BAILEY'S AFRICAN TRADITION'S ETHICS Volume 76

ABOUT THE BOOKIn African Tradition, Ethics is ones System of Values used as a personal disposition to guide ones Selfhood Ingredients pertaining to how one thinks, feels, says, does. Along a human's life's course, these are used for ones desires, choices, decisions, solutions pertaining to Right Life Thinking/Living. Their by-products operate in determining ones Character. Ancient Africans considered a human's System of Values to be a reflection of ones character, perhaps embracing both Morals ("Right/Wrong") and Ethics (Appropriate/Inappropriate) behaviors within the context of Ma'at living. Ma'at makes for an absolute standard for reaching the heaven Afterlife. They started with Good Manners in training children into their System of Values. Those embrace Folkways--non-moral customs, called Ethics + Mores--Moral customs-Common Sense about "Right"/"Wrong" according to Divine Law Standards. These carry the same power as the force of law. Yet, personal Spiritual Ethics is using Wisdom to discern Rightness, based upon Divine Laws, of conflicting Qualities. Morals are using ones Intellect to properly institute decisions-open to ones instincts or choice--in the most practical manner that embraces Harmlessness, Truth, Honesty, Cleanliness, Appropriateness. These mosaics of Divine Laws are Intellects' greatest powers. The point is that ones mental qualities are largely determined by the nature, quality, and quantity of ones Pre-Birth and Earthly Acquired Emotions. The more Pre-Birth Emotions orchestrate ones Selfhood and the least Acquired Emotions are used, is what fashions the very best Good Manners and Ethics. African Tradition advocates high Human Ideals and right conduct as foundational to the preservation of the individual, the group, and community living. A way this is done is by honestly listing all of ones Good and less than Good Qualities. For the latter, remove the Useless and modify or eliminate the others by letting them die from disuse. For their opposite replacements, use Ancient African Spiritual Literature as the source for ones Divine Law Standards from which to extract Human Ideals compatible with ones Talents and demanded by ones Selfhood nature. Then strive to achieve them with Human Perfection, starting immediately and with a sense of Urgency. Feel Self-Pride-so as to not need to seek others' approval--and celebrate the multiple small successes used in the process of climbing out of a seemingly bottomless pit of each significant thing and/or from climbing each rung of the ladder in heading towards the "heavens." By having Human Ideal Standards against which to compare all of what one thinks, feels, says, does + having a Legacy Destination of daily providing Spiritually Uplifting Gifts for the "ME/WE" are the composition of the Necessity Theme of ones life. This Theme is "untouchable" by outsiders-meaning one always makes ones own decisions alone, in a self-reliant manner. The context for handling Significant "pop-up" Emergencies/Urgencies is to have ones life in Order so as to remain organized while those "pop-ups" are being handled. Otherwise, conform to Folkways and Mores that do not violate Divine Laws. Selfhood Ingredients that remain in this flow create, enhance, maintain Good Character and Good Manners, like having good relations with and good behaviors toward non-evil people. For these to happen requires knowing how to avoid destruction, by minimizing their impacting forces; or self-protect and self-preserve ones Survival instincts from ignorant, stupid, foolish, con-artists, enemies, and wicked people who create losses, lacks, obstructions or at least slow, stop or reverse ones wholesome progress. Ones Life's Theme journey is to be sprinkled daily with Fun/Play/Pleasure.