LIKE WESTERN MORAL THEORIES, POGORO MORAL KNOWLEDGE SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED AS LEGITIMATE

This study aims to explore moral knowledge of the Pogoro people of Tanzania and argues for its recognition as a legitimate ethical theory within global philosophical discourse. It examines the way in which indigenous moral systems, particularly Pogoromorality, should be understood and recognized in global philosophy. This issue arises in the context of persistent marginalization of indigenous African moral systems which are traditionally regarded as folklore or cultural practices rather than ethical theories. Three interconnected dimensions will be explored: first, content and structure of Pogoro moral knowledge and its practical expressions in social upbringing of children and everyday social life; second, philosophical background of the marginalization of indigenous knowledge systems and reconstruction of epistemological hierarchy of colonial era that was oriented towards marginalization of oral knowledge, communal ethics and communal responsibility; third, methodological framework of Pogoromoral knowledge reconstruction. Key findings show that Pogoro indigenous ethics represents a coherent philosophical system that can be considered as legitimate ethical theory. Such recognition challenges residual colonial epistemic assumptions concerning what could be recognized as ethical theory and contributes to decolonization of knowledge. The study confirms the idea that Pogoro indigenous moral thought constitutes a serious autonomous ethical theory.