Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy

Permanent URI for this collection

https://repository.run.edu.ng/handle/123456789/106

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 5 of 74
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Morality and Cultural Identity
    (Dominican University Journal of Humanities (DUJOH), 2021-06) Fashola, Joseph
    From a cultural perspective, the universe is believed to be an active network of forces kept alive by the constant activities of beings. This network shows that beings do not exist in isolation, as one being needs another for its continuous existence. Flora life needs fauna life and fauna life needs flora life. In this same manner, humans need other humans to be truly humans. Therefore, a person is a person through persons.1 The source of man’s humanity is in his interaction with others and Mbiti is of the view that the African recognises the sources of his or her own humanity, and so realises, with internal assurance, that in the absence of others, no grounds exist for a claim regarding his own standing as a person.2 Our knowledge and coexistence with the ‘other’ do not only influence our actions, they warrant the institution of moral codes. This is because, without the other, judgements about rightness or wrongness of human actions would be unnecessary. This essay will consider the role of morality in determining an individual’s cultural identity.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Being and Force; towards a Unified View
    (LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2015) Fashola, Joseph
    Bantu Philosophy’ is classified among works in the ethno-philosophical tradition; it is the philosophical interpretation of cultural symbols and practices. Its metaphysical content is of value in African cosmology and also contributes to an understanding of ‘being’ in general. Aristotle and the medieval philosophers have given different opinions about what metaphysics is all about. They have opined that it is “the attempt to identify the first causes, in particular, God or the Unmoved Mover. Also, they conceive of it as the very general science of being qua being.” Many people find themselves frustrated by the inability of science to provide answers to some of the deepest questions of life. Sense experience for instance is obviously inadequate in responding to some of the questions that confront man on daily basis. So, metaphysics seeks to answer questions for which sense experience is incapable of providing answers for instance, questions about vital forces and the implication of the interaction of these forces in African world view. Metaphysics is an analysis which reveals the essential elements of reality and what reality must be like for us to be able to know it.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Speech Act, Conceptual Incommensurability and Cross-Cultural Misjudgment.
    (Ibadan Journal of Theatre Arts, 2012) Fashola, Joseph
    Humans are known to be the most advanced creatures that have developed the use of speech. With the aid of speech people have been able to exchange information thereby making coexistence possible. It has also been discovered that it is possible in some cases for the information been conveyed to be misunderstood especially when it is delivered to people of a culture different from that from which it was formed –cross-cultural misunderstanding. It is also the case that beyond communication, speeches can be used to perform certain actions –speech act. This pragmatic property of speech is believed to be justified when a proposition obeys certain rules –felicity conditions. The purpose of this paper is to identify some of the instances where the speech act conditions of one culture fail in another. This was discovered to be due primarily to the different conceptual schemes at work in different cultures. This puts individuals in different cultural standpoints and therefore different points of view –cultural relativism. It concludes by asserting that a reconciliation of the cross-cultural misunderstandings arising from speech act is possible through the suspension of cultural biases. It therefore emphasises the importance of the cultural context in which a speech act was made in the understanding of its actual implication.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Modernisation and African Cultures
    (Humanism, Existential predicaments and Africa, 2014) Fashola, Joseph
    Attempt by African societies to keep up-to-date with global trends by upgrading indigenous ideas to meet with modern tastes is commendable. Nevertheless, this endeavour becomes a concern when done at the peril of indigenous cultures. It is the case that a lot of what is been described as modern today are Western in orientation and autochthonous traditional African values, arts and crafts have scarcely been developed to the status of global relevance. The aim of this work is to advocate for the development of African values, arts and crafts to the status of global relevance with the conviction that this will greatly contribute towards advancement in civilisation. It will also take a look at the effects of modernisation on African society with the aim of establishing that a harmonious development of African ideas alongside other cultures of the world will certainly speed up development around the world.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    An African Metaphysics of Social Order and the Culture of Being-with-others
    (Innovations, 2024) Fashola, Joseph
    The concept of Being in African culture encompasses all forms of existence. Everything in the universe is a being endowed with life-force, albeit, not in equal proportion as some beings are more gifted than others. Humans for instance possess more life-force or beingness than any other being in the physical world. At the metaphysical level, other beings like ancestors and deities are positioned in the higher plane of the hierarchy. One important part of this worldview is that all beings both physical and non-physical have a shared existence. One affects the other either benevolently or malevolently, and this interaction is responsible for the sustenance or destruction of the universe respectively. Considering that the interaction of beings including humans is given metaphysical interpretation, it becomes necessary for this paper to examine and establish this metaphysical foundation as a way of engendering social order. It employs Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative which can serve as a principle for social order since it prompts an individual to do to others what they desire should become a universal maxim in interrogating the issue at hand. This is because it provides a means through which we understand and describe humans to be first, rational beings. Some of the findings of this paper are that African metaphysics encourages a complementary relationship and promotes social harmony as well as an ordered society. The paper would contribute to discourse and knowledge of the African worldview as a means of engendering social order.