Abstract

The Ubuntu/Unhu philosophy being non-Western has generated some contentions about it being considered as a philosophy. It does not readily meet the classification criterion of a philosophy of being classical or modern. The consideration of Ubuntu/Unhu philosophy among other philosophies has been distorted by the philosophic orientations of the creators of text about the philosophy. Some creators of text define Ubuntu/Unhu as a conglomeration of ethical considerations of certain ethnic groups in southern Africa. Others consider it as an ideology germane to some African traditional cultures. This article unveils some nuances that have contributed to the debasement of Ubuntu/Unhu that makes it (in some instances) not to be conceptualised as a philosophy in its own right. The qualitative research approach was employed in the generation of data. Ten elderly informants with ages ranging from sixty-five to ninety were purposively selected from Masvingo and Umzingwane Districts in Zimbabwe and were interviewed. The informants’ conceptions of Ubuntu/Unhu have emphasis on axiology, a branch of philosophy. The institutional core values of fifteen teacher education colleges were analysed and it was ascertained that all of them conceptualize Unhu/Ubuntu as a ‘value’ that is considered like any other ethical values. The conception of Ubuntu/Unhu as a philosophy should be emphasized in teacher education institutions for the dissemination of undistorted information to the learners at elementary education levels.