importance in this paper. However, we must understand that these are basic defects in the human makeup, whether inherent in human nature or socio-culturally conditioned. Binaries of social relations are meant, among other things, for the preservation of certain socio-cultural, economic, and political advantages. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 353 They are meant to oppress and enslave the other. They are triggered by fear and greed or selfishness. Binaries of human social relations in the hierarchical structure of contrasts subordinate one element to another and impose a hierarchical order on the world that connects human beings with strands that support pervasive human relations of inequality and dominance. Human nature and the binary of social relations indicate that there is a problem of inclusiveness, identity in difference, whole-hearted acceptance of Africans by their Western counterparts. This negates Africans’ belief in the inter-subjectivity and participatory character of human beings in sharing in the inner richness and divine essence of existential experiences. According to Elechi in his work Inclusive Humanism and the Socio-Economic Development of Nigeria argues that inclusive humanism, which is an existential and episteme-moral basis of African ontology and existence is negated with any socio-culturally constructed binary. African mode of living and being is inclusive and cooperative rather than exclusive and egoistic (2020, p.13). It does not accommodate elements of transcendence and imminence in social relations. Binary of social relations is the root cause of the many crises in the world, it leads to actions, reactions, and counter-actions, which culminates into disorder, anarchy, and conflict (Uwalaka, 1998, p.94). These are all concerned with “grouping or ordering” that benefits one category over the other by conferring certain unwarrantable privileges or entitlements to one category against the binary other. Any discriminatory practice that tends to reify, objectify and marginalize anyone is provocative and unacceptable. The consequence is that it breeds the ills of violence, prejudice, discrimination, and isolation against others. These categorizations are mechanisms for economic, socio- cultural, and political control and the perpetual objectification, maltreatment, and subdue of the other. According to Asouzu, We cannot guarantee our own existence and safety if we are not able to make some concessions to others. Despite our nature for self-interest and self-preservation, we must seek to consider the interest of others. This is the principle of live and let live (egbe bere ugo bere, nke si ibeya ebele nku kwaa ya). Let the kite perch, let the eagle perch, whichever refuses let its wing break (2004, p. 9). This is the Igbo maxim for collective and harmonious coexistence. We are very much aware of the consequences of the evils of racism, sexism, and classism as binaries of social relations. They are based on fear and greed. Binary of social relations, which is equivalent to systems of segregation and IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 354 discrimination does not reflect the genetic compositions of human beings, rather it destroys the sense of humanism, naturalism, and human cohesive rapport. The pillars upon which binaries rest are political, social, economic, and cultural exploitation and devaluation. This is why in reacting to racism, in particular, Allaher rightly avers that the segregation of races was really a political stratagem employed by the emerging to keep Africa divided and undeveloped. It is to infuse the mind of supremacy. It is for European expansion and conquest and cheap labour. It is always an economic calculus in the service of capitalists and done to cheapen the cost of labour and enhancing profit (2014, p.426). The Humanization of Human Nature and the Naturalization of Human Being: The Way Forward The real sense of humanity is to humanize human attitudes and actions towards others whereby others are seen and treated as beings in the most proper sense. The genuine feeling and practice of the sense of human inclusiveness, which presupposes mutual tolerance and respect for each other’s rights and choices must be the guiding principle for the inhabitants of the world. Bauman avers that: There is one short rule that should regulate human relationships. All that you see both divine and human, is one. We are parts of the same great body. Nature created us from the same source and the same end. She imbue us with mutual affection and sociability, she taught us to be fair and just, to suffer injury rather than to inflict it. She bids us extend our hands to all in need of help. Let that well-known line be in our hearts and on our lips (1999, p.1). There is a need to deconstruct and dismantle all socio-culturally constructed ideas and practices that hinder the respect for humanity and inhibit human fulfilment of potentials, complementarity, and egalitarianism. Gynism, the philosophy of humanism and humanitarianism, equity, justice, freedom, and emancipation (Elechi, 2021b, Pp.100-115), is the way forward. “The bristling challenges of Western hegemonic and exploitative tendencies founded in imperial ideologies and racism can be resolved with the epistemological compass of Gynist deconstruction of human thoughts and actions. Gynist philosophy is a deconstruction of Western attitude towards Africans and the blacks. This philosophy advocates for the humanization of human nature and attitudes IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 355 towards “Others", and the naturalization of human beings, whereby all human oppressive, exploitative, and discriminative tendencies and practices that motivate unwholesome binaries in human interpersonal and international socio-cultural and political relations must be dismantled and overcome. Gynism is a practical philosophy that champions the abrogation of obnoxious binaries in human relations and cultures, fighting all forms of slavery, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and colourism, sexism, capitalism, etc, across the globe for the sake of a humane, peaceful, decent and total development of the human world (Elechi, 2023, Pp.216-17). Gynists seek liberation from foreign rule and neo-colonialism. According to Professor Marie Pauline Eboh, the exponent of the concept, Gynism fights Western hegemonic and exploitative tendencies. It fights all forms of slavery and oppression in the name of colonialism, neocolonialism, indirect or foreign rule, racism, capitalism, imperialism, etc., of the Western world against Africa (Elechi, 2021a, p. 100). The Gynist deconstruction as a radical procedure, a radical examination, and interrogation of such existing state of affairs aims at stripping social reality of falsehood and inequality by unmasking structural injustices and exploitative tendencies while calling for a positive attitudinal change, and the transformation of human relations (Eboh, 2016, p.10). There is a need, therefore, for global integration and inclusivity. All forms of socio-culturally constructed binaries that subordinate and enslave others must be eliminated to end the violence, injustice, and deprivations arising forthwith. Gynism is a philosophy of hope, enthusiasm, and optimism that canvasses a world devoid of segregation, supremacism, domination, and all oppressive and exploitative hegemonies. Conclusion Any culture that considers Africans as less-humans to be treated with disdain, segregation inhumane, and socio-culturally constructed binaries is only emotional rather than rational. As long as Africa remains in bondage, global development will never be total. As long as the women are not liberated, it is illusory to think of sustainable global development. As long as the White race continues to maltreat, exploit and suppress the Blacks, mutatis mutandis, there can never be global peace and security. Whatever principle, therefore, that gives rise to and regulates the existing binaries of social relations between human beings, and between Europeans and Africa, whereby one human category and race are subordinated by the other is entirely morally and naturally wrong. It constitutes the chief obstacle to human improvement, healthy human relationships, and global equitable development. It does not guarantee the principles of equity, equality, and IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 356 tolerance, be it capitalism, racism, or sexism. It must be abrogated or deconstructed and dismantled. Africans are genuine human beings that are entitled to a meaningful life, development, and enriching human relationships and cohesive rapport. Binary of human social relations is a hindrance to the inter-subjectivity, inclusiveness, and participatory character or quiddity that naturally defines human beings and their relationships in the world. Most of the numerous tragedies and avoidable conflicts in human experience and existence are the exact consequences of the unnecessary segregations and binaries in human relationships. Genuine human freedom and humanism in the world can be achieved if the philosophical idea of Gynism is adopted. For, it provides and champions ideals that can surmount the obstacles to human emancipation and accommodating rapport in human relationships. References Allaher, A.L., “Marxist or Not? Oliver Cromwell Cox on Capitalism and Class versus Race”, Canadian Journal of Latin America and Caribbean Studies, 39(3), 2014. Aristotle, Physics, trans. R.P. Hardie and R.K. Gaye in Introduction to Aristotle (ed.) by Richard Mickeon, Oxford: New Random House Inc., 1947. Asouzu, I. Innocent, Effective Leadership and the Ambivalence of Human Interest: The Nigerian Paradox in a Complementary Perspective, Calabar: University of Calabar Press, 2003. Asouzu, I. Innocent, The Method and Principles of Complementary Reflection: In and Beyond African Philosophy, Calabar: University of Calabar Press, 2004. Bauman, R., Human Rights in Ancient Rome. UK: Routledge Classical Monograph, 1999. Durkheim, E., The Rules of the Sociological Method, Glencoe, Ill: Free Press, 1962. Dupre, John, “On Human Nature”, In Human Affairs, 2003. Eboh, M.P., “Feminist Epistemology and Opinionated Dualism: The Way Forward”, in Journal of Gender Studies, 6(1), 2014, Pp. 9-18. Eboh, M.P., “The Woman Being: Its Nature and Functions”, Dialogue and Universalism: Journal of the International Society for Universal Dialogue, No.1, 2016, Pp.7-17. Elechi, M., “Ecogynism as Unspoken Dialogue between Humans and Nature”, Dialogue and Universalism: Journal of International Society for Universal Dialogue, 33(2), 2023, Pp.208-221 IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 9. No. 4. (2023) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 357 Elechi, M., “Western Racist Ideologies and the Nigerian Predicament”, Dialogue and Universalism: Journal of the International Society for Universal Dialogue, vol. xxxi No.1. 2021a, Pp. 87-104. Elechi, M., “Marie Pauline Eboh’s Gynist Theory: An Expository Analysis” in Philosophy, Universal Dialogue and Intersectionality: Philosophical Essays in Honour of Marie Pauline Eboh, edited by Elechi, M. and C.M.N. Christiana Idika, Enugu: Rhyce Kerex Publishers, 2021b, Pp.99-120. Elechi, M., “Inclusive Humanism and the Socio-Economic Development of Nigeria”, in International Journal of Arts and Humanities, 9(2), 2020, Pp.13-23. Foucault, Michel, “Nietzsche, Genealogy, History”, In Language, Counter- Memory, Practice, ed. and trans. Donald F. Bouchard, Oxford: Blackwell, 1977, Pp. 139-164. Hubbard, Ruth, “The Political Nature of Human Nature” In Theoretical Perspectives on Sexual Difference, ed. D.L. Rhode, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990. Hume, David, “Essays: Moral Political and Literary”, quoted in Eze, E.C. (2000), “Hume, Race, and Human Nature”, Journal of the History of Ideas, 61(4), 1777. Pinker, Steven, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature, London: Penguin, 2002. Sartre, Jean-Paul, Existentialism and Humanism, London: Methuen, 1948. Uwalaka, J., “Inclusive Humanism: The Basis of a Sound Socio-political Order for Africa.” In Oguejiofor, J.O., (ed.) Africa: Philosophy and Public Affairs, Enugu: Delta Pub. Ltd., 1998. Wright, Robert, The Moral Animal: Why we are the Way are. London: Abacus, 1996.