The philosophy and ethics concerning death and disposal of the dead among the Maasai

Abstract

This study attempts to understand and formulate formalize able and ethical rational criteria that surround death and the disposal of the dead in general, and, in particular" among the Maasai community. It is argued that the difference prevalent in disposal of the dead, and, the reasons

advanced to justify the same are ethically defensible.

The thread running throughout this study is best captured in the claim; no man lives or dies without affecting others. That the whole of man's mental furniture and dress is borrowed wholesomely from society, and that therefore, man's fullest self realizations impossible without society. Further, it is argued that a successful society must produce creative individuals on which its success depends, and, in turn, creative individuals need to foster a strong and supportive society. The above claim is in line with what Thomas Hobbes long ago reminded us of, i.e. the life of the single individual in a state of nature is "solitary, poor, brutish and short". Without laboring this essential point, it is recognized in this study that the society with the greatest prospect of success is that whose members show the least selfishness.