Assessing Traditional Herbal Medical Practice in Nigeria from the Perspective of Kant’s Concept of Good Will

Abstract

This work evaluated the prevalence of traditional herbal medicine in Nigeria and observed the lack of Goodwill in the practice. This absence of good will is evident in the unethical practices of circumventing drug approval procedures, drug adulteration and the use of spurious claims in the practice. Drawing inspiration from Kant's idea of Goodwill which upholds doing the right thing for the right reason, doing what ought to be done not out of self-interest or any inclination, this study argues that good will as a moral guide is indispensable in traditional herbal medical practice if we must retain the trust and confidence people have in traditional herbal medicine. This study therefore recommends that traditional herbal medicine practitioners and their marketers, the government, drug and Health Regulatory Agencies should imbibe and exhibit good will as a moral guide in their practice. This study adopts the method of textual analysis and is purely qualitative and argumentative.