The Morality of Frantz Fanon’s Philosophy of Violence

Abstract

This paper examines Fanon‟s justification for violence within the context of anti-colonial struggle visà-vis the situationism and utilitarianism in which morality in the colonial world seems to be grounded.It employs the method of analysis to establish whether Fanon‟s justification for violent struggle meetsthe moral standards of situationism and utilitarianism. The research finds that deleterious effects ofviolent resistance on both the colonisers and the colonised make Fanon‟s commitment to creation ofnew humanity and restoration of human dignity through violence counter-productive. This is becausehis violence-laden decolonisation view tends to engender disastrous consequences for humanity,contrary to beneficial consequences of an action which distinctively define situationism andutilitarianism. Thus, Fanon‟s justification for counter-violence falls short of moral standards of bothsituationism and utilitarianism. The paper concludes therefore, that though we act and decide in asituation, we are morally obliged to weigh the pros and cons of our moral choices and actions, and optfor acts that relatively promote humanity for the common good.