A Reflection on the Values of Art and Aesthetic in an African (Yoruba) Thought System

ABSTRACT
This paper is a philosophical reflection on the values of African art and aesthetics.
Using the Yoruba traditional society and artefacts as our springboard, the paper
employs the descriptive and analytical method of philosophy to explicate the
meaning and place of art and aesthetic among the Yoruba people. The paper
underpins the idea that beyond the recreational and decorative values that may
be placed on artefacts, there are socio cultural, economic, political, religious, and
other values that do not only point to the world views of the Yoruba in particular
and Africans in general but also to the ethical, epistemic and metaphysical beliefs
of the traditional lives of the people