EGBE BERE, UGO BERE AND KANTIAN ETHICS: TOWARD A PHILOSOPHY OF MENTAL CAUSATION AND ECO-SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract

This paper develops a comparative philosophical framework that brings the Igbo metaphysico-ethical principle Egbe Bere, Ugo Bere into dialogue with Immanuel Kant’s theory of mental causation and moral philosophy in order to articulate a foundation for eco-sustainability. It argues that Kant’s conception of causation as an a priori category of understanding establishes the constitutive role of mental activity in structuring experience and grounding causal relations. Building on this epistemological insight, the paper examines Kant’s categorical imperative as a model of moral duty grounded in universalisable principles. The study foregrounds Egbe Bere, Ugo Bere as a relational ethical principle emphasising coexistence, reciprocity, and balance within a shared ecological order. Through critical synthesis, it demonstrates that mental causation, moral responsibility, and environmental sustainability are deeply interconnected. It further argues that ecological responsibility is best understood not merely in pragmatic or utilitarian terms but as a duty grounded in both rational moral law and Afrocentric relational ontology. The paper concludes that eco-sustainability requires a transformation of human consciousness rooted in moral responsibility and metaphysical awareness of interconnected existence.