Abstract

One fundamental challenge that most post-colonial African states have to grapple with is how to contain the pull of centrifugal forces emanating from the ethno-cultural diversity that characterized these states, and how to evolve a state–wide national identity from the mélange of ethno-cultural groupings which presently constitute them. Unfortunately, efforts in this direction have yielded little results: many African states are plagued by political instability, ethnic conflict and, in some cases civil wars, demonstrating that these national societies remain deeply divided as ever. The assimilatory policies of the central governments in most of Africa notwithstanding, primordial ethnic and religious identities retain their salience and remain a veritable source of conflict in modern Africa. This paper argues that often at the root of the mutual ethnic antagonism in divided societies is the epistemic hubris of cultural and religious world-views, which are not only taken to be absolute verities but also exclude other world-views as inaccurate or inferior. In addition to contemporary understanding regarding the social constructedness of world-views, it is contended that a deliberate cultivation of the attitude of critical rationalism would reveal the contingency, the fallibility and the open-endedness of world-views. On the basis of this we conclude that a healthy widespread acceptance of the epistemological assumptions of critical rationalism will eventuate in the development of the ethos of toleration that is conducive to the harmonious coexistence of diverse groupings in multicultural societies. The paper adopts the method of critical analysis and conceptual exegesis of secondary sources in reaching its conclusions.