Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

WESTERN CULTURE YORUBA

CHAPITRE ONE

YOURBA & WESTERN ETHICS

1.1. ETHICS

There are many actions that we will condemn as morally wrong and should not be done by anyone, such as stealing, murder, bribery, aimed robbery, and corruption, and so on.

However, there are certain actions that everyone considers to be morally good, such as kindness, honesty, respect for elders, hospitality, and so on.

Now, why do we state that some activities are good or right while others are terrible or wrong? How do we determine the goodness or rightness or badness of specific actions?

To answer these and other problems, we need a science that deals with human behaviour. Ethics is defined as the science that studies human behavior1. Thus, ethics is a metre for comparing the goodness or rightness and wrongness or badness of various actions or behaviours.

1.2. ETHICAL UNIVERSALISM

According to ethical universalism, all ethical judgements, regardless of degree, should be universalisable. Thus, ethical universalism asserts that a single ethical standard of judgement should be applied everywhere.

With an ethical Universalist, all behaviours are to be viewed as universal. This theory or concept asserts that an action that is regarded “right” or “wrong,” “good” or “bad,” “praiseworthy” or “blameworthy” in Western countries should be accepted by the Yoruba people in Nigeria.

1.3 ETHICAL RELATIVISM

“Ethical relativism demonstrates the diversity or variation of a group or individual’s morality.” In this situation, mortality is determined by individual human behaviour.”2.

However, it is critical to understand that ethical relativism is dependent on a number of other fundamental variables. These include an individual’s or society’s cultural history and social distinctions.

Ethical universalism holds that one single ethical or moral standard of judgement should be upheld throughout the universe, whereas ethical relativism holds that whatever action is judged to be praiseworthy or blameworthy is relative to an individual or a society in a given time or circumstance.

1.4 CULTURAL UNIVERSALISM.

Culture has been defined in a variety of ways, including: ”Every broad general principle of selectivity and ordering — “highest common factor” —- in terms of patterns of and for and about behaviour in every various areas of culture content are reducible to parsimonious generalization”3.

According to the preceding description, culture can evolve not simply from a society’s traditions and conventions. It could also be adopted and assimilated into one’s existing culture in a variety of other ways.

Other methods include the process through which a person or group of people obtains from contact with another person or group of people. This philosophy, like ethical universalism, asserts that all civilizations must be universalizable. Cultural universalism emphasises that if a country ”A” argues that practising culture ”Y” is justified.

If the claim of country ”A” or society ”A” is consistent, it must be agreed that other societies or countries ”A1′, ”A2”, ”A3”, —-, ”An; would be equally justified to practise culture ”Y” in circumstance ”R”. To do otherwise would be an unusual claim.

1.5 CULTURAL RELATIVISM

Cultural relativism asserts that all values are functions or products of their culture and reflect their society’s and culture’s interests. It is a culturally conditioned fact of human experience.

When we analyse societies that are distinct from one another. Some Eskimos, for example, believe that it is preferable to send their elderly people to wastelands to die rather than keep them alive in their old age to suffer.

This is an example of parricide; others include abortion, euthanasia, human sacrifice, and cannibalism. These instances demonstrate that the rightness or wrongness of human activities can signify different things to different societies or even individuals.

That is, no set of moral or ethical norms can exist. Everyone should accept as globally legitimate or individually valid.

1.6 A  BRIEF GENEOLOGY OF THE YORUBAS

The Yoruba society or kingdom encompasses modern-day Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Ogun, and some other areas of Kwara and Lagos states, as well as the Republic of Benin.

Because of the homogeneous remains in their language, Yoruba community is commonly seen as a single entity. Despite its numerous varieties, this language is the primary proof of a shared origin and cultural legacy.

A second clue to a shared origin of Yoruba culture is the existence of a cycle of myths and its people throughout the country, as well as the foundations at ”Ile-Ife, the world’s centre of the first kingdom.

1.7 THE POLITICAL CULTURE OF YORUBA.

In all Yoruba kingdoms, the ”Town,” or ”Ilu,” was the primary political unit upon which government was established. Each kingdom is made up of several towns, but that does not imply that each town or kingdom has multiple distinct governments.”4.

The capital’s government acted as the kingdom’s central government, while the governments of the subordinate cities served as local government units. The system of administration was monarchical, that is, it was governed by an Oba (king) who was entitled to wear a crown at both the central and local levels.

The Oba was divined and served as the town’s political and religious leader. The Oba was considered as a celestial ruler as the head of the administration, and in theory he held absolute power of life and death over his subjects.

His attribute was ”Oba, alase, ekeji Orisa” — monarch, ruler, and god’s companion. He was also addressed as ”kabiyesi” a phrase which is thought to be shortened from of the sentence ”ki-a-bi-o-ko-si”. That is, no one is going to challenge or question your authority.

In a nutshell, the Oba possessed the power of life and death over his subjects and was regarded as a divine sovereign who was not accountable to them for any of his actions.

When the Westerners arrived, the entire Yoruba political ethics shifted and was viewed in a different light. Some people believed that the powers of these divine kings were gradually eroded under the guise of an indifferent rule system,

and that the king’s powers were completely eroded after western Europeans granted the Yoruba people independence and politicians took over the chair of leadership from them.

The traditional roles of Obas and chiefs were alternated, and various forms of loyalty were declined. The moral or ethical implications of this were clear and are still felt in the current interaction between political rulers and Obas in contemporary Yoruba society.

Other observers saw these adjustments as a kind of political re-organization that nonetheless honoured the old system and placed the Obas in positions that they had traditionally held.

After all, they claimed, Obas are still recognised as the chief priest in all religious and ritual rituals across Yoruba territory.

1.8 RELIGIOUS CULTURE

The concept of God was not introduced to the Yoruba people by western missionaries. They believed in the existence of a single ”Great God” who was an integral member of society, as opposed to the western Christian concept of God remaining in heaven, in the community of good Angels.

The Yoruba believed in the existence and power of Deities (spirits) led by an all-powerful God. Wherever you locate a Yoruba man, you will also discover his religion.

Although Yoruba religion is not as sacrosanct as the ”Bible” of western Christians, all chapters of Yoruba religion are inscribed everywhere in the Yoruba people’s lives. There are no unbelievers among the Yoruba.

According to professor John Mbiti, “being without religion or not living a religious life amounts to a self-communication from the entire life of the society,”5

and “Yoruba people do not know how to exist without religion.” To the Yoruba, man’s character is supreme, and it is this that Oludumare (God) judges.6n, Just as man’s well-being on earth is decided by his character, so his place in the afterlife is determined by Oludumare. The Yoruba ethics is a transcendental ethics.

This is due to the fact that it is ultimately based on an objective transcendental moral order. Order that is beyond man’s control and cannot be changed

Although Yoruba religion has not been written down like the precious ”Bible,” Yoruba people believe that it is not enough to embrace a faith that is restricted to a church building that is closed up six days a week and opened only once or twice a week.

Western missionaries were able to generate catechists, pastors, teachers, priests, church wardens, and converts through education. As a result, Yoruba traditional religion was viewed with disdain by missionaries who connected it with ”idol” worship and saw it as a barrier to Christian evangelism and conversion without regard for the moral qualities the people ascribed to it.

According to some Yorubas, this was the beginning of moral laxity among modern Yorubas. Others saw Western religion as the great hammer that abolished immoral practises such as human sacrifices, death of twins, euthanasia, cannibalism, and so on, which resulted in Yoruba traditional religion and ethics without or with little respect for ethical relativism.

Furthermore, some regard western religion as a method for re-integrating Yoruba youngsters who fell victim to social destabilisation and subsequently were socially designated as a result of rural-urban migration.

Finally, the global moral attitude of western religion has so many transcendental moral or ethical qualities that it builds and maintains social solidarity among Yorubas.

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

CONCEPT OF HUMAN EXISTENCE

CHAPITRE ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Jacob Friedrich Fries considered the development of philosophical idealism by philosophers like as Hegel, Fichte, and Schelling to be a major flaw. According to Fries, the philosophical tendency should have continued in the Kantian tradition.

According to Coqueston (248), his simple rationale for this is that “we must investigate the nature, laws, and scope of knowledge before we can tackle problems about the object of knowledge.”

What Fires says is that the question of the Corkinty of an item of knowledge can be handled by analysing its nature, laws, and scope. In this regard, Fries shares a connection with the father of British empiricism, John Locke.

As a result, Fries and his co-believers were among the first opponents and sceptics of metaphysical idealism. Another critic was Christian Hermann Weisse, who said that Hegel overestimated the significance of logic in attempting to deduce reality from abstract forms of being.

Immanuel Herman Fichte, the son of the famed idealist, emphasised the individual human individuality on his own. Fichte was vehemently opposed to Hegel’s desire to submerge the individual in the universal, where personality, the end of creation assored of immortality, was depicted as a period in the life of universal spirit.

As a result, the chain reaction against idealism persisted and reached Kierkegaard on film. Ludwig Wittgenstein (quoted in Pattison, 1) described this Dane as “by far the most profound Thinkers of the last century.”

Soren Kierkegaard, the founder of modern existentialism

According to Omorveghs (39), this is a loose philosophical framework that concerns with “win, concrete existence as opposed essence.”

With the advent of this theory, philosophy’s focus switched from the study of metaphysical realities, as available in conventional philosophy of the ancient and mediaeval periods, to the study of man’s being and the tangible or concrete realities of life.

Kierkegaard’s job was to disprove Hegskanism, also known as speculative philosophy, as it was distorted by absolute idealism. According to Copleston (335), Hegelianism’s philosophy portrayed human existence in such a way that “man realises his true self or essence in proportion as he transcends his particularity and becomes a spectator of all time and existence as a moment in the life of universal thought.”

The preceding strategy cleansed the food experience of existritialism, causing him to react with scarce sympathy for this radiculity. According to Copleste (336), Kierkegaard developed his philosophical concepts in such a way that it fended to become “a clarification of issues and an appeal to choose, an attempt to get new to see their existential situation and the great alternatives with which they are faced” in his reaction.

This clarification is crucial because, as Copestone (338) puts it, “the important problems of any human being are never resolved by mere thought or speculation, but by this act of choice, on the level of existence rather than on that of detached, objective reflection.”

Kierkegaard often holds that philosophy should be concerned with concerns that confront individuals as living beings rather than abstract conceptions. According to Etim (1), questions like “who am I? What is the purpose of life? How can I live a fulfilling and helpful life?

How can I stay there for myself and others? What exactly does freedom mean to me? “How will I put my freedom to use?” Kierkegaard goes on to say that human existence is more than just an existence; it is a genuine human existence with a paschal relationship with his maker.

The authenticity of these distinct existences prompted Kierkegaard to pose concerns such as “How should a Christian live authentically?”

How does one live a personal relationship with God and respond truthfully to the rigours of that relationship in the same way that…… did? What does it mean to have a trustworthy relationship with God?

According to this definition, existential philosophy is concerned with the ultimate question of the meaning of human existence. In general, existentialists seek to find the meaning and authenticity of…… existence.

As a result, the purpose of this book is to investigate Soren Kierkegaard’s approach to the topic of the meaning of human existence and the question addressing the question: what does it truly mean to exist as a human being?

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The subject of human existence has sparked numerous debates. Some viewed it from the standpoint of its absurdity and meaninglessness. Most of these people are atheists like Martin Heidegger, including Albert Camus and Jean Paul Sartre who, like Hegel, downplayed the essence of human existence.

However, there is another set of existentialists that consider human existence to be a worthwhile endeavour. Soren Kierkegaard, the major founder of current existentialism, is one of them.

According to Lescoe (9), these philosophers expounded specific existential doctrines aimed at “analysing the basic structures of human existence and calling individuals to an awareness of their existence in its essential freedom.”

The challenge of human existence is inextricably linked to the concept of freedom. Its usage and abuse create and destroy man, accordingly. This is due to the fact that freedom continues to be the pivot around which man exerts himself.

His relationship to this determines whether he is an authentic or inauthentic individual. Thus, determining the meaningfulness or meaninglessness of life is extremely subjective, but it is decided by the level of commitment that one invests when he attempts to assert himself through the exercise of freedom.

Another point to consider here is whether it is possible to live truthfully when one has no authentic relationship to the community, which Kierkegaard refers to as the crowd.

And there are existential approaches to natural phenomena like death, dread, anxiety, despair, and suffering. It also considers the issue of freedom and choice, man’s search for existential significance, and Kierkegaard’s explanation of man’s stages on the life path.

In order to elucidate some of these perplexing questions, the researcher seeks to disclose what Kierkegaard regards as the gauge or standard of meaningful human existence.

In this light, the work is a confrontation of man with the raw reality of his freedom and duty, through which he makes the best of his life as an individual.

1.3 AIM OF THE STUDY

It is a huge tragedy of human existence that many people go through life without fully realising their individual potential. On the other side, Fred Baver remarks that some people are so focused on making a livelihood that they forget to live.

This study was inspired by the aforementioned discoveries. The researcher wishes to awaken those who have yet to give in or enjoy the latest possibilities in them, while those who have lost hope in realising meaning out of human existence as exemplified by their excessive obsession or addiction to working so hard are reminded that Kierkegaard was correct when he said,

“until man actualized his essential self in God, his life is full of anxiety” (Ibe 43). It is with confidence that this understanding or wisdom will cause all to regard life’s hardships as things designed to make life better rather than bitter.

Thus, the goal of this work is to make everyone realise that human existence is valuable insofar as it is addressed subjectively through personal experiences, an adequate feeling and use of freedom, and solemn and true fear of the creator.

1.4 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY

Human daily struggles have a significant impact on all levels and leave us with so many complexity that we eventually fall into the disposition of ‘following the trends’ for existential survival. Human authenticity flaws in practically every aspect of human existence or civilization cause man to be a near-perfect replica of himself or herself.

Typically, our daily problems exclude us from engaging in self-realization in order to truly comprehend ourselves and deal with questions that impugn our very character in order to realise our purpose in an ever-changing and ever-complicated world.

Man frequently focuses on the thoughts of others at the expense of his distinctive character. Man is otherwise absorbed in the mass, surrendering his identity to abstract objective or societal control, rather than being a real individual who answers the question of freedom, meaning, and meets the existential phenomenon of death, sorrow, dread, despair, absurdity, and so on.

Kierkegaard’s objection to this trend, as well as his replies to the question “what does it mean to be existing as a human being?” influence the stimulating question guiding this inquiry into his concept of human existence. Thus, the rationale for this research is justified in light of its impact on waking modern man to the reality of himself as an existent entity.

1.5 IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

Existential philosophy is based on the idea that man must first exist before assuming responsibility for establishing meaning or essence for his existence. The task of producing meaning can be described as immense. To be able to exert such responsibility, man must be at his best.

As a result, issues about the human person arise. Questions such, “Who is a human being?” What is it like to be alive? Or, what is the purpose of man’s existence? Is there complete freedom of choice for man? In this way, this research is important to man as he strives to realise himself. As a result, the relevance of this work can be summarised as follows:

It assists man in realising his purpose for being, thereby shaping his own life via self-realization and reflection by removing oneself from the throng.

Kierkegaard proposed three stages in life that would benefit modern man in coming to the actualization of his essence with the understanding that to exist is to be an individual who strives, considers alternatives, chooses, decides, and makes a commitment more importantly, for ensuring existential commitment, worthy of making the individual sound, critical focused, brave, courageous, and analytically minded in making decisions for his very life.

It is also relevant to modern man in re-orienting the modern world on the fact that self-realization and valuation are only possible if man makes personal decisions based on deep personal reflection and free exercise of his will power while being willing to accept responsibility for his subjective decisions rather than objective crowd following.

Also, keep in mind the scope of epistemology, which is concerned with the nature, scope, and criterion of knowing. The research makes an epistemic contribution by exposing knowledge that qualifies such a judgement about human nature.

It also rouses the dormant man to accept responsibility and develop his essence or purpose, even in the face of existential peril.

1.6 METHODOLOGY OF STUDY

To provide this work with the necessary philosophical underpinning, the researcher consulted a wide range of Kierkegaard research materials. The result of that effort is the accumulation of in-depth knowledge of existentialists’ view of human existence.

However, the Kierkegaardian technique is strictly followed. As the investigation proceeds, some relevant comments or insights from others are used as needed.

As a result, the book incorporates philosophical approaches of analysis, critique, and prescription. Analytical in terms of how it connects existential ideas to subjective experiences.

It is critical in that it does not accept all of Kierkegaard’s assumptions; rather, it evaluates his good points while criticising the unwholesome aspects of his ideas or teachings about human existence.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this work is ultimately derived from Kierkegaard’s attempt to give purpose to human existence through real uniqueness. This entails his concepts of the individual and the way of existence of the individual. Furthermore, the focus of this inquiry includes Kierkegaard’s existential philosophy, specifically his concept of human existence and, by extension, his theory as it relates to modern man.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

The Definition of Human

What exactly is Existentialism?

Existentialism as a philosophical endeavour is viewed differently by different thinkers. Existentialism, according to R. C. Solomon, “is the explicit conceptual manifestation of an existential attitude-a spirit of ‘the present age’.”

It is a philosophical realisation of a self-conscious life in a “broken world”… a world into which we are “thrown” or “condemned” but “abandoned” and “free”…a world that appears indifferent, if not “absurd”…” (ix), existentialism is defined as “an attitude that begins with a disoriented individual confronted with a confused world that he cannot accept.”

(24 Olawonyin). G. O. Ozumba, for one, defines existentialism as “the philosophy of human existence…concerning the individual in the uniqueness of his existence.” As a result, it abandons logic, universality, abstraction, and objectivity in favour of privacy, particularity, unpredictability, and subjectivity.

” (87-88). Idang (99) agrees, writing, “it would seem, man with his problems, is the main focus of existentialism.” It is a style of philosophising, a way of looking at the world, particularly at man and his place in the universe.

” Existentialism, according to Aqulanna (147), “is concerned with the ambiguities and paradoxes that constitute man’s inner being.”

According to the preceding, existentialism is a philosophical outlook that emphasises man’s dilemma and emphasises man’s existence as an individual rather than an abstract being.

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

GLOBALISATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

CHAPITRE ONE

INTRODUCTION IN GENERAL

1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The human yearning for sustainable development can be traced back to the dawn of time. This explains why human history is rife with varied attempts by man to improve his circumstances at different moments in time.

In our time, this noble ambition has taken on a more generic status in an attempt to transform the entire world into a global village in which humanity can share a common developmental experience.

This evolving global order, known as Globalisation, is a continual process, and no one can claim to understand its full scope or even exist outside of its impact.

While its supporters have emphasised the prospects and benefits of this phenomena, many schools of thought in both rich and developing countries are growing disillusioned with it.

The reason for these shifting ideas and attitudes is a lack of visible benefits for most developing countries, particularly those in Africa.

As a result, there are various concerns that call into doubt the ideology of globalisation and the veracity of its countless claims and promises. This explains why a critical examination of the complexities of the current globalisation process is not only necessary, but also unavoidable.

1.2 PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Many experts have wondered, and continue to ponder, the overall repercussions of globalisation on the entire human species. These studies are needed not just by the aforementioned dispute surrounding the phenomena, but also by the apparent marginalisation and increasing impoverishment of its less privileged participants.

As a result, I seek to disclose the contents of the current globalisation process through an existential enquiry into its dynamics and philosophical underpinnings.

This would then allow us to extend its potential implications to Africa’s drive for sustainable development.

This study would attempt to analyse the raison d’être of the current globalisation process as a philosophical enquiry. My main point is that sustainable development is all about people, and business is all about ethics.

As a result, the end goal of globalisation should be the holistic growth of humanity in ways that are sustainable for all races and generations.

1.3 METHODOLOGY OF THE RESEARCH

In this study, I intend to use both an explanatory and an evaluative strategy. Thus, we will define globalisation philosophy in relation to Africa’s existential situation. These would be the starting points for extrapolating globalization’s consequences for African development.

The work is divided into five chapters in total. The first chapter provides a synoptic overview of the entire work as well as perspectives on globalisation from other authors.

The second chapter introduces and investigates the concept and nature of globalisation as they relate to this study.

The third chapter discusses the concept of sustainable development and its current position in Africa, while the fourth part carefully extrapolates the consequences of globalisation to sustainable development in Africa. Finally, the fifth chapter critically assesses the entire intellectual exposure.

With true humility, I do not want to conduct an extensive investigation of the subject of globalisation and African development. As a result, my study will be complementary to that of eminent researchers on the issue.

1.4 LITERATURE REVIEW

Globalisation is undeniably at the heart of the modern era as a vital aspect in its development. As a result, the purpose of this brief literature review is to investigate how some researchers conceptualise the globalisation process in relation to its implications for sustainable development in Africa.

Many academics clearly regard globalisation as merely an economic phenomenon involving the increasing interaction or integration of national economic systems as a result of increased international trade, foreign investments, and trans-border capital movement.

However, as a significant and integral part of globalisation, one can also refer to the rapid development in cross-border socio-cultural and technical interchange. In this context, prominent sociologist Anthony Giddens characterised globalisation as the “decoupling of space and time.”[1]

He emphasised that knowledge and culture may be spread globally at the same time through rapid communication.

Rund Lubbers, a Dutch political economist, expressed this view more explicitly when he described globalisation as

Geographic distance is becoming less important in the formation and maintenance of cross-border commercial, political, and sociocultural interactions.[2]

In agreement with the aforementioned authors, David Held and Anthony McGrew made a nuanced attempt to characterise globalisation and its consequences on socio-cultural as well as political structures in their entry for the Oxford Companion to Politics.

They saw globalisation as A process (or series of processes) that represents a change in the geographical organisation of social relations and transactions, manifested as transcontinental or interregional flows and networks of activity, interaction, and power.[3]

A unifying factor among these experts is their optimism about globalisation. It is, according to them, a worldwide process of changing humanity into a single civilization, or what Marshall McLuhan referred to as the global village.

[4] According to Henry Alapiki, this transformation is frequently followed by an amplification of global social links “which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa.”

[5] In fact, Jan Scholte elaborated on this viewpoint when he wrote:

Globalisation refers to the processes by which social relations acquire largely distanceless and borderless characteristics, so that human lives are increasingly played out in the world as a single location…

Globalisation is thus an ongoing trend in which the world has become one relatively borderless social sphere in many ways and at a typically accelerating rate.[6]

While some scholars look at globalisation through the lens of “social relations,” others focus on a more specific economic dimension.

The inclination is to see globalisation as a rapid growth in cross-border socioeconomic exchange under capitalism’s conditions. Prof. Oyejide is a typical representative of this school, stating:

Globalisation refers to the greater integration of markets for products, services, and capital across borders. As a result, global economic activity will accelerate, as will the transfer of tangible and intangible goods across national and regional borders. Individual countries are getting more integrated into the global economy as a result of this tendency.

Their trade and investment links become more complex, and cross-border financial flows become more erratic. More crucially, globalisation was developed and is being sustained through the liberalisation of economic policies in several vital areas.[7]

Anti-globalization schools, on the other hand, see the phenomena as a worldwide push towards universal economic dominance by supranational entities that are not answerable to democratic procedures or national governments. Thus, Aja Akpuru-Aja and A.C. Emeribe argue, from the standpoint of international “political economy,” that:

Globalization’s engineering mechanism remains a revolution in science and technology, particularly as it affects transportation and electro-communication networks. As a result, a global community, a single market system, a global factory, and a global office have been established.

Globalisation has resulted in a grotesque and dangerous polarisation between peoples and countries that benefit from the system and others that are only recipients and reactionaries to its effects.[8]

Against this backdrop, it is reasonable to conclude that globalisation appears to go beyond the ordinary flow of trade or social interactions to perpetrate some type of economic, political, and socio-cultural imperialism. This could imply a kind of donor-recipient polarisation.

In this instance, globalisation cannot be a positive force because it would undoubtedly produce a world of winners and losers. This explains why the consequences for developing countries, particularly those in Africa, look to be hazardous.

However, pro-globalization theorists maintain:

There is rising evidence that global income and poverty inequalities are lessening, and that globalisation has played a significant role in this turnaround…

The rich-poor divide is also narrowing in most Asian and Latin American countries. Countries that are becoming poorer are those that are not open to global trade, most notably many African states.[9]

The core idea is that poor countries that have reduced tariff barriers have increased employment and national GDP.

Following on from this, the World Trade Organisation claims that “trade liberalisation aids poor countries in catching up with rich countries, and that faster economic growth aids in poverty alleviation.”[10]

Simply expressed, Professor Ron Duncan of the Australian National University argued unequivocally that:

Although globalisation may exacerbate inequality in some nations, structural measures can mitigate this. Poverty increases in the poorest countries as a result of their refusal to participate in globalisation.[11]

But are we really to blame Africa’s and other underdeveloped countries’ poverty on their refusal to participate in globalisation? This is certainly not the opinion of certain philosophers, who believe that globalisation is even to blame for the increasing impoverishment and marginalisation of the so-called

“Third World.” The UNDP 1999 Development Report data are the most commonly utilised. According to this analysis, the last decade, the decade of the most intense globalisation, has seen an increase in the concentration of income, resources, and wealth among individuals, corporations, and countries.[12]

Yash Tandon, a Ugandan political scientist, claimed in applying these findings to the African context:

Anyone with any degree of intellectual integrity would see that the globalisation of Africa or the integration of Africa into the global economy from the days of slavery to the current period of capital-led integration has been a disaster for Africa, both in terms of human costs and environmental damage…

It is also indicative of their (World Bank/IMF officials’) intellectual dishonesty or ideological brainwashing that they are unable to grasp the link between globalisation and African poverty.[13]

This judgement is harsh, but it appears to reflect the beliefs of many philosophers. For example, Obiora F. Ike, a theologian and social philosopher, affirms the validity of this judgement when he asks and answers the following question:

“Is globalisation good for Africa’s future?” Absolutely not. I would say that its current shape has widened the divide between Africa and the so-called developed world.”[14]

Thus, Congolese academic Mbaya Kankwenda concludes:

Globalisation has a significant theological and ideological component. In this regard, it is about the globalisation of market fundamentalism and its paradigm, which is nothing more than keeping up with developing countries, and hence Africa, by viewing the continent as an object rather than a subject and partner.[15]

As a result, he sees Africa’s globalisation as a forced insertion into the global community via developmental aid conditions, culminating in harsh economic and political reforms in Africa.

Because it sees humanity as a single family, the Church is undoubtedly not passive to the dialectics of globalisation. As a result, the church concludes in Centesimus Annus:

It is vital to remove the barriers and monopolies that keep so many countries on the periphery of progress and to offer all persons and nations with the fundamental conditions that will allow them to participate in development. No. 35 in Centesimus Annus.[16]

This point of view was articulated by Pope Benedict XVI (when still a cardinal), who stated, “The economic inequality between the northern and southern hemispheres of the globe is becoming more and more an inner threat to the cohesion of the human family.”[17]

The risk of this menace is already manifested in new kinds of terrorism in the international arena, which are both products of and a problem for globalisation.

However, the Church appears to be very positive about the feasibility and benefits of globalisation, owing to the fact that its hazardous tendencies are readily avoided.

Thus, in his 2004 World Day of Peace Message, Pope John Paul II emphasised the basic but very simple premise that must govern all of our globalisation discussions. He claims that

God has called humanity to be a one family, despite its many flaws such as sin, hatred, and violence… This awareness has the potential to provide the world as it is today – characterised by the globalisation process – a soul, purpose, and direction.[18]

As a result, he believes that “globalisation, for all of its risks, also offers exceptional and promising opportunities, precisely with a view to enabling humanity to become a single family, built on the values of justice, equity, and solidarity.”[19]

In this approach, the Church addresses the issue of globalisation and its repercussions on human unity and long-term development.

As the above terms indicate, the Church is particularly concerned about inequities as well as the alienation of individuals and communities from economic and social growth. These appear to sum up Africa’s major issue in the current globalisation process.

To that end, we attempted to highlight several schools of thinking on globalisation and its effects on Africa. They undoubtedly add to our understanding of the phenomenon.

However, it is clear that greater clarification is required for us to understand the existential consequences of the current globalisation process for African sustainable development. This will be our focus in the following chapters.

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

EXISTENTIALISM OF JEAN PAUL SARTRE

CHAPITRE ONE

1.1 The Self: An Existential Approach.

Existentialism is more of a philosophical style than a philosophy in and of itself. Thus, existentialists have specific mental patterns that correspond to their existential qualities. As a result, they reject the idea that reality can be neatly wrapped in concept or presented as an interconnected system.

“An inquisitive mode of thought that seeks to master the world in relation to man’s life in it.”1 Among existentialist intellectuals, Jean Paul Sartre, Soren Kierkegaard, and Martin Heidegger left indelible imprints. Their primary philosophical style is based on man rather than nature.

A philosophy of the subject as opposed to the object in general. The existentialists’ agenda is set in motion by William Barrett’s description of existentialism:

A philosophy that faces the human problem in its entirety.

wholeness, to inquire as to what the fundamental human conditions are

what they are and how man might create his own

Meaning can be extracted from these events.2

As a result of the aforementioned, an existential approach to self is not difficult to define.

Rene Descartes (1596-1650), the founder of modern philosophy was the first to make a dialectical change in the history of thinking, ripping off philosophy from the chains of scholastic ‘theocentricism’ to the modern ‘anthropocentricism’.

He sets out in his famous cogito to establish the “I” as the reference point of existence. As a result, the “I” becomes the beginning and finish “terminus a quo and terminus ad quem” of his ontological status quo. The ‘I’ becomes the subject of thought.

However, John Macmurray made a noteworthy attempt to move the straight points of philosophy from the “abstract thinking subject to more concrete base, in the total, multi-dimensional human experience of involving in a world of affairs.”3

Toeing the same line of argument, the existentialists owe their thought in agreement with John Macmurray’s notion of the self as a ‘actor’ as against the traditional understanding of self as the ‘subject’.

According to him, “the ‘I’ act (the self as agent) replaces the ‘I’ think (the self as subject) as the place where existential philosophy finds its beginning.”4

According to him, thinking is an abstraction from the whole of self as agent. After providing a skeletal picture of the overall notion of the existential self as owed to Macmurray by existentialism, it is highly crucial at this point to X-ray what three front-liners existentialists have as their views on self.

In order to emphasise the intrinsic essence of the existential self, Soren Kierkegaard made an allusion to the concept of the ‘anonymous mob’. According to him, “being in a crowd unmakes one’s nature as an individual self by diluting self.”5

He goes on to say:Crowd is an untruth in and of itself since it renders the individual entirely impenitent and irresponsible, or at the very least undermines his sense of duty, vision, and responsibility by reducing it to a fraction.6

From a different perspective, Martin Heidegger boldly turned nineteenth-century continental philosophy away from traditional concerns about theories and towards the concern of the thinking individual (self). He goes out to discover the true nature of himself as an existing creature.

Fascinated by the being question (Zeins frage), he want to investigate the underlying ontology – the phenomenological investigation of the ‘Dasein’.

“Dasein has a pre-ontological understanding of his own being because being reveals itself gratuitously to him,” he says in his core work of de-structuring the essential components of the Dasein.7

The existential approach to self in Heidegger’s stream of thinking is not difficult to expose, suggesting as it may be, by making serious inquiry into the meaning of existence through reasonable and fundamental questions.

Jean Paul Sartre confronts the subject of self as the only unique Consciousness without discarding his phenomenological foundation. He claims that

The manner in which Consciousnesses exist

is to be aware of itself and to be aware of

His consciousness is correct, as is its law of existence.

defined.8

He also thinks that Consciousness is fully absolute insofar as it is conscious of itself. Being and Nothingness, Sartre’s acclaimed work, proposes an existential definition of self “as the unique individual that is essentially free even though in chains, is a master of his own fate.”9

As a result, he projects the self in accordance with Cartesian thought analysis, as an individual human being seeking apodictic certainty as a referential point of departure.

In Sartrian philosophy, the genuine message of self may not be correctly transmitted until there is a cause to “make a veritable insight into the ontological and epistemological variations, wherein the Cartesian cogito becomes essentially manifested.”10

Without his famous remark “No one speaks from nowhere,” Hans Gadamer would have been lost in the annals of intellectual history; consequently, to speak involves speaking from a specific point of view.

Given this, the subject of self in Sartrian philosophy may not be thoroughly discussed without a reference to his phenomenological background.

1.2 Existentialism:A Phenomenological Background.

In philosophy, the term “phenomenology” has a lengthy history. Immanuel Kant used it occasionally to refer to the study of occurrences or appearances rather than things in and of themselves.

Hegel used the term in his phenomenology of mind to describe the manifestations of the phases of the mind, from perception through forms of awareness to the greatest intellectual spiritual activity. Husserl’s Introduction to Pure Phenomenology was sandwiched between,

concerns about reality and prefers to devise methods

for a thorough and comprehensive overview of several types in

Their true essences.11

A brief intellectual tour through the existentialist milieu reveals that it was Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) who initiated the intellectual relay race in German phenomenology. He is enthralled by the Cartesian cogito and intends to establish the self as the existing actor from a phenomenological foundation.

His unmistakable effect on his predecessors, intellectuals such as Martin Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Jean Paul Sartre, propelled the phenomenological relay race forward. Because existentialism owes its definitive origin to phenomenology, most existentialists are phenomenologists.

While this is not always the case, there is an obvious reality of a tight relationship that has arisen between the two forms of thought. “Phenomenology appears to offer existentialism the kind of methodology required to pursue investigations into human existence,”

the fact is evident.12

Fascinated by Cartesian methodic doubt, Husserl radicalised its premises with some success. Transcendental awareness could no longer be defined as a thinking matter, a’res cogitans,’ but as an action matter. He emphasises in his argument that if consciousness only exists as consciousness of something, Husserl’s interpretation of the methodic doubt suggests that the ‘physical ‘I’ would perish along the way,

“because the ‘I’ presents the character of an object.”13

Phenomenology was created by existentialists for their own purposes. The point of departure between Husserl and existential phenomenologists is not difficult to identify.

The former emphasises essence and treats phenomenology as an apodictic science, whereas the later emphasises existence. Sartre’s argument that ‘existence before essence’ exemplifies the existentialists’ devotion to life. They challenged Kantian dualism in this sense, which assumed some hidden ‘noumena’ of which the ‘phenomena’ is only the manifestation.

Maurice Blondel (1861-1949) argues in his work ‘L’Action’ that “the starting point of philosophy should be sought not in abstract ‘I’ think but in concrete ‘I’ act.”14

To support this claim, existentialists emphasise activity, because only through action does existence achieve accuracy and fullness, according to them. Nothing worthy of the label action will exist when thought, passion, and inward decision are lacking.

Despite the importance existentialists place on action, it does not appear that they are pragmatists. A suitable juxtaposition of the former’s and latter’s differences and similarities takes us to the next sub-heading. Without a doubt, pragmatists and existentialists lay a higher emphasis on man as a deciding agent.

However, while the former sees man as a functional being, the latter approaches him from the perspective of “Homo Viator.” The former emphasises optimism from a utilitarian stance to a larger extent.

They are preoccupied with questions of success in all endeavours, paying little or no regard to the tragic and frustrating aspects of life as described in most existentialist texts.

Berdyaev’s words clearly distinguish the two, notwithstanding how similar the latter may be in certain ways to the former:

They differ from them in that they are more interested in

lies in the ferocity of life, in its tragic ferocity, rather than its

“Outward growth and success.”15

Existentialists accept the obvious circumstances of man’s existence as a fact of life. This is what I intend to reveal in the preceding subheading.

1.3 Facticity Of Existence

A simple examination of this statement reveals two opposing concepts: fact and existence. The ultimate tribunal in philosophy of science is supposed to be facts. As a result, there would be no result if there were no facts. The situation is similar in the fields of law and other subjects.

‘To exist’ from its Latin roots ‘ex-sistere’ means, ‘to stand out’, ‘to emerge’. To ‘lay around’ appears to underline a more modern notion of existence- ontological placement. To exist in this context means to be positioned somewhere in the world, to have a place in the real world.

Martin Heidegger alluded to the concept of ‘Dasein’ while conveying the message of what it means to exist. Jean Paul Sartre investigates the ‘Pour-soi’ for-itself. Above all, what are the facts of existence in the existential mind? Existentialists define ‘Facticity’ as the limiting aspect in existence.

The term was coined to translate the German ‘Faktizitat’ and the French ‘Facticite’. It contrasts with the background of the word factuality, which has to do with the objective state of affairs observed in the world. It is an interior existential consciousness of oneself.

Nobody has made the decision to be. “The loneliness of personality in the universe weighs heavily upon us,” Augustine Farrer says, “it seems terribly improbable that we should exist.”16

Man has had some views or even revelations about his origin and destiny since the beginning of time.

It is not clear whether such assumptions are true or valid. The only certainty we have is that ‘we are’. Where we came from and where we’re headed are both shrouded in mystery.

The conflict between potential and facticity is always present in existence. The radical finitude of human existence is revealed to us via facticity.

Robert Cumming provided a greater understanding of facticity as depicted in Sartre’s philosophy. The “for-itself” is, insofar as it arises in a circumstance that it did not choose, flung into the world and abandoned in a situation.”17

According to Heidegger, facticity means that man finds himself in an unavoidable circumstance. ‘Throwness,’ ‘Geworfenheit’ in Heideggerian thought emphasises the intrinsic significance of facticity to a greater extent. “Being thrown into existence without his prior knowledge, the ‘Dasein’ finds himself in a situation that he did not create.”18

Facticity is a direct reveal of the ‘Dasein’s’ limitations. In one example, the ‘Dasein’ realises that some things are beyond his control, something he cannot change even if he wanted to.

Certain variables project unavoidable existential crises. Death, Temporality, Guilt, and Alienation tend to summarise life’s unavoidable aspects. Death, as Heidegger correctly states, is the possibility of the impossibility of existence.

Heidegger is one of the existentialists who never avoided the subject of death. Only upon death could the ‘Dasein’ be properly defined. He regards death as the final possibility, the impossibility of any further potential. Man’s nature as a time-bound being is redefined in temporality. Man, as a temporal being, must pass away.

One of the most devastating features of finitude is the transience of human life. Whatever the circumstance may be, man must be a client of the tribunal of birth and death.

Existentialists, as opposed to pragmatists, may appear pessimistic, yet they have never failed to recognise the evident fact of disorder in human existence. As a result, man feels guilty and often estranged from the world around him.

Karl Marx identified alienation as a feature of revolutionary changes in man’s material position. From an existential standpoint, alienation suggests that one is trapped in an unauthentic existence.

Without facticity, Robert Cumming asserts that “consciousness would choose its attachment to the world in the same way that souls in Plato’s republic choose their condition.”19

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

PSYCHOLOGY OF GENIUS IN ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER

CHAPITRE ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION IN GENERAL

1.1 INTRODUCTION:

In the evolutionary system, advancement in the human world was driven by the desire to meet man’s immediate wants and more.

Every organism is fundamentally provided with a means of subsistence. So nature has done an excellent job of providing animals with their own means of assault, sustenance, defence, and survival.

Previously, when the organism develops into a higher animal, a greater method of survival is necessary. Human reason and intelligence are manifestations of this greater demand.

The reason, then, gradually develops in man as a crucial instrument for discovering and creating new ways of satisfying himself in order to conquer his own environment – the human world.

One may not be able to stop questioning the worth of the human intellect and what it is all about. Human intellect, on the other hand, bestows to its subject the faculty of reason – ratio or intelligence.

As a result, the man, homo sapiens, as that thinking or knowledgeable being, differs from other evolutionary classifications of humans, such as homo erectus.

[standing man], homo habilis, and so on. It also plays a crucial function in the makeup of every human being.

[1963] Reason, according to Prof Copleston, “has primarily a biological function.” Nature wants it, if I may say so, as an instrument for serving the needs of a more complex and developed organism than that of animals.”1

One would not dispute the insatiability of human needs and desires to a greater extent. And one might as well doubt Arthur Schopenhauer’s idea that man and his world are essentially Will, blind desire, and representation. Every satisfaction presupposes a desire, and the latter, in a logical dialectics, strives to attend to the former.

As a result, as man wiggles in his unending and insatiable cravings, he immerses himself in them and, according to Schopenhauer, becomes the Will.

As a result, human mind may be regarded as a liberator, a key to human freedom and independence. Though intelligence is by nature the servant of the Will, Schopenhauer [1788] claimed that it is capable of evolving to the point where it can acquire objectivity in man.

That is to say, “while man’s mind is, in the first instance, an instrument for satisfying His bodily needs, it can develop a kind of surplus energy that, at least temporarily, frees it from the service of desire” [1].

What would happen if man was freed, at least momentarily, from the service of desire, if I may ask? Schopenhauer responds, “he becomes a disinterested spectator: he can adopt a contemplative attitude, as in aesthetic contemplation and philosophy” According to Schopenhauer, this artistic contemplation is the path of a genius.

1.1 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF ARTHUR SCHOPENEAUER

On February 22, 1788, Arthur Schopenhauer was born in Danzig. His father, a wealthy businessman, anticipated that his son would follow in his footsteps and enabled him to spend the years 1803-4 travelling England, France, and other places on the condition that he would take up job in a business house at the end of the tour.

The young Schopenhauer kept his word, but he had no desire for a commercial career, and after his father died in 1803, he won his mother’s permission to continue his studies.

In 1809, he enrolled at the University of Gottingen to study medicine, but in his second year, he switched to philosophy. “Life is a problem,” he says, “and he had decided to spend his time reflecting on it.”3 German idealism took a fresh turn in Schopenhauer’s philosophy.

While Hegel associates the ultimate reality, the absolute, with Reason, Schopenhauer associates it with the WILL. The absolute is Reason for Hegel, whereas the absolute is Will for Schopenhauer. The absolute, according to Schopenhauer’s idealism, is not an intellectual creature progressing purposefully towards its objective, but rather a blind illogical drive for life, the will-to-live.

His idealism is more directly drawn from Kant than those of the three previous idealists, because the absolute in his idealism is precisely the thing-in-itself (the noumenon) of Kant.4

People were ready to listen to a philosophy that emphasised the evil in the world and the futility of existence and preached a turning away from life to aesthetic contemplation and asceticism after the collapse of the Revolution of 1818, a revolution for which Schopenhauer had no sympathy at all.

Schopenhauer rose to prominence in the last decade of his life. Visitors gathered from all directions to see him. Although German academicians had not forgotten his sarcasm and insults, lectures on his system were given at various universities, indicating that he had finally arrived. He passed away in September of 1860. May his spirit find peace. That’s OK.

1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The question and concept of brilliance stand out among the various challenges unravelled in the enigma of the mind. To make problems worse, the current definition of “genius” is ambiguous. Previously, genius was thought to be a “heavenly gift” or a spectacular personality forced on some people.

Geniuses are frequently seen as extraordinary beings or superhumans. This ideology would prompt a philosopher or critical thinker to wonder why such a gift was given.

(if it is) to one, and intellectual dullness, if not idiocy, to the other.

The issue is truly philosophical in nature, since it calls into question the one and universal essence of humanity, of which every human being is composed.

As I am perplexed by the above difficulty, I summon the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer to the intellectual stage to hear what he has to say. We must recognise that Schopenhauer’s outlook on life is bleak and dismal. Life is an endless struggle for the unachievable for him.

The world is replete with turmoil, conflict, pain, and evil. None of these can be stopped because they are manifestations of the Will. This idea elevates Schopenhauer to the status of the most prominent pessimist philosopher. He does, however, offer only two methods for reducing life’s anguish and suffering.

These are “aesthetic contemplation and asceticism, particularly as practised in Buddhism.”5

Schopenhauer went on to say that thoughts that are the direct and appropriate objectivity of the thing-in-itself, of the Will, are Arts – genius’ labour. As a result, the nature of genius may be understood only through pure contemplation in which these everlasting thoughts are comprehended.

The obvious issue is, does a genius consist solely in the contemplation and understanding of unchangeable facts, as we see in Schopenhauer? And, if so, is that skill of reflection and comprehension given to everyone? However, this is only the problem stated.

1.4 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

Among the many difficulties and mysteries of the cosmos that have yet to be solved in the Mystery of Mind is the question of brilliance. “Beethoven was a genius,” you’ll hear people say all the time. Albert Einstein was a brilliant scientist.” “Geothe was brilliant.”

An obvious remark is that the glory of genius, if it exists, is only recognised and bestowed upon great brains – the Mahatmas of previous generations. Those folks are so well regarded that it appears that no genius exists in any current generation. Isn’t it a superficial judgement or observation to judge genius only after his or her death?

When viewed through the lens of history, the concept of genius and the cognition of the same appear hazy and ambiguous. This is true insofar as people continue to doubt the concept.

Even Werner Reyneke, in his recent paper, has highlighted some concerns about the phenomenon: “What exactly is genius?” Where does it originate? Where will it go? Is brilliance only the genius’s imagination and the unthinkable perplexity in the empty hearts of his expectators?” 6

In our research on the psychology of genius, we frequently encounter questions like:

What exactly is brilliance, and who exactly is a genius? Is genius a natural or supernatural gift given to some people but not others? What advantages does brilliance have for its subject and society as a whole? Is it possible to be born a genius? Or is it acquired or evolved during the course of one’s life and existence?

Is genius something that everyone has, or is it something that only a few people have? Furthermore, what distinguishes a genius? Is it made up of so many quotients of knowledge and intelligence? In truth, how do we identify a genius? Do we recognise a genius based on his or her personality and behaviour?

If yes, what characteristics does a genius have? Finally, is a genius defined solely by conventional recognition and customary measurement? These and other crucial concerns will be investigated and explored in our research.

Furthermore, this research aims to define and expose the nature and notion of genius and creativity. It is also intended to enlighten the brightest as well as those who feel themselves less intellectually fortunate. In a nutshell, it will emphasise that training and perseverance may work wonders in one’s life, just like brilliance.

Again, it goes without saying that people seem to have a high regard for exceptional minds – geniuses. They will go to great lengths to imitate them.

But, all else being equal or unequal, they lack the means or knowledge to achieve such a goal. Another ultimate goal of our research is to help ambitious seekers who want to ascend above the clouds, shine like a dazzling morning star, and soar like an eagle.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The gift of genius, whether natural or nurtured, remains the flower of civilization and human evolution. Any country, race, or nation that participates in the slaughter of genius is extremely unlikely.

Thus, the acts of genius in their creative mindedness keep humanity’s lament at bay.

Whether things are equal or unequal, our study of the psychology of genius should not be done only in an abstract or esoteric manner. To be practical and beneficial, the Schopeneaurian idealistic concept of genius in terms of artistic contemplation must be revisited.

It goes without saying that our research will not only contribute to our knowledge, but will also enable students and other lovers of knowledge to follow in the footsteps of great brains and geniuses.

Once again, the study would contribute significantly to self-awareness, auto-realization, and auto-actualization. Of course, we can’t forget that the initiative would open the road for understanding, which is a crucial attribute in inter-human relationships.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This work will not, in fact, focus entirely on Schopenhaurian idealistic concepts of genius. This study will neither claim to offer the entire psychological investigation into genius, nor will it promise to exhaust its notion, as this would prevent our further knowledge.

As a result, this work will not, in fact, close any intellectual window to greater brilliant understanding. The work, however, would be organised into five chapters, as seen in the table of contents. Finally, Schopenhauer’s definition of genius would be critically reassessed.

1.7 METHODOLOGY OF THE WORK

The method to be used for this work would be explanatory, critical, and moderately evaluative. This method is intended to approach the material philosophically in order to ensure proper comprehension.

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

A CRITIQUE OF POPPER’S STRATEGY FOR THE GROWTH OF SCIENCE

CHAPITRE ONE

1.0 IN THE DIRECTION OF ESTABLISHING THE BACKGROUND OF

POPPERIAN PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE.

1.1 CAN FACTS CONSTITUTE THE TERMINUS A QUO OF SCIENCE? (THE INDUCTION PROBLEM)

One of the fundamental canons of empiricists, positivists of all kinds, and the entire circle of inductivists is that the ladder of science can only be climbed by collecting and combining our experiences.

To put it another way, scientific knowledge necessitates principally and fundamentally the collecting of protocol statements. The following statement expresses the induction principle:

If a significant number of A’s have been observed under a wide range of situations, and if all of those A’s have the property of B without exception, then all A’s have the property B.1.

Thus, if different types of metal expanded when heated at different times, one can deduce that all metals expand when heated.

This is essentially an inductive process, which until the time of Popper was considered a necessary additional for empirical sciences by its proponents.

This principle of induction, which states that scientific knowledge grows through a progressive movement from specific statements (i.e. statements about facts) to general (universal) statements, which are essentially the form in which scientific theories appear, is regarded as crucial for scientific discovery and advancement.

As a result, Reichenbach boldly asserts that removing this principle from science’s core structure deprives science of its ability to assess the truth or untruth of its beliefs. As a result, science will be in need of a reliable method for establishing the accuracy of her theories.

There is no longer any intellectual distinction between scientific hypotheses and the lyrical genius’s whimsical, arbitrary inventions.2

Nonetheless, Popper maintained the unworkable nature of this inductive technique, despite the fact that the principle of induction is unqualifiedly recognised by the entire scientific community and acquiescing to the possibility of universal error.

This sceptical viewpoint can be found in Hume and Kant, but only as forerunners, as there are significant distinctions between these and Popper’s.

Popper argued that the induction principle is a muddle and unnecessary. For him, it lacks a solid foundation because it is riddled with innumerable logical inconsistencies and is torpedoed by confusion.3

Scientific laws are always expressed in the form of what philosophers call universal statements, in the sense that they refer to all events of a specific type. The issue arises in the face of observation statements, which purport to provide evidence for general scientific laws.

The former are specific claims regarding a state of affairs made at a certain period. They are referred to as singular (or basic) statements or protocol phrases by philosophers. Popper observed that there is no logical justification for inferring the truth of universal statements from the singular, despite the numerical strength of the latter.

This is due to the fact that there is no guarantee that the opposite will not occur in the future. This is fundamentally an impossible endeavour because any account of experience can only be a singular statement, not a universal one. General scientific laws invariably extend beyond the limited amount of observable evidence available to support them.

As a result, these evidences can never be established as efficient progenitors of general scientific laws. The latter cannot be deduced logically from the existing evidence.

Any link between singular and universal statements that serves to authenticate the veracity of the latter is thus an illogical connection that impinges on the acceptance of the inductive inference.

This is the logical problem of induction, which is complicated by the fact that, as previously stated, it is impossible to justify a law by observation or experience because it transcends experience;

that science proposes and employs laws at all points and times despite the scarcity of observed instances upon which the laws are founded; and by the fact of the principle of empiricism, which states that in science, only observation and experience may decide upon the truth.4

But what is the point of this type of inference? The issue at hand necessitates the establishment of an induction principle, one that provides “a statement by which we should be able to put inductive inferences into a logically accepted form.”5

How will the principle of induction be proven? We’ve seen that this is logically impossible. All that remains is an appeal to experience. Popper argued that any attempt to justify the method of induction by an appeal to experience necessarily lead to an unending regress.

The induction principle must be a universal statement. Its justification is based on a number of successful individual applications. As a result, inductive inference is employed.

As a result, using an appeal to experience to justify induction involves assuming what one is attempting to prove, i.e. begging the question. It is entirely unsatisfactory because it is all about justifying induction by appealing to induction.6

Popper thought Hume’s attempt to provide a psychological basis for the principle of induction was flawed. It contradicts the principle of transference, because what is false in logic, as we have seen, becomes true in psychology. Immediately Hume struck bargain with the psychological explanation of induction, he became an exponent of an irrationalist epistemology.

Popper was uncomfortable with his psychological explanation of induction in terms custom or habit. If we follow Hume, having established before now that inductive reasoning lacks any force as an argument to assert that this sort of reasoning dominates our cognitive life or our understanding, it means the exaltation of irrationalism for it is obvious then that argument or reason plays only a minor role in our understanding.

Our knowledge is therefore not only depicted as being of the type of belief but also of intellectually indefensible belief- of irrational faith.7

It is odd, Popper contends to explain our predisposition to expect regularities in terms of repetition. Events would continue to be isolated until man has the categories that connect them. Popper submitted on logical reasons that repetition presupposes a point of view, ‘such as a system of expectations, anticipations, assumptions or interests.’8

It is only inside this atmosphere of thought that the concerns of infinite regress or irrationalism are delivered a final blow. This, Popper says, portrays the scientific procedure.

1.2 THE VIENNA CIRCLE’S ATTACK ON METAPHYSICS

The logical positivists in the spirit of inductive tradition argued that science is fundamentally based on the gathering of facts. However they made a dogmatic extension by holding a naïve and naturalistic notion of meaning in their verification principle.

For them, the authentic character and the meaningfulness of any purported proposition is decided by its being a truth function of, or its being reducible to, elementary (or atomic) proposition reflecting observations or perceptions. Carnap articulates this rather skewed attitude of the positivists in an intriguing fashion:

It is certain that a string of words has meaning only if its derivability relations from protocol sentences (observation sentences) are given…that is to say, if the route to (its) verification… is known.9

The meaning of a statement is, thus, the technique of its verification they concluded, to use the language of Waisman.10 The outcome of this untenable attitude of the Positivists is that the metaphysical sentences stand revealed, by logical examination, as pseudo- sentences.

The concepts of metaphysics are discarded by them as non-sensical, and hence lack any relevance and force in the ensemble of gnoseological accomplishments. This is really a premeditated strategy towards a complete demolition of metaphysical principles.

They have become ipso facto acknowledged devotees at the temple of that Humean ideology in which metaphysics is considered as ‘nonsensical twaddle, sophistry and illusion,’ having to be burned to the fire.11

Popper in his unpublished book entitled Die beiden Grund probleme der Erkenntnisthorie12, presented a rather extensive criticism of this idea of elimination or overthrow (ueberwindung) of metaphysics through meaning-analysis.

This anti-current activity was done, not from a metaphysical framework, but from the springboard of one whose interest is in science, and its unhampered growth and advancement.

Popper observed that this philosophy far from destroying the imagined adversary, brought the keys of the beleaguered city to the beck and call of the alleged enemy.13

The proponents were so much fixated in their determination to oust metaphysics from the circle of all informative discipline that they failed to realize that most of the scientific theories, which they purport to shield, have also fallen on the same scrap heap as the ‘meaningless’ propositions of metaphysics.

Should this attitude of theirs be regarded in the least lightly, their efforts towards the drastic annihilation of metaphysics would also be an attempt towards the eclipse of science since most of the postulations of the later which have metaphysical elements would be eliminated concurrently.

It is a well-known fact that scientific rules and theories, which take the form of universal propositions, transcend experience and so cannot be rationally reduced to the most basic statements of experience.

If we accept the Positivists’ criterion of meaning and apply it consistently, we will, in the end, remove natural laws, which are, as Einstein puts it, “the supreme task of the physicist,”14

from the realm of meaningful statements. They will never be accepted into the community of all true or acceptable assertions.

Since Bacon, the most frequently accepted belief has been that science is distinguished by its observational basis, whilst pseudo-sciences and metaphysics are distinguished by their speculative technique. Popper is not convinced by this viewpoint. Modern physics theories, particularly Einstein’s theories, were very speculative and abstract.

They were a long way from what could be called their observational bases. Popper concluded that all attempts to demonstrate the opposite were ineffective.15

Most scientific hypotheses are based on myths. The Copernican theory, for example, arose from a Neo-Platonic worship of the Sun, who occupied the pride of place- the centre due to his nobility. Copernicus, it should be emphasised, studied under the Platonist Novara at Bologna.16

Atomism and the corpuscular theory of light, among other myths, have become crucial for physical sciences. It makes no sense, Popper observed, to claim that these beliefs were nonsensical at one point in their development before suddenly becoming relevant at another.17

When Parmenides of Elea said, “Out of non-being comes non-being,” he seemed to have nailed this sequence. There can never be’sense’ from ‘non-sense’!

Furthermore, it is evident that many of the realities proposed by science are no more observable than metaphysical beings. If we must discuss gravity and various types of forces, Newtonian mass points—Popper refers to these as ‘occult metaphysical substances’18

to reflect their non-observable character. Can we also perceive time and space, which have created the foundations of scientific knowledge, among other things? Thus, if we follow the Positivists and eliminate these from all things meaningful, the scientific boat will be shaken and wrecked.

We’ve seen how the anti-metaphysicist’s brush sweeps away much too much. The anti-metaphysicist’s statement that metaphysical concepts are mere gibberish, though a bit exaggerated, sends science into a wasteland of desolation.

No wonder Popper had to first reveal the invalidity of this viewpoint in terms of science, for his blueprints for the growth of science would be meaningless if the stated science had been completely extinguished.

1.3 POPPER SETS OFF AGENDA FOR THE THEORY-DEPENDENCE OF SCIENCE

Popper is unequivocal in his belief that scientific progress cannot be explained by the accumulation of perceptual experiences through time. He believed that science could not originate from uninterpreted sense-perceptions, no matter how diligently we gathered and sorted them.

The canon of selection is always used in scientific observations. As a result, before embarking on any meaningful observation, a choice of object, definite task—all of which assume interests, issues, and points of view—are required.19

Given this, all observations require interpretation. Pure, untainted observational knowledge ‘would, if at all conceivable, be totally barren and futile.’20

Chalmers appears to share this viewpoint when he says:

How can we establish meaningful facts about the world through observation if we don’t know what kind of information we’re looking for or what problems we’re attempting to solve?21

Uninterpreted data cannot be expressed in observation statements. They are rather assertions of facts in the context of theories. “How strange it is that anyone should not see that all observation must be for or against some view,” Darwin observes.22

Nature must be scrutinised in light of the experimenter’s theories, thoughts, and inspirations. Kant was, after all, correct when he stated that it is the experimenter’s responsibility to question nature rather than waiting for nature to reveal her secrets.23

However, unlike Kant, who believes that our theories are valid a priori, Popper believes that they are simply guesses, doubts that must be tested empirically.

This is an elaboration of what he refers to as hypotheticism, which is a key component of his method. As a result, he maintains:

Our sole method of interpreting nature; our only organon, our only instrument for grasping her, are bold conceptions, unwarranted expectations, and speculative mind.24

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

THE QUEST FOR POLITICAL POWER THROUGH VIOLENCE

CHAPITRE ONE

INTRODUCTION

Man is a being with an insatiable desire for dynamism. Man has been preoccupied with how to effect changes in society to maximise his well-being since the evolution of societies, and as a result, he has never abdicated the pressing responsibility of searching for, or evolving models of governance that would lead to a better understanding and organisation of society, and one of the reasons for this conviction is to foster a blissful life for humanity free of rancour, violence, crisis, and conflict.

According to Thomas Hobbes, men agreed to live in a civil society for the sake of self-preservation and happiness, so that the unpleasant and miserable situation of anarchy and conflicts would be ameliorated, if not fully eradicated.

According to the philosopher, the fear of uncertainty and insecurity of lives and property inspired the establishment of civil society. Jean-Jacques Rousseau also discusses preservation, arguing that the human species must adapt its nature if it is to survive and avoid conflict.

In this context of societal evolution, Hannah Arendt observes that the glorification of violence is not limited to a small minority and eternally.

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In Nigeria, essentially, violence has taken front stage in the democracy, resulting in the untimely killing of her inhabitants in the pursuit of political power. We internalise Georges Sorel’s ideas in his Reflections on Violence; he felt that power had to be switched from the decayed middle class to the working class, and that power could only be obtained through a general strike that, in order to be effective, had to be violent[1].

Political strife pervades most of the world’s political systems. This is especially true in emerging nations such as Nigeria, where political disagreement, crises, and even violence have become important features of the political process, particularly after independence.

Nigeria may have taken pride in achieving independence with minimal social disruption and violence. Nigeria fell from crisis to crisis and was on the verge of implosion as the country witnessed an increase in party, ethnic, and regional hatred.

As a result, violence or the prospect of violence is a global phenomena. In a same spirit, Charles Tilly writes, “Collective violence has flowed regularly from the political process… Men seeking to size, hold, or realign power have continually engaged in collective violence as part of their struggle.

” Nigeria is an excellent case study for both theoretical and empirical research on political violence. We believe that the causes and dynamics of violence in Nigeria are basically similar to civil violence in other areas of the world. Rioters in Nigeria share similar psychological features with their counterparts around the world;

most of them are disappointed in their pursuit of political and economic goals, as well as in seeking redress for complaints. Those in power in Nigeria had little regard for the established routes of political activity, that is, the laws of the game, and political authority in this country through violence leads to economic prowess and citizen marginalisation.

According to Arendt, power and violence are diametrically opposed; where one controls absolutely, order is missing. Violence appears when power is threatened, but when left to its own devices, it leads to power’s demise[2].

Political violence has been a key feature of political struggle in most of Nigeria, taking many forms ranging from assassination to armed battles between opposing politicians’ gangs.

Most of the time, this violence is carried out by gangs whose members are openly recruited and paid by politicians and party leaders to attack their sponsors’ competitors, frighten members of the public, manipulate elections, and defend their clients from similar attacks[3].

The 2011 general election represented yet another heinous chapter in Nigerian political history and culture. Comparatively, it is difficult to determine which general elections were the most violently afflicted since the return to civil rule in mid-1999.

The 1999 general election was violently prone, as were the 2003 and 2007 general elections, and it was also clear that each general election took place under different dimensions and circumstances, with a progression of casualties. The deterioration of economic conditions continues to produce new dynamics and nuances that modify the pattern of political violence.

As a child, Hannah Arendt witnessed war and violence, which prompted her to write: these reflections were prompted by the events and debates of the last few centuries, which has indeed become, as Lenin predicted, a century of wars and resolutions, and thus a century of that violence…[4]

This is currently thought to be their common denominator. However, there is another component in the current situation that, while none foresaw it, is at least as important.

The technological advancement of weapons of mass destruction has now reached a point where no political purpose could ever equate to their destructive capacity or justify their annual use in armed conflict.

As a result, warfare, which has been the final harsh arbiter in international disputes from time immemorial, has lost most of its efficiency and practically all of its glamour.

The apocalyptic chess game between superpowers, that is, those who move on the highest plane of civilization, is being played according to the rule; if neither side wins, both are doomed.

1.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This pattern in Nigerian politics raises some intriguing political questions. Nigeria is an excellent case study for both theoretical and empirical research on political violence. We believe that the causes and dynamics of violence in Nigeria are basically similar to those of civil violence everywhere in the world.

Though the ability of different actors in the Nigerian political system to compromise was quite impressive, particularly after independence, it was during this period that violence or its potential use moved to the centre of political action, becoming a weapon in the hands of both the state and the individual.

As a result, the relevance of this study is seen as an avenue to the Nigerian political situation, which has been anchored on violence rising from the shedding of bloods of her citizens, and thus by advocating for non-violence as a means in achieving a positive political quest with the shedding of blood or rioting, which is paramount in the Nigeria political arena.

Non-violence is not a new concept in the history of man; however, Nigerian political elites should be educated on the use of non-violence as a path to contest for any political office of their choice rather than using violence to deduce the game of politicking, thereby defranchising some due to fear of injuries at the various electoral centres.

1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The political elite continues to equip teenagers, use them to commit horrific crimes, shed blood at every vital juncture of life, particularly during election season; and water the streets with the blood of the youths themselves, innocent bystanders, and passersby.

Politicians are assassinated in broad daylight and in the dead of night; bodies, souls, and destiny are willfully destroyed in the Manichean quest for political power; and conferences held to pontificate on the negatives of political violence were fruitless due to a lack of tangible deliberations and implementation to combat the scourge. Nigeria’s political structures are entangled in a web of violence and murder.

Furthermore, in defining Marx Weber’s idea of a state, C.W Mills succinctly defined politics as a struggle for power, and the ultimate form of power is violence.[6]

This closeness between power and violence appears to be consistent with the earlier ideology and postulations of the Chinese dictator Mao Tse-tung, who believed that power grows from the emanation of a barrel of gun. P Sartre lauded violence in the foreword to Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth, arguing that it is only violence that pays.[8]

Nigeria’s name has become a paradox as a result of her rise in several sectors of the economy. The records of mismanagement that led to this paradox are, in a sense, the ailments that Nigeria is suffering from. Nigeria has faced numerous challenges since her independence in 1960, including political, economic, cultural, social, and other issues.

The superstructure is indeed in a quandary. This sometimes calls into question the country’s authenticity and true autonomy; some have even concluded that we are not independent.[9]

The ongoing wars against our fellow countrymen and women in the pursuit of political appointments through violence can only harm our collective development as a people.

With the ideologies of various philosophers mentioned earlier, as well as some individuals whose interest and specialty in political violence would be of valuable assistance in analysing the notion of violence and its relationship to political power, enormous questions will arise:

what is the necessity of violence in the existence and maintenance of political power, or can there be any political power without violence?

The aforementioned questions are very prevalent in our modern world with the contemporary penchant for world wars and revolutions in which violence is ultimately the rising common denominator[10].

With the advancement in technology man’s inhumanity to fellow man through violence by production of weapons of mass destruction has persistently been in outstanding pedigree has rendered man powerless and technological modernization which should serve as a helper to man has rendered man powerless and technological modernization

which should serve as a However, when it comes to politics and politicking, violence has gained a significant drive. As a result, the pursuit for political dominance in the modern day is now full of violent deeds, so reducing morals to oblivion and elevating the glories of violence to new heights through adoption of the Machiavellian premise that the end justifies the means.

Having taken cognizance of the Nigeria scenario with facts born of experience and honestly justified by history, it is clear that the ambition for political power by violence is highly prevalent in Nigeria.

Violence has persisted in the Nigerian political system in the form of thuggery, rioting, ethnic crises, assassination, kidnapping, and depriving people of their voting rights, resulting in the untimely murder of innocent people. We believe that calling political violence terrorism is incorrect when it is employed in circumstances when no other form of protest is permitted.

Miller argues that violence may be permissible in dictatorships and other repressive regimes when used to defend human rights, provoke liberal reforms, and achieve other desirable goals[11].

A trip down to Nigeria’s political activities reveals that politics, which is thought to be the natural activities of man taking cognizance of Aristotelian definition as a political animal, is a natural activity of man. Politics in Nigeria is a game of do or die, with survival of the fittest being the goal.

As Arendt states, the goal of political power in any government is to enable mankind to live together, to promote happiness, or to realise a classless society[12].

This meaning is no longer available nowadays; instead, individuals see political power as the best way to get money, and they will resort to any form of violence to obtain it.

In this article, I will intellectually expose the search for political power through violence, particularly in our country Nigeria, following Hannah Arendt’s lead to demonstrate that power and violence are incompatible, and that violence can destroy power but not build it[13].

Most Nigerian politicians regard violence as both an offensive weapon and a component of personal protection as an essential component of a political campaign; they believe that they must preserve some power to unleash violence as a measure of self-defense.

1.4 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

Nigeria is a country in which no single political system is routinely practised. It is a country where they may set the pace for politicking[14].

As previously stated, man is by nature a political animal. As a result, politics is not limited to a specific group of individuals, nor is it a filthy game. Those who engage in it, on the other hand, may be considered unclean. Politics is what the leaders in Nigeria refer to. Nigeria can thus not be said to have a political system other than inconsistency, which culminates in a pyramid of corruption.[15]

What we have in Nigeria as politics is a facilitation of imbroglios and camps of civilian armies; we have politicians a panoply of hotchpotch of individuals with contradictory interests ready to satisfy their individual characters through destructive manners[16].

To do this, the youths, who have become veritable tools of violence, must be re-oriented, as they are rapidly adopting this strategy as the greatest alternative for survival.

Again, I’d like to use this piece to appeal to the consciences of those whose hands haven’t yet been soiled in politics to keep it going. This deadly malady has become so severe that venomous activities must be a part of Nigerian politics. As a result, in order to be “successful” in Nigeria, one must be abysmally violent[17].

The fact that violence is viewed as the rule of the day in Nigerian politics should not compel them to join them when they cannot beat them, because violence has always been a component of the Nigerian political process, leading to the loss of lives and property.

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

In this long easy, I want to focus mostly on Hannah Arendt’s thoughts about violence in relation to the Nigerian situation, despite the fact that they were not proposed for that purpose. I will focus primarily on Hannah Arendt’s key work on violence, as well as additional texts/materials produced by her and other scholars pertinent to the objective of this study.

1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES

The scientific approach is absolutely necessary in any philosophical investigation. Method is so important that it aids in the validation of our philosophical convictions.

.Among the various methods commonly used in scientific works, a combination of an expository-critical procedure was found to be the most appropriate because it allows us to faithfully explore the relevant themes in Hannah Arendt’s thoughts while also basing on different emerging opinions of other authors as a way of deepening, supporting, or even positive questioning.

It enables us to form implicit and explicit personal judgements about the author’s point of view. It will be a combination of library and online research. The system I will use for citing and, more importantly, generating specific entries from every written source is primarily that of footnoting.

The concepts of Hannah Arendt on violence are contrasted to the Nigerian reality in order to determine what can serve as a better political vision for Nigeria.

1.7 DEFITION OF TERMS

Violence definition

Violence has become so common in today’s environment that it draws little or no attention wherever it occurs. This canker worm has damaged every area of human life in this earth to the point where some individuals have reached a standstill.

Peaceful and harmonious coexistence among men appears to be an illusion for certain people, and it becomes an ulcerous cancer to society in both cultural, religious, economic, social, psychological, and, more importantly, political domains.

Violence, like time, is a difficult subject to define. According to Arendt, “violence is by nature instrumental; like all means, it always stands in need of guidance and justification through the end it pursues”[18].

The term “violence” is derived from the Latin word violentia, which means “impetuosity.” It is used to describe extreme force or restraint. According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, violence is……a behaviour meant to damage or kill; an uncontrollable powerful sensation. [19]

Arendt advocated that violence can be justified, but it will never be legal. Its rationale loses validity the further it is meant and recedes into the future. [20]

In other words, violence turns the offender into a beast and the tormented into a thing.

Different Types of Violence

In general, there are two types of violence: internal (covert) violence and external (overt) violence.

Internal violence refers to the disharmony or peacelessness that one feels within himself. St. Paul succinctly alluded to this type of violence in his turmoil and thus cried thus: the good things I want to do, I never do; the evil thing which I do not want-that is what I do.[21]

This type of violence is most observed in confused individuals and displayed externally in their relationship with their fellow man in society. Similarly, external violence refers to any sort of conflict or discord that, in addition to occurring within the individual, has an external manifestation in man’s dealings with one another.

Analogically, it could be viewed as a type of volcanic explosion that, after burning beneath the earth at a very high temperature, explodes in the form of molten lava, leaving behind a mountain that mangles everything it comes into contact with. This is the type of violence that is referred to as external violence.

Dom Helder Camara[23], in his book Spiral of Violence, discusses three types of violence that combine to form what he calls the spiral of violence, which inspired the title of his book. The first in this spiral of violence, according to him, is institutional violence[24].

It refers to the brutal laws and policies that institutions impose on their citizens in order to subject them to subhuman enslavement. As a result, they are unfairly treated, humiliated, and constrained to the point where all hope appears to be lost. According to him, it is institutional violence that produces counter-violence[25],

another form of violence. It manifests itself in the shape of riots, terrorism, uprisings, and so on, in response to the subservience inflicted by institutional violence. Any attempt to respond to the powerful wind of counter-violence results in the third type of violence, which he refers to as oppressive violence.

It is typically a reaction to counter-violence by perpetrators of institutional violence as a solution to counter-violence through their agents such as thugs, police, the ‘EFCC,’ or even another institution of violence, resulting in the spiral continuing.

This third sort of violence is the most heinous since the strong utilise every repressive tools at their disposal to suppress whatever threatens their dominance.

In this continuous cycle of violence from covert (injustice) to overt (revolt) to totalitarian (repression), the relentless rotation of violence appears to be limitless, shattering a harmonious and peaceful co-existence[26].

The Roots of Violence

Violence can be attributed to a number of circumstances. Arendt believes the following regarding the causes of violence:

Speaking about the causes of violence in these terms must appear presumptuous at a time when floods of foundation money are being channelled into various research projects of social scientists, when a deluge of books on the subject has already appeared, when eminent natural scientists-biologists, psychologists, ethologists, and zoologists-have joined in an all-out effort to solve the riddle of “aggressiveness” in human behaviour, and even a [27]

Despite the foregoing, several factors are nevertheless seen as the root causes of violence. They include egoism, injustice, aggressiveness, racism, and terrorism, among others, and we will look at some of them in this article.

EGOISM

Egoism is viewed as a display of selfishness. This is the mindset of someone who prioritises his own interests over the interests of others. It is evident that most of the violence we see around the world is the result of egoism.

As W.A Wallace puts it, “egoism creates in man a wall of exclusiveness to others.” Because of this exclusivity, he gets so full of himself that he sees the other as an enemy who should be exterminated. This phenomena highlights societal problems and intolerance among people, resulting in bloodshed.”

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

A CRITIQUE OF DAVID HUME EMPIRICISM

CHAPITRE ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The pursuit of knowledge that is both absolute and certain has been ongoing. However, there has been a significant epistemological tradition based primarily on human experience from at least the time of Aristotle, which is not aimed towards the prospect of gaining absolute knowledge.

This tradition exemplifies the philosophy of empiricism. Empiricists say that it is irrational to aim for absolute and all-encompassing knowledge, especially since the ability to increase practical knowledge through slower but more reliable techniques is readily available.

Empiricists are satisfied with constructing a system of knowing that has a high likelihood of being true, even if absolute certainty cannot be guaranteed.

David Hume is a radical empiricist who has distinguished himself as a consistent and coherent radical empiricist throughout the history of epistemology and metaphysics.

According to him, the only true knowledge is experimental knowledge, and any concept that is not accessible through sense perception is only speculative reasoning.

Quantity and number are the only abstract objects of abstract science or demonstration, and all attempts to extend this more perfect species of knowledge beyond these confines are just sophistry and delusion.1

He asks for a book-burning campaign of any metaphysical work with ideological zeal.

He declares:

What destruction must we wreak on libraries that are convinced of these (empirical) principles? If we pick any volume: of or school metaphysics, for example, do we find any abstract reasoning incorporating quantity or number?

No. Is there any experimental reasoning about matter-of-fact and existence? No. Commit it to the flames: it can only hold sophistry and illusion.2

Hume’s notion of robust sensism as a replacement for our natural and acquired scientific, metaphysical, and socio-cultural deposits causes more problems than it answers.

It destroys all scientific and philosophical foundations. It abandons us to our haphazard, sandy subjectivism of dry empiricism.

Within the context of knowledge, David Hume’s empiricism is excellent, but a constant empirist will end up destroying the fundamental foundation of knowledge. We think more than a succession of impressions, according to humanity’s epistemological, scientific, and ontological legacy.3

To reduce them to impression bundles. It is shortsighted to reduce people to bundles of sensations, as Hume would have us believe.

The preceding serves as an introduction to our research.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Hume’s notion of empiricism contains flaws. The biggest one derives from an attempt to answer the question of how trustworthy our senses are. Our senses frequently betray us.

This is true when we see a mirage, when objects change size depending on our psychological and physiological state, when we have hallucinations, and when we experience various types of illusions.

The issue is that there is no way to tell the difference between the genuine and the unreal in such instances. Mirage, for example, is a phenomenon generated by hot air in deserts or on roadways that gives the impression of seeing something, such as water, that is not there.

The challenge now is, how do we tell the difference between a true sense experience and a false or illusory sense experience?

As a result, the famous arguments from illusion arise, casting doubt on the veracity of sense experience.

1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

It has already been stated that David Hume took a radical stance on knowledge acquisition by claiming that knowledge can only be gained through sensory experience. He accomplished this by highlighting the flaws inherent in reason as a source of knowing.

The goal of this study is to explore David Hume’s perspective and to demonstrate that, while we all agree that humans gain knowledge through sense experience, sense experience alone cannot create or guarantee knowledge.

As Jacques Maritain pointed out, every philosophical system has some truth and communicates something about reality; nevertheless, some philosophies exaggerate their claims, which leads to issues. T

his was the case with David Hume, who got into this type of dilemma because, while knowledge can be acquired by sense experience, he overstated the position by claiming that knowledge can only be obtained through sense experience.

As a result, it is part of the purpose of this study to highlight as many of these issues as possible in order to demonstrate that, while sense experience leads to knowledge, knowledge does not end there because there are some limitations to the senses in epistemological procedure so that whatever information we receive through the senses is subjected to judgement before it is accepted.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

When this work is finished, we hope that it will be significant in the sense that we will have succeeded in bringing to light some of the most important aspects of David Hume’s empiricism while also pointing out some of the problems that it contains.

The study will also be useful to students who want to pursue research on David Hume’s empiricism because it will provide them with some insight into the nature of Hume’s empiricism.

However, it is important to note that this work should not be interpreted as the sum total of Hume’s empiricism. However, we were unable to cover the references.

That appear towards the end of the task will thus suffice to guide or redirect students to where information on those topics will be acquired.

This work will be of tremendous value to those who are not doing works on David Hume’s Empiricism; to non-philosophers who may be reading for knowledge acquisition or pleasure, as the approach that will be used here and the selection of works will not be difficult to grasp.

1.5 SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY

The title of this work already indicates that it is concerned with delivering a critique of David Hume’s empiricism. However, just as in any critical study, we will not go right into the criticism; instead, we will have a guide or emphasis as to what to criticise.

Hume’s empiricism serves as a guide because, in order to criticise it, we must first provide his empiricism in order to explain what it involves. After we’ve discovered the nature of Hume’s Empiricism, we’ll know how to anchor our criticism to the challenges we’ll encounter.

1.6 METHODOLOGY

The critical study method will be used in this assignment. Because the essay is about David Hume’s empiricism, the technique will be to first offer a comprehensive overview of empiricism.

Following that, we shall concentrate on Hume’s concept of subject matter empiricism. We will thus begin to criticise when we have shown these.

However, for the sake of ease, we will divide our criticism into two parts. The first part will be to offer the criticisms levelled against Hume’s empiricism by others, because we are well aware that Hume’s empiricism has been attacked over the years.

As a result, the second phase of the criticism will be our own. We shall highlight, as best we can, some of the issues that Hume’s empiricism is plagued with as a result of his radical viewpoint, and we will base our attacks on these.

1.7 LITERATURE REVIEW

Our goal here is to educate the reader on some of the literature used in this work. But, first and foremost, David Hume’s book is fundamental literature.

In his book, “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding,” edited by Eric Steinberg and published by Hacket Publishing Company, Indianapolis in 19774,

David Hume was determined to show that an inquiry, the objects of human reason will be discovered to include only ideas and facts. These are the only two categories into which any specific information can be classified.

All numerical concerns are intuitively certain and hence fall under “relations of ideas,” whereas anything discoverable from experience falls under “matters of fact.”

In another book, “David Hume and the Problem of Reason; Recovering – the Human Sciences” (published by Yale University Press in 1990),5,

John Danford explained how scepticism about the ability of reason to lead to knowledge acquisition led to Hume’s position, which was to demonstrate that when reason is cut loose or severed from experience, it can only generate irresolution and confusion.

Edward Caird demonstrates Hume’s statements regarding the passivity of the mind in knowledge acquisition through the “association of ideas” in his work, A Critical Account of Kant’s Philosophy, published by James Maclehose in 18766.

The mind is shown here as not actively dealing with given materials to come up with knowledge, but as finding certain natural relations or associative principles in the very data of sensation by virtue of which one idea calls up another and thus presents a clear picture of something to the mind.

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

FEMINIST THEORY OF LITERACY CRITICISM

CHAPITRE ONE

INTRODUCTION

Purpose Of The Study

The goal of this research is to demonstrate Julie Okoh’s The Trials as a feminist book.

Scope Of The Study

This study is limited to Julie Okoh’s novel The Trials. The study examines the basic memorable of a feminist text, which are strong memorable female characters, portrayal of women as having innate goodness and genuine concern for the family, especially the children;

portrayal of women as bringing instrumental to positive change in improving the society economically; and finally, the presence of power relations and calls for change in the status’ of women as critical responses of women to a society dominated by men-folk.

Methodology

This work is qualitative, with the primary source being Julie Okoh’s text The Trials. Journal papers and books were also used as sources.

Theoretical Background

The feminist philosophy of literacy criticism serves as the foundation for this study.

According to Ann B. Dobie (a writer and theorist who wrote Theory into Practise), while the feminist movement dates back to the nineteenth century, feminist lenses did not emerge until the early 1960s.

Feminism, according to the Encyclopaedia Americana 1920’s, is a collection of ideas and a movement focused at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for men and women.

This includes attempting to equalise educational and career opportunities for women (Wikipedia “feminism” collier new Encyclopaedia 1921).

Feminism is thus an ideology movement that advocates for men and women’s economic, social, and political equality in society. As a result, if frowns at male subjugation of women.

Feminism is a philosophy that seeks to recognise women’s power and right to shape and change a new society. It demands that women not be evaluated based on their gender.

It aims to remedy the condition in society in which a woman cannot occupy particular positions and jobs or have a say in state issues due to her gender.

Feminism, according to Judith Burdick, is an unequivocal and unambiguous rejection of the way of life generated by powerful coercive norms. She goes on to say:

“That advocacy for the advancement of women’s rights and equality with men in the social, political, and economic spheres (588).”Feminism asserts that a woman has the right and independence from male dominance to determine her own destiny.

According to this belief, women are capable of making their own decisions, knowing what is beneficial for them as well as what is bad for them. This movement also advocated for women to break new ground and allow themselves to be trampled by men.

Feminism is defined in the book encyclopedia…..(vol ii) as

“The belief that women should have equal economic, political, and social rights as men.” The movement could also be referred to as the Women’s Liberation Movement or the Women’s Movement” (46).

Brudwick also believes that feminism is out to undermine the ideology, but it is built in religious, economic, or biological supremacy over women.

“Is a psychological revaluation based on women’s insistence on their fundamental right to choose and be judged as individuals.”Furthermore, women’s concentrated struggle to end their plight demonstrated to the world that their contribution to societal development would be barren if they were socially, politically, or economically deprived in any way.

As a result, in order for peace and stability to rule, they must tread like their masculine counterpart. This defence and demand established the groundwork for feminism. It is dedicated to eliminating gender inequity and supporting women’s rights, interests, and issues in society.

Feminism began with the arrival of several wollstonecraftsmen. A victory for women’s rights. In the essay, she describes how “women are stripped of virtue that should clothe humanity, then decked with artificial graces that enable them to exercise a brief tyranny.” (142)

According to that phrase, a woman’s basic worth stems from her shared humanity and does not depend on anything else.

The first feminist movement or thought in Nigeria dates back to the Aba Women Roit (1926), an event aimed at women’s emancipation. Aside from the Nigeria event, there is also the Beijing Women Conference in China, which focuses on the condition of women and the actions required to improve their lot.

The effort to abolish female discrimination, stereotyping, and male dominance should not be viewed a one-man race, but rather a community struggle. The male rules over the have-nots, while women are degraded and reduced to objects of men’s passion and pleasure.

As a result, feminism evolved in order to eradicate these vices in society. However, because Africa has yet to witness radical feminism, Alice Waker writes in her book The Nature of Black Feminism:

“Black feminism is dedicated to the survival and wholeness of all people, male and female.”(231)

Black feminism is committed to the survival of all, rather than being a one-sided or selfish endeavour.

According to Okey Okwechine, “equality to rights and opportunity for both men and women is essential for a healthy society” (209). This basically means that for a society to progress, everyone, regardless of gender, should have equal support.

The goal and scope of the feminism movement are separated into two parts, whereby we all have basic common aims as women regardless of colour, class, or culture. Others differ from place to country according to race, class, and culture.

Initially, the feminist movement focused on achieving legal equality, particularly the ability to vote. In 1839, women in New Zealand were the first6 to argue for and obtain this right, followed by women in Australia,

various European nations, and eventually the United States. In the early 1900s, a new concern for economic and social equality evolved, revitalising the movement.

A feminist organisation fought to eradicate gender discrimination in education and employment. Many women entered professions like as law, medicine, politics, business, and other male-dominated fields.

The feminist movement attempted to remove laws and practises that enforced men’s supremacy over women and women’s inferiority status through discrimination in matters of sex and child bearing. In other words, feminists advocated for greater access to birth control information as well as the legalisation of abortion in the same countries.

They worked to challenge the conventional belief that women are weak, docile, and dependant; that women are less ratio and more emotional than men; and that women live to please men.

In sections of Africa, feminist movements aimed at basic roles such as removing excessive bride prices, preferring male offspring over female children, and abuse of widows, among other things.

Another feminist goal is to improve women’s image and demonstrate the need to be unsatisfied with their traditional roles of being subjugated to male dominance, and that women can participate equally with men in all areas of human endeavour. Also, to enable all women to realise their full potential.

According to Ann B Dobie’s book Theory into Practise, femimist criticism can be explored from three different perspectives, which are: study of defences, research of female power, and study of female experience.

Feminist critics interested in discovering the difference between male and female writing work from the concept that gender determines everything, including value system and language, in the study of difference.

The concept of gender difference has arisen in an assumption of feminine inferiority in the writing of men and women, which analyses questions such as:

Is the writer writing in a genre that is typical of male or female writers of that time or period?

Do you think the piece’s content is usual or uncommon, and does the voice sound typical of a male or female writer? Is it subjective or objective, personal or impersonal, tacit or explicit?

In addressing the above question in connection to Julie Okoh’s principal text The Trials, it is evident that the genre of the text is drama, very brief and concise, which is typical of the genre of Nigerian writers in the twenty-first century.

The text’s substance is typical of a female writer because it emphasises the importance of female empowerment.

Because the protagonist (Ibiso) is female, the voice is typical of a female writer; it advocates for female empowerment and equal rights for men and women in economic, social, and political matters: This mindset can be observed in Ibiso, who provides for her family despite economic adversity.

Because the narrative is not limited to Africa, but to the entire world, the tone is generic and impersonal. The text The Trials is objective because it is not based on the playwright’s personal feelings.

Power imbalances are frequently mentioned by feminist critics of power. They believe that the economic system is at the basis of inequitable relationships, and they target women’s economic and social exploitation. They contend that women are oppressed.

They contend that women are oppressed by a group that actively oppresses them through its ideology. Michele Barrett, writing from a maximalist perspective, contends that the organisation of the family and household is tied to the division of labour in society. The term refers to the social division of labour.

The educational system and the cultural roles of men and women. According to Ann B. Dobie, the following questions should be explored while looking for the study of power in a book.

When do you notice power disparities among the characters?

Who are the powerful and who are the weak? Are the latter women or members of a minority?

In the text, how is labour divided between men and women?

Is the text opposed to or accepting of a social system that denies equal treatment to all?

In responding to the above quest, make use of the text The Trials.

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

IMPACTS OF CHRISTIANITY

ABSTRACT

Christianity, as a religion, has had an impact on all aspects of Nigerian life. A comprehensive examination of the Nnewi people’s religious history reveals that Christianity has infiltrated both urban and rural Nnewi society. The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of Christianity in the development of the Nnewi nation.

A brief introduction to the lifestyle of the Nnewi people prior to the arrival of Christianity will also be provided to aid comprehension of the project. The following is the task breakdown for this study:-

1 A general background study based on the objectives, methods, and definition of words.

2 The Nnewi people’s historical origins and organisational lifestyle.

3 The introduction and spread of Christianity as seen through the eyes of the Nnewi traditional context prior to Christianity.

4 The Christian religion made four contributions to the Nnewi country.

5 assessments, recommendations, and conclusions.

CHAPITRE ONE

INTRODUCTION IN GENERAL

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Since the beginning of time, Christianity has been present in various towns around the world. However, among the different Christian groups, I would choose Anglicanism. This research will thus cover the history of Christianity in Nigeria, its spread to Nnewi in Anambra State, and a case study of the Anglicans to highlight its effects.

The history of Christianity in Nigeria, particularly in Nnewi town, which is one of the towns in Igboland in Anambra State in Nigeria’s south-east, reveals both positive and bad discoveries.

Discoveries have been discovered about the inhabitants of Nnewi and their culture; they are acknowledged to have high cultural worth, which distinguishes them.

They cannot live without religion since it is a part of them. According to an old proverb, “Okpukpem bu ndum. Onye nwere Okpukpem Nwere ndum.” This translates as “My religion is my life.” “Whoever takes away my religion takes away my life.”

1 The Igbo people have a strong devotion to their faith. With the arrival of Christianity in Nigeria, particularly in Igbo country, the Igbo people’s traditional religion began to face significant obstacles. Some customary practises were abandoned when Christianity gained traction in Nnewi town.

The Portuguese introduced Roman Catholicism to Nigeria in the fifteenth century, and it was the first Christian interaction in the country. It was, however, nearly exterminated for the next 200 years until Roman Catholic missionaries came in the 1800s.

Since then, the Catholic Church has grown to almost 19 million members and adherents, primarily in the south east. The Anglican church of Nigeria presently boasts over 11 million members and adherents, indicating that the church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has grown rapidly since the end of the slave trade.

It is fascinating to note that Christianity and indeed Anglicanism, which began as a child’s play in Badagry and Abeokuta, have spread like wild fire to all nooks and corners of our country Nigeria in less than two centuries. Augustinian and Capuchin monks from Portugal brought Christianity to Nigeria in the 15th century.

However, it was not until 1842, when Henry Townsend of the Church Missionary Society arrived in Badagry from Freetown, Sierra Leone, that the seed of Anglicanism was fully sown.

2 The study’s context is that Christianity has been entrenched in Nigeria and its constituent states. Christianity, on the other hand, poses a challenge because of its multiple denominations, which occasionally speak in distinct voices. Christianity in Nnewi, Anambra state, is what I would research and expose in this work;

I would focus more on the Anglicans. Other topics to be covered in this work include the origins of the Nnewi people, their religion, and the activities of missionaries, as well as how they affected the Nnewi people’s traditional religion.

1.2 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES  OF STUDY –

This study intends to demonstrate the overall effects of Christianity on the Nnewi people, with a concentration on the Anglicans.

– To remove people’s faith in the powers of idol worship and to assist them in finding peace in Christianity.

– The purpose of this book is to investigate the role of Christianity in the development of the Nnewi nation.

– To explore the Anglican church’s relationship with other denominations and its emergence in the Nnewi nation.

– To investigate the origins of the Nnewi people and their religion, as well as the actions of Christian missionaries in Nnewi, Anambra state.

– To give suggestions/recommendations on how the Anglican Church of Nigeria can represent Nnewi traditional society’s living patterns.

1.3 DEFINITION OF TERMS AND CONCEPTS

In this essay, three basic categories must be defined: Christianity, Anglicans, and Traditional culture.

Christianity (1.3.1) A monotheistic system of beliefs and practises based on the Old Testament and Jesus’ teachings as incorporated in the New Testament, emphasising Jesus’ position as saviour. The Christian religion was established on Jesus of Nazareth’s life and teachings.

3 Christianity is now the world’s most widely practised religion, with over a billion adherents divided mostly between the Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox churches.

It began with Jewish followers of Jesus of Nazareth who believed he was the expected Messiah (or ‘Christ,’ but the Christian church quickly became an independent organisation, thanks primarily to St. Paul’s missionary activities.

Constantine ceased formal persecution in the Roman Empire in 313 and Theodosius I recognised it as the state religion in Theodosius I.

Most Christians believe in one God who exists in three persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) and that Jesus is God’s son who rose from the dead after being crucified; a Christian hopes to achieve eternal life after death through faith in Jesus Christ and strives to live by his teachings as recorded in the New Testament. 1.3.2 Churches of Christ The term “Anglican” implies “of England,”

however the Anglican church is found all over the world. It began in England in the sixth century, when Pope Gregory the Great dispatched St. Augustine to establish a more regulated Apostolic succession to the celtic Christians.

The Anglican Church developed as a branch of the Roman Church, but the Celtic influence was incorporated into the Roman component of the church in a variety of ways.

The Anglican church grew around the world, initially through English colonisation and then through English-speaking missionaries.

The Anglicans are those who follow these practises.

4 Because the term “church” has been misused, Billy Graham, an American evangelist of the twentieth century, says: “The Invisible Church is that larger body of believers who, down through the ages, have sincerely trusted Jesus as Lord and Saviour.”

When a person accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour, he becomes a member of the Church. The visible church is today’s international church, made up of local Christian groups.There are both wheat and tares in it….

5 The Anglican church refers to the church of England and its worldwide branches. Anglicanism is a Christian protestant denomination. It is sometimes regarded as the bridge between Roman Catholicism and radical Protestantism.

This is because the English church maintained the early catholic ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons during the English Reformation.

The explicit rejection of the Pope, and hence of the Catholic church as an organisation, was the tipping moment that led to the formation of the Anglican church.

1.3.3 Traditional Culture This is the third term I’d like to clarify as the process progresses. In sociology, a traditional society is one that is characterised by a focus on the past rather than the future, with custom and habit playing a prominent role.

6 The term “traditional” refers to small-scale communities that are based on indigenous and often ancient cultural practises.

1.4 METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

The radical, practical approach was used for this study’s method or investigation. I would rely on quantitative and qualitative social research sources such as surveys, interviews with lay and ordained members of the Anglican church of Nigeria,

document analysis from school libraries, institutes, online research (E- library), journals, text books, and research papers. A variety of hypothetical and real-life case studies are used to explain this subject.

1.5 LIMITATIONS AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This project would concentrate on Christianity in Nnewi, Anambra State. An attempt will be made to uncover the strategies utilised by Christian missionaries (Anglicans) to establish and grow Christianity in Nnewi.

The breadth is so broad, and the interested parties among potential readers are virtually indefinitely diverse.7 Restrictions on in-depth stories/histories derived from materials.

Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic 

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL