Desmond Tutu
South African archbishop: through ubuntu, "a person is a person through other persons".
Life
Desmond Tutu (1931-2021) was a South African Anglican priest, Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1984 for his non-violent opposition to apartheid, and Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996. From 1996 he chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He brought wide attention to ubuntu, the African idea that one becomes fully human through one's bonds with others, and defended forgiveness as a condition of a shared future.
Main works
An account of his work at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a plea for forgiveness as a political path.
Presents a Christian and African vision of a humanity loved by God and bound together by ubuntu.
Written with his daughter Mpho, a four-step guide to forgiving.
In his own words
« A person is a person because he recognizes others as persons. »
« Forgiveness is an absolute necessity for continued human existence. »
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceHe speaks as a believer: all people are children of God and their dignity comes from God.
Tutu, God Has a Dream (2004)
Ubuntu grounds ethics in relationship: we become human through others, so what is good restores and sustains the community.
Tutu, No Future Without Forgiveness (1999)
He holds that apartheid was objectively evil, a violation of the God-given dignity of every person.
Tutu, No Future Without Forgiveness (1999)
He holds that people are made for relationship and can change, so even wrongdoers can be forgiven and restored.
Tutu, No Future Without Forgiveness (1999)