Showing papers in "Open Journal of Philosophy in 2013"
TL;DR: In this paper, the author draws on Dismas Masolo's book Self and Community in a Changing World to unpack the notion of personhood and draw lessens on Basotho indigenous education.
Abstract: This article reflects on shocking and horrifying incidents of moral indiscretion that have become commonplace in South Africa. The aim is to understand why human beings would carry out such shocking and horrific acts on fellow human beings. The article draws on Dismas Masolo’s book Self and Community in a Changing World to unpack the notion of personhood. It draws lessens on Basotho indigenous education. The choice of Basotho indigenous education is premised on the assumption that it is the author’s own native knowledge with which he is most familiar, and about which he can write uninhibitedly.
69 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that power and discourse are interrelated constructs that the teacher uses to perpetuate Taylorism, Fordism andureaucraticdomination in an instructionist classroom setting, and argue a teacher's power as a tool for social reproduction and domination in instructionist classrooms.
Abstract: This article picks up on Foucault’s radical reconceptualisation of concept “power”, and presents asignificant challenge to contemporary discourses surrounding instructionist classroom management. We critique his approach to instructionist classroom management on the basis that it conceptualises power as domination in dealing with disruption in the classroom. We argue that power and discourse are interrelated constructs that the teacher uses to perpetuateTaylorism, Fordism andbureaucraticdomination in aninstructionist classroom setting. Drawing on Foucault’s and Bourdieu’s works, this document reviews:1) explores Foucault’s theory of discourse; 2) argues discourse as an instrument of power; 3) captures the philosophical perspectives on instructionist classroom management; and 4) argues a teacher’s power as a tool for social reproduction and domination in instructionist classroom setting.
62 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the influence of cultural values and home on child-rearing practices in Nigeria and found that different cultures have their value systems and these values were inculcated to generations of the members through child rearing practices.
Abstract: The study investigated influence of cultural values and home on child-rearing practices in Nigeria. Value systems are embedded in the culture of people. Culture is a set of shared values, attributes, customs and physical objects that are maintained by people in a specific setting. Cross-sectional design and qualitative technique was employed to obtain information from participants. Participants were sixteen adults (8 men, 8 women) from four ethnic groups: Igbo, Ogoni, Tiv and Yala. Findings showed that different cultures have their value systems and these values were inculcated to generations of the members through child-rearing practices. At the age of 5 years, each culture initiates the young ones into her way of life, such as the behavioural pattern expected of the child at the home or farm. Yala Queen dancing/greeting pattern, Ogonis and her yaa/koo rites of passage into adulthood; Tivs and the sacredness of her land; Igbos and their importance of kolanut. These values are transmitted to generations of human beings through child-rearing practices. The home is the miniature society which nurtures value system.
12 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the similarities and differences between Toulmin and Kuhn on the problem of prediction are analyzed, and the main goal is to analyze whether there are influences of Toulmen in Kuhn regarding scientific prediction or, at least, if the former reached similar positions to the latter on the issue of the role of prediction in science.
Abstract: This paper considers the similarities and differences between Toulmin and Kuhn on the problem of prediction. The context of the analysis is the beginning of the “historical turn” in philosophy of science (i.e., the period before the 1965 international colloquium held at Bedford College). The comparison between these authors takes into account several levels: semantic, logical, epistemological, methodological, ontological, and axiological. The main goal is to analyze whether there are influences of Toulmin in Kuhn regarding scientific prediction or, at least, if the former reached similar positions to the latter on the issue of the role of prediction in science.
12 citations
TL;DR: In traditional African thought which is still prevalent in many places in Africa, despite the onslaught of globalization and the attendant consequences of colonialism, the forest is held and revered to be a sacred entity and in most cases the habitation of supra-human forces as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In traditional African thought which is still prevalent in many places in Africa, despite the onslaught of globalization and the attendant consequences of colonialism, the forest is held and revered to be a sacred entity and in most cases the habitation of supra-human forces Apart from clearing for cultivation and human residence, the forest was generally preserved and protected from endangerment Today, in most places especially in urban Africathis is no longer the case A colonialist ideology that commoditises the forest has taken root and some no longer see anything wrong in wanton destruction of forest land and degradation of forests This work uses a critical method to interpret the African concept of the forest, propose reclaiming aspects of the African concept of the forest The work finds and concludes that there are viable gems in the African heritage that can help to combat climate change and the environmental crisis
12 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that the emergence of the biologicallevel of reality from the physical level and of the psychical level from the biological level is closely analogous.
Abstract: The previously proposed cybernetic definition of a living (biological) individual and the cybernetic model of a psychical individual (a self endowed with subjective consciousness) are extended and compared, and their formal similarities are isolated and highlighted It is argued that the emergence of the biological level of reality from the physical level and of the psychical level from the biological level is closely analogous The (biological or psychical) individual is constituted by a network of elements (negative feedbacks/ regulatory mechanisms or neurons/concepts, respectively) that possesses the following common properties: 1) it is intentional (in the operational sense); 2) its elements signify (have sense) by connotation (through relations to each other); 3) it contains an instrumental representation of (some aspects of) the world and 4) it is self-referential ie recurrently directed on itself (its own reproduction or representation, respectively) Thus life and self-consciousness have deep, formal, structural similarities when viewed abstractly The cybernetic definition/model of an individual is also referred to societies/states, companies and other systems It is postulated that this definition/model is a universal one and can be applied to all possible systems/objects existing in the Universe or constructed in the future by humans
11 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined women in domestic violence in Nigeria using gender perspectives and found that women and girls are subjected to physical, sexual and psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income, class, religion and culture.
Abstract: Theoretically, violence is a human rights issue, and human rights are fundamental to values of dignity, equality, non-discrimination and non-interference, and these cut across gender, social, cultural, political, class, religious and geographical issues. Human beings, properties and resources are in millions daily destroyed. Children are abused. Women remain injured and humiliated, so much so that men’s status seemed to be changing. Hence, this study embarked on examining Women in Domestic Violence inNigeriausing gender perspectives. Among the findings is that in many parts ofNigeria, women and girls are subjected to physical, sexual and psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income, class, religion and culture. Recommendations made include the following: adoption of concerted or integrated approach to decision making and implementation.
11 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider the possibility of reading this fundamental work of Heidegger as an ethics of the care, that is, as book that promotes a cultivation of the self and the other.
Abstract: The secret of Being and Time and of its constant cultural and philosophical presence lies in its unusual hermeneutical richness. Being and Time becomes, so to speak, a precise seismometer capable of detecting the slips and falls of the contemporary era with surprising accuracy. It offers us an exact scan of the ethical and moral conscience of our time. Being and Time does not develop a philosophical theory among others, rather it faces the challenge of thoroughly reflecting upon the dilemma that is constantly present in philosophy, namely the question of human being and its relation to being in general. From this point of view, I would like to consider the possibility of reading this fundamental work of Heidegger as an ethics of the care, that is, as book that promotes a cultivation of the self and the other.
10 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest the democratic direction in which the right of freedom of expression should be conceived and applied, and suggest that in a time when private powers seriously threaten these pillars, it is correct for the government to step in to provide the framework in which genuine discussion geared toward fulfilling the objectives of these pillars can take place.
Abstract: This paper suggests the democratic direction in which the right of freedom of expression should be conceived and applied. In the first two sections it suggests some counter-examples to, and diagnoses of, the libertarian and liberal conceptions of freedom of expression, taking Scanlon (1972) and Scanlon (1979), respectively, to be their chief proponents. The paper suggests that these conceptions cannot take into account clear examples, like fraudulent propaganda, which should not be legal. The democratic conception takes it to heart that the pillars upon which the right of freedom of expression is founded are individual and collective autonomy, the right to know facts of public interest and information necessary for effective democratic control of government. The paper suggests that in a time when private powers seriously threaten these pillars, it is correct for the government to step in to provide the framework in which genuine discussion geared toward fulfilling the objectives of these pillars can take place.
10 citations
TL;DR: In contemporary African philosophy, the essence of philosophy is to inquire critically into the marvels and problematic that confronts one in his world in view of producing systematic explanation and sustained response to them.
Abstract: Identity, is the distinguishing characteristic of a person or being. African identity is “being-with” as opposed to the Western individualism, communalism as oppose to collectivism. African “self” is rooted in the family-hood. The West battered African World view and cultural heritage, with the racialism, slave trade, colonization and other Western ideologies. They considered Africans inferiors and influenced most Africans to see themselves as such. Thus Africans are backward and without integral development and independence, although it was quite certain that pre-colonial Africa was not static or dead. However, the essence of philosophy is to inquire critically into the marvels and problematic that confronts one in his world in view of producing systematic explanation and sustained response to them. Therefore, Contemporary African Philosophy focuses on these marvels and problematic confronting the Africa World. The essence of philosophical paradigm of African identity and development is to reason out the way people think with the aim of rediscovering and situating them on the right track, which is, being original and authentic with the view of arriving at a desired goal. It is also for emancipating Africa from bartered African image and European conditioning, slavery and neo-colonization. African ontology is anthropocentric; any serious minded development paradigm must take manmmaduasits point of departure and the point of arrival. It must be peoples’ oriented, relevant to the peoples’ needs and aspirations.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the reasons behind the prevailing individual and cultural relativism in ethics and show how philosophy can accompany and support the development of nanotechnologies from a pragmatic perspective.
Abstract: When philosophers participate in the interdisciplinary ethical, environmental, economic, legal, and social analysis of nanotechnologies, what is their specific contribution? At first glance, the contribution of philosophy appears to be a clarification of the various moral and ethical arguments that are commonly presented in philosophical discussion. But if this is the only contribution of philosophy, then it can offer no more than a stalemate position, in which each moral and ethical argument nullifies all the others. To provide an alternative, we must analyze the reasons behind the prevailing individual and cultural relativism in ethics. The epistemological investigation of this stalemate position will guide us to the core problem of the relation between theory and action (“Part 1: From a conceptual to a speech act analysis of moral arguments”). The stalemate can be overcome from a pragmatic philosophical standpoint, which combines epistemology, philosophy of language—that is, the philosophy of speech acts—and practical reasoning—that is, reasoning about decision-making (“Part 2: Moral argumentation from a pragmatist perspective”). From this philosophical standpoint, it will be possible to show how philosophy can accompany and support the development of nanotechnologies (“Part 3: Philosophy and the evaluation of the development of nanotechnologies”).
TL;DR: In this article, a conceptual framework for understanding the implementation process of a complex intervention concerned with professional role change is proposed, where the intervention must address three interacting systems (socio-cultural, educational and disciplinary) through which a health professional role is evolved.
Abstract: This paper proposes a conceptual framework for understanding the implementation process of a complex intervention concerned with professional role change. The proposed framework holds that the intervention must address three interacting systems (socio-cultural, educational and disciplinary) through which a health professional role is evolved. Each system is operationalized by four dimensions (values, methods, actors and targets). As for the implementation, the framework posits that it can be analyzed, by depicting the barriers and facilitators located within the dimensions of the three interacting systems and within the intervention involved in the process through using the “menu of constructs” approach suggested by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). The implications of this framework, on theoretical research and practical levels, are reviewed.
TL;DR: In the long tradition of Korean art, it can be seen that aesthetic consciousness is steeped in day-to-day life as well as the arts as discussed by the authors, and the aesthetic attention is not specific to art, but pervasive broadly in everyday life.
Abstract: We are living in the transitional age from the rational, analytical, and scientific to the cultural, sensitive, and aesthetic. The aesthetics of everyday life lies at the center of this age. There is no boundary between art and life in contemporary art. Almost all the contents and objects of everyday life became a work of art in the condition of searching for the aesthetic. Since aesthetic theory was shifted from the artist-centered or a work of art-centered to the audience, spectator or beholder-centered, art and everyday life were more closely related to each other. So aesthetic attention or attitude is not specific to art, but pervasive broadly in everyday life. We can embrace the aesthetic concerns in everything we make and use every day. In the long tradition of Korean art, it can be seen that aesthetic consciousness is steeped in day-to-day life as well as the arts. I want to consider the problems of everydayness, Korean aesthetic consciousness in daily life, and contemplation in the aesthetic consciousness. Korean art was characterized by its “lack of refinement” and “nonchalance”. The characteristics of Korean art as the qualities of “technique without technique”, “Planning without plan”, “asymmetrical symmetry” have dominated the everyday consciousness of Korean people as well as Korean art. The extension of aesthetic emotion through experimentation shows us the change of aesthetic consciousness as a new possibility of interpretation. We stand in an urgent situation of the need for a new theory of art. It will be related to the future of aesthetics. For this reason, I think we have to consider the meaning of the aesthetic turn in everyday life.
TL;DR: An analysis of the counter-intuitive properties of infinity as understood differently in mathematics, classical physics and quantum physics allows the consideration of various paradoxes under a new light (e.g. Zeno's dichotomy, Torricelli's trumpet, and the weirdness of quantum physics) as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: An analysis of the counter-intuitive properties of infinity as understood differently in mathematics, classical physics and quantum physics allows the consideration of various paradoxes under a new light (e.g. Zeno’s dichotomy, Torricelli’s trumpet, and the weirdness of quantum physics). It provides strong support for the reality of abstractness and mathematical Platonism, and a plausible reason why there is something rather than nothing in the concrete universe. The conclusions are far reaching for science and philosophy.
TL;DR: In this article, an in-dept description of NGOs, conflict and peace building and proffering a way forward to reduce conflict situations through NGOs is presented. But despite some efforts by the government, corporate bodies, civil society, national university commission etc to reduce situations of conflict in Nigeria, peace is still elusive to her and consequently to sustainable development.
Abstract: Despite some efforts by the government, corporate bodies, civil society, national universities commission etc to reduce situations of conflict in Nigeria, peace is still elusive to her and consequently to sustainable development. This paper thus aims at an in-dept description of NGOs, conflict and peace building and proffering a way forward to reduce conflict situations through NGOs. Content analysis, was adopted, using the secondary sources of collecting data from books, journals and articles. NGOs are an aspect of civil society, without government representation, embarking in conflict reduction, welfare scheme, empowerment and employment. Among the recommendations are: government recognition and support of NGOs; NGOs increased and effective performance and government/NGOs partnership in peace and conflict issues.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the lack of an authentic discourse on the nature and contents of bioethics, interdisciplinary research approaches, institutional and infrastructural needs and a critical mass of African experts constitutes the major challenges to the teaching of Bioethics in Africa.
Abstract: In recent times, bioethics has emerged as a burgeoning interdisciplinary field of scholarly investigation which has in the past decades migrated from bedside consultations to public policy debates and wider cultural and social conversations that privilege all discourse about everyday life issues. Today, bioethics is increasingly seen as a field departing from a multidisciplinary perspective to an autonomous discipline. In most Western countries, the field is now more organized, complete with undergraduate minors and majors, and even high school courses in bioethics, master’s degrees and doctoral programs, and professional associations. Also, there is a shift from a field populated by bioethics pioneers to a field made up of bioethics professionals. However, in Africa the emergence and evolution of the field is still problematic as bioethics is not yet an escalating discipline in the tradition of books, journals, classroom teachings and conferences. In this paper, it is argued that the lack of an authentic discourse on the nature and contents of bioethics, interdisciplinary research approaches, institutional and infrastructural needs and a critical mass of African experts constitutes the major challenges to the teaching of bioethics in Africa. There is a need to reinvigorate standards for teaching bioethics through a radical critique of traditional values, principles, methods and a careful assessment of the new megatrends and challenges in science, technology and medicine.
TL;DR: This paper explores potential sources of tension, alignment, and integration with respect to the quantitative and qualitative domains of neuroscientific research, its influence upon society, and the role that the field of neuroethics can—and arguably should—play in rendering balance.
Abstract: History and anthropology reveal the perdurable human characteristic of attempting to create and employ some form of quantifiable representation of the qualitative aspects of life and the natural world. The recent revolution in the ability to quantify neurobiological processes through advanced neurotechnologies, and the announcement of comprehensive mapping of neuronal pathways as priorities both within the United States (e.g. the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnology, BRAIN, Initiative), and internationally (e.g. the European Union’s Human Brain Project) call forth questions about how data, both quantitative and qualitative, can and should be leveraged to sustain neuroscientific research and related applications that are ethically sound, technically viable, and socially relevant. As neuroscience evermore gains influence in medical, public, economic and political spheres, it will be important to ask (early and iteratively) what such science—as a human endeavor—seeks to achieve, and how the methods selected (whether quantitative, qualitative, or some combination thereof) may help to realize such goals. In this paper we explore potential sources of tension, alignment, and integration with respect to the quantitative and qualitative domains of neuroscientific research, its influence upon society, and the role that the field of neuroethics can—and arguably should—play in rendering balance to the use of neuroscientific knowledge as both lens into the brain, and mirror upon human thought and action. Ultimately, we propose a stance of complementarity with a view toward maximizing the benefits of both the quantitative and qualitative domains.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss some recent suggestions offered by the so-called sensorimotor (or enactivist) theorists as to the problem of the explanatory gap, that is, the alleged impossibility of accounting for phenomenal consciousness in any scientific theory.
Abstract: The paper discusses some recent suggestions offered by the so-called sensorimotor (or enactivist) theorists as to the problem of the explanatory gap, that is, the alleged impossibility of accounting for phenomenal consciousness in any scientific theory. We argue in the paper that, although some enactivist theorists’ suggestions appear fresh and eye-opening, the claim that the explanatory gap is (dis)solved is much overstated.
TL;DR: In this article, an exploratory survey made use of literary, sociological and historical methods and analyzed through a culture centred approach, the result shows that religion has rich social functions and if fully tapped will build a cohesive society and progressive African identity based on African cultural values.
Abstract: The thrust of this paper is to take a reflection on Nigerian situation of religion and African identity. This systematic and functional position has become necessary in view of rich and deep insight into social functions of religion in building African cultural identity in a globalized world. This exploratory survey makes use of literary, sociological and historical methods and analyzed through culture centred approach. The result shows that religion has rich social functions and if fully tapped will build a cohesive society and progressive African identity based on African cultural values. This will be achieved through collaborative effort of all sundry.
TL;DR: Totalling the subjective QOL item ratings collapses over items, and suggests a potentially misleading “overall” level of change (or no change, as in the placebo arm), which provides robust evidence of changes to QOL or “enhancements of” life quality.
Abstract: Objective: To demonstrate challenges in the estimation of change in quality of life (QOL). Methods: Data were taken from a completed clinical trial with negative results. Responses to 13 QOL items were obtained 12 months apart from 258 persons with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) participating in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial with two treatment arms. Two analyses to estimate whether “change” in QOL occurred over 12 months are described. A simple difference (later - earlier) was calculated from total scores (standard approach). A Qualified Change algorithm (novel approach) was applied to each item: differences in ratings were classified as either: improved, worsened, stayed poor, or stayed “positive” (fair, good, excellent). The strengths of evidence supporting a claim that “QOL changed”, derived from the two analyses, were compared by considering plausible alternative explanations for, and interpretations of, results obtained under each approach. Results: Total score approach: QOL total scores decreased, on average, in the two treatment (both ?1.0, p p > 0.3) groups. Qualified change approach: Roughly 60% of all change in QOL items was worsening in every arm; 17% - 42% of all subjects experienced change in each item. Conclusions: Totalling the subjective QOL item ratings collapses over items, and suggests a potentially misleading “overall” level of change (or no change, as in the placebo arm). Leaving the items as individual components of “quality” of life they were intended to capture, and qualifying the direction and amount of change in each, suggests that at least 17% of any group experienced change on every item, with 60% of all observed change being worsening. Discussion: Summarizing QOL item ratings as a total “score” collapses over the face-valid, multi-dimensional components of the construct “quality of life”. Qualified Change provides robust evidence of changes to QOL or “enhancements of” life quality.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explain the historical relationship between morality, ethics and politics up to the present day, and propose a necessary and a necessary morality as the new frontiers of our contemporary world.
Abstract: Ethics without morality and morality without ethics are the characteristics of two distinct eras: modernity and post-modernity. The duty to obey the law is an ethical act, but not always moral. Morality in fact is something more: a principle of responsibility and an index of humanity. This paper aims to explain the historical relationship between morality, ethics and politics up to the present day. The erosion of the nation-state, global capitalism, bio-economy leads us to rethink the meaning of ethics, morality and politics. A utilitarian ethics and a necessary morality may be the new frontiers of our contemporary world.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the theological implications of climate change with the aim of bridging the gaps between theological and scientific interpretation of the events Comparative phenomenological methodology was adopted in view of the fact that theological interpretations of events needed to be compared with scientific ideas so as to ascertain the meeting point.
Abstract: Christocentric ecotheology is a concept that examines ecological phenomena from Christian theological perspective This research was therefore required to examine the theological implications of climate change with the aim of bridging the gaps between theological and scientific interpretation of the events Comparative phenomenological methodology was adopted in view of the fact that theological interpretations of events needed to be compared with scientific ideas so as to ascertain the meeting point The research noted that the areas of variance between theological beliefs and climate change are as a result of wrong interpretation of theological events
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored some existing but unexplored linkages, immediate and mediate, between Catholic Social Teachings and some particular school of leadership, human values and conflict resolution frameworks, which could, in the future, generate sustainable solutions to the problems of the Nigerian leadership and development challenge in the twenty first century.
Abstract: In spite of Nigeria’s vaunted claims to leadership of the African continent and the entire black race, the country tragically suffers from an enduring self leadership deficit that has had a negative impact on its development. The masses of the people had been alienated by the ruling class from governance and a lot of ethnic groups had been marginalized and excluded from participating in democratic power. This has manifested in different typologies of conflicts and systemic failure which had served to undermine development planning since the country’s independence. This paper explores some existing but unexplored linkages, immediate and mediate, between Catholic Social Teachings and some particular school of leadership, human values and conflict resolution frameworks, which could, in the future, generate sustainable solutions to the problems of the Nigerian leadership and development challenge in the twenty first century. After a brief survey of community participatory leadership and interactive leadership theories under the framework of transformational leadership concept, we will look at the critical recurring components in community participatory leadership, the five human values, and conflict resolution theories as contained in the Catholic Social Teachings. Our examination of Catholic Social Teachings will be drawn primarily from the social encyclicals beginning with Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum nova rum and continuing through the social encyclicals of Pope John Paul II. These critical recurring components we have noted include: 1) a transforming vision; 2) community participation in decision-making; 3) power; 4) affirmation of others’ human values such as need for truth, integrity, love, peace, non-violence, worth, or dignity; and 5) conflict resolution. The paper argues effectively that human value concepts are reflected in both the frameworks of transformative leadership, a fundamental content of the catholic social teachings, seen as a veritable answer to the problems of leadership in Nigeria. The article will use analytical and dialectical expositions to explore these theoretical linkages and draw enduring lessons for Nigeria.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors adopt the analytic approach in philosophy which evolves a clarification of the ontological concept within the African context, which provides for a coherent interconnection among social structure, law and belief system towards the certitude and trust making for harmonious human well-being.
Abstract: A challenge human existence is confronted in contemporary society is the justification of a coherent social order. Most of these justifications have been grounded, over time, on natural approach to the neglect of the African ontological practice. This natural reference fails to account for the ontological practice premised on African belief system which reconciles the natural and spiritual aspects of human existence. The study adopts the analytic approach in philosophy which evolves a clarification of the ontological concept within the African context.The African ontological practice hinges on Dukor’s perspective which provides for a coherent interconnection among social structure, law and belief system towards the certitude and trust making for harmonious human well-being.Social order is enhanced by this African ontological practice and should, therefore, be incorporated into the public sphere.
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TL;DR: The picture of the reality created as the result of language is to a large extent formed and deformed by the nature of language, and not by the “immanent” properties of the world in itself.
Abstract: Language, through the discrete nature of linguistic names and strictly determined grammatical rules, creates absolute, “quantized”, sharply separated “facts” within the external world that is continuous, “fuzzy” and relational in its essence. Therefore, it is similar, in some important sense, to magic, which attributes causal and creative power to magical words and formulas. On the one hand, language increases greatly the effectiveness of the processes of thinking and interpersonal communication, yet, on the other hand, it determines and distorts to a large extent the picture of the world created within the mind. The relatively smallest (but still significant) magical admixture is present in science, because of its relatively reliable methodology, while the largest is found in religion and a large part of philosophy. The magical nature of language also manifests itself in logic and mathematics that refer to ill determined, fuzzy objects, sets and relations in the real world. The meaning of linguistic names is based on the conceptual network—an epiphenomenon (continuous in its essence) of the neural network—where interactions between particular concepts are based on the relation of connotation. The names and formulas of language correspond to these concepts which are best separated and determined. A direct relation of denotation between the elements of language and “facts” of the world is an illusion. While we cannot dispense with language because of its immense usefulness, we must remember about its “fact-creating” nature and influence on our thought and cognitive processes. The picture of the reality created as the result of them is to a large extent formed and deformed by the nature of language, and not by the “immanent” properties of the world in itself.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the causes of the subsidy removal in Nigeria, identified the benefits of subsidy removal, and discussed the socio-religious implications of the removal of subsidy to the citizens.
Abstract: Nigeria is a country blessed with abundant human and material resources. Pre-independent Nigeria had agriculture as the major foreign exchange and revenue earner. Other alternative revenue earners such as agricultural and mineral resources were explored and their proceeds used to support and foot the bill of government expenditures. Immediately the first oil field was discovered in 1956 at Olobiri in the Niger Delta, other alternative sources of revenue for Nigeria were abandoned and crude oil became the determinant of Nigeria’s mono-economic status and the sole basis of all socio-economic transaction within and outside the country. The issue of appropriate pricing of petroleum products and the removal of government’s subsidy on petroleum price became a thorny controversial public policy issue. Successive governments, including the current President, have grappled with this problem of whether to remove the subsidy or not, without coming to a publicly endorsed solution to the debate. The last fuel subsidy removal on 1st January, 2012 sparked an uprising that almost led to a revolution. The thrust of the study is to examine the causes of the fuel subsidy removal, to identify the benefits of fuel subsidy removal, to describe the effects of the subsidy removal, and the socio-religious implications of the removal of fuel subsidy to the citizens of Nigeria. It is in the context of these socio-religious that one discovers the relevance of Professor Dukor theistic humanism and its implied need for African values to be applied to governance in the 21st century. The debate surrounding the subsidy removal and the subsidy scam running into trillions of Naira of stolen funds by independent marketers of petroleum products revolve around corruption and a bad commentary about how ethical African vales have been removed from public governance and the management of public resources. After pointing out these socio-religious implications for the Nigerian ethical and value re-orientation, the paper went ahead to recommend some ways of managing the subsidy money for the development of the country.
TL;DR: The ethical obligation of the practitioner is to honor and trust the patient’s narrative of illness, the story of suffering, and the subjectivity of experience and the intersubjectivity of communication create the diagnostic and therapeutic relationship that enhances health and life quality.
Abstract: Quantification, the measurement and representational modeling of objects, events and relationships, cannot enhance life quality, not directly. Illustrative is Sydenham’s model of disease (Sydenham, 1848-1850) and its spawn: the checklist quantification that is contained in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, now in its fifth edition) and ICD (International Classification of Diseases, now in its ninth edition). The use of these diagnostic catalogs is incapable of directly enhancing health, a component of life quality; because health is not the control or absence of disease, and practitioners do not think in checklists. Healthcare practitioners have adopted the methods of the airline industry in imposing checklists that are unnatural to nonlinear cognition. At first instance and finally, the subjectivity of experience and the intersubjectivity of communication create the diagnostic and therapeutic relationship that enhances health and life quality. Health is the capacity to cope and to adapt to the experience of suffering, regardless of its cause or context, and to pursue salutary experience. Society will effectively develop, implement and “reform” healthcare only when it accepts positive, noncircular definitions of health and “Quality of Life.” The ethical obligation of the practitioner is to honor and trust the patient’s narrative of illness, the story of suffering.
TL;DR: In this article, it is argued that Dukor's philosophical idea of reality in the African context though contributes to knowledge, it is in sharp contrast to African metaphysical theories such as Placide Temple's theory of vital forces, Olubi Sodipo's theories of mystical causality, Dagogo Idoniboye's theoryof spiritism among others.
Abstract: The concern of this paper is to argue against Maduabuchi Dukor’s conception of African philosophical ideas of man, universe and God as“theistic humanism”. Dukor’s submission is an anti-thesis of the claims by many pioneer scholars in African philosophy who claimed that if Africans do not live in a religious universe perhaps one can affirm that their universe is theistic. But indeed the Africans’ perceptions and attitude to life in their various manifestations reveal an idealistic metaphysical orientation without an attenuation of humanistic elements. It is argued in this paper that Dukor’s philosophical idea of reality in the African context though contributes to knowledge, it is in sharp contrast to African metaphysical theories such as Placide Temple’s theory of vital forces, Olubi Sodipo’s theory of mystical causality, Dagogo Idoniboye’s theory of spiritism among others. Even Sophie Oluwole, who argues that the Yoruba idea of morality is humanistic, still concludes that in moral issues the gods act as agent of sanction. In situating the African idea of reality in context, the Yoruba example is used in this paper with a view to establishing, contrary to Dukor’s“theistic humanism”; that reality among the Yoruba is better construed as“humanistic theism”.
TL;DR: In this article, an analysis of the different standpoints of Parsons and Schutz concerning Weber's suggestion that sociological explanations have to include the subjective point of view of the actors, the Cartesian Dilemma that the actor's consciousness is not accessible to the researcher, and the Kantian Problem that theories are necessary in order to interpret sensory data, but there is no guarantee that these theories are true.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is an analysis of the different standpoints of Parsons and Schutz concerning Weber’s suggestion that sociological explanations have to include the subjective point of view of the actors, the Cartesian Dilemma that the actor’s consciousness is not accessible to the researcher, and the Kantian Problem that theories are necessary in order to interpret sensory data, but that there is no guarantee that these theories are true. The comparison of Schutz’s and Parsons’s positions shows that Parsons’s methodology is na?ve and unsuitable for a sociological analysis. But although Schutz’s methodological standpoint is much more reasonable, it is also problematic, because it excludes highly abstract social “facts” such as social systems from the research agenda. Parsons can deal with such highly abstract facts, despite the drawback that with his methodology the truth content of theories cannot be judged.
TL;DR: In this article, a survey of the role of nominalism in the discipline of history is made; such examination is timely, since it has been done but scantily in a purely historical context, in the light of recent theoretical works, which often display aporias over the nature and method of historical enquiry.
Abstract: The paper focuses on Nominalism in history, its application, and its historiographical implications. By engaging with recent scholarship as well as classic works, a survey of Nominalism’s role in the discipline of history is made; such examination is timely, since it has been done but scantily in a purely historical context. In the light of recent theoretical works, which often display aporias over the nature and method of historical enquiry, the paper offers new considerations on historical theory, which in the author’s view may solve some of the contradictions that have surfaced in recent times. The Nominalistic stance is argued against by disputing theorists such as Paul Veyne, who has made a strong defense for Nominalism in history. A brief philosophical section introduces Nominalism in its metaphysical dimension and the discussion is speedily brought to its significance for history. The paper also proposes a solution to the misconstrued yet too often vague application of scientism in history, and offers theoretical grounds that might solve some of the ‘stormy grounds’ historiography finds itself in today. Articles by Marcel Gauchet and History and Theory’s Anton Froeyman and Bert Leuridan are engaged with, as well as Murray Murphy’s books on the philosophy of history. Works by Georg Gadamer, Marc Bloch, Benedetto Croce, Hyppolite Taine, and Anthony Grafton crucially inform the discussion and brace the consequential conclusion.