Integration of Western Culture Into African Culture - Essay Example

In the African context, the individual does not exist but rather the society. Africans believe in working together for the society and obeying societal norms. It has taken time for the African to adopt the individualistic philosophies because these dictate that an individual should be autonomous. On the contrary, African philosophies suggest that without the society, the individual would feel empty. Individualism and liberty philosophies from the west remain new to some Africans. This explains why there is little democracy in African countries but the people do nothing about it.

In addition, Africans have slowly integrated western science ad technological innovations to their traditional industries. The acceptance did not come easily. In a bid to catch up with the rest of the developing world in trade and economy, Africa had to absorb the new education and technology to solve its problems. Africa had the resources but lacked the technological expertise to make use of the resources. It is sad to realize that African countries still lag behind in application of the new technologies into their industries.

On the other hand, some scientific knowledge serves to strengthen what society believes in. Advances in genetics help the African communities to give explanations to their beliefs. The African culture appreciates that different individuals differ in physical traits. They also recognize that close family members had a high level of resemblance. Such scientific breakthroughs were easy to integrate into their culture. (Erickson, 2005). Before introduction of western medicine, Africans had their form of traditional medicine.

Traditional medicine had its unique form of prescription and diagnosis. In some communities, traditional healers associated disease with