The University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica: UWI Journals
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The Existential Implications of Evil Suppressing Measures in Yoruba
Full text linkEvil is an unpleasant reality which every cultural civilization grapples with. It is at the center of the existentialist discourse, due to the fact that, in their view, it causes meaninglessness in human existence. In Yorùbá intellectual tradition, there are prescribed ways by which evil can be suppressed, including sacrifice (ẹbọ), good character (ìwà pẹ̀lẹ́) and inner head (Ori). However, these measures have certain fundamental implications when considered critically through the lens of existentialism. This is because, on a closer examination, they are ultimately ineffective in the light of the reality of some higher forces, namely the Ajogun, headed by the Witches. These forces are believed to be irredeemably evil, because they have the power to render any of those measures impotent. This power, however, is believed to have been given to them by Olodumare. Accordingly, evil becomes what human beings cannot conquer, but have to live with. Consequently, we recommend, following Albert Camus, that human beings learn to live with the reality of evil, like the stone of Sisyphus. This is because any human attempt to take evil out of existence, by appealing to those measures, amounts only to Kierkegaardian “leap of faith”, which Albert Camus describes as a “philosophical suicide.” We substantiate the above claims by critically engaging some verses of Ifá which is believed to be the backdrop of Yorùbá philosophy
From Empiricism through Metaphysics and the Fallacy of Egocentric Predicament in Locke’s Epistemology
Full text linkThe implication of Locke’s empiricism goes beyond the limit/scope of which simple ideas and qualities come to us and impress themselves on us; this is especially as it concerns his unempirical substance. A painstaking analysis seems to suggest that Locke was not thorough to the end as at some point he was inconsistent with the tents of the tradition he spearheaded. Flowing from this and in lieu of examining his position, this research employed the critical analytic method to appraise his empiricism. From the analysis, it was palpable that Locke being a man of his time, set up from empiricism and the pragmatic physicalism of his time and with this he betrayed his foundation and expunged consistency as he dovetailed even into rationalism (via demonstration) and finally but strangely berthed in a metaphysical substance. This infamous drive was due to his brand of epistemological dualism which finally led him into the fallacy of egocentric predicament which is the crux and novelty in this research.
Keywords: Ideas, Qualities, Substance, Dualism, Empiricism, Egocentric Predicament
Yoruba and Chinese Perspectives on Post-Anthropocentric Understanding of Human and Nonhuman Animal Relations
Full text linkHuman and nonhuman animal relations refer to human engagement of animals for several purposes that include food and companionship. Such engagement reflects the dominant worldview about animals as object of human utility. Post-anthropocentric understanding about animals contends the categorization of animals as object. Post-anthropocentrism remains a Western based ideology that projects extra-ordinary interpretations about the status of animals (as subject) beyond being tools (object) for human (anthropocentric) utility. It follows that post-anthropocentricism is often circulated as an ideology that has little or no connection with non-Western worldviews. This discourse inquires about the fundamental question: Are there other traditions of thought besides Western thought for understanding post-anthropocentric interpretations of the dynamics of human and nonhuman animal relations? This discourse attempts to comparatively interrogate indigenous Yoruba and Chinese traditions on the post-anthropocentric understanding of human and nonhuman animal relations. It adopts hermeneutical and critical approaches to analyze the Chinese Daoist, zodiac ontological cum cosmological beliefs, sayings/worldview about human and animal relations. These approaches are employed in similar manner to analyze Yoruba thought, in terms of ideas, beliefs and relational attitudes of humans to animals. The discourse submits that Yoruba and Chinese intellectual traditions reflect post-anthropocentric understanding about human and animal relations through eco-animist driven Zodiac cosmological beliefs and ontological roles of primordial agencies respectively, which shape perceptions about animals as interdependent agents and symbolic totems of ancestry to underwrite environmental order and harmony
A Yoruba Perdurantist Account of Gender for Addressing Gender-Based Violence
Full text linkEfforts aimed at addressing the causes of gender-based violence (GBV) do not consider how the traditional concept of gender shapes attitudes towards GBV in Yoruba communities. This study grounds the differences between the traditional western and Yoruba concepts of gender within the context of the two major theories of persistence in metaphysics: endurantism and perdurantism It is argued that the traditional western concept of gender influences the Yoruba concept of gender in perpetrating GBV. In curbing the menace of GBV among the Yoruba, the study advocates a redefinition of the concept of gender towards the traditional Yoruba virtue of mutual respect between genders. The study employs the method of textual interpretation, argumentative discourses of metaphysical positions and analysis of concepts of GBV. The study concludes that redefining the Yoruba concept of gender within the traditional Yoruba culture as a perdurantist account of gender will address the crisis of gender-based violence
Liberation Humanities
No full textIn this discussion we suggest that the inherited Humanities Education as we have it, passed down to us with the legacy of colonialism and condescending enslaving Ox-bridge tradition, without liberation from the shackles of institutionalized intellectual slavery, colonialism, imperialism and global hegemonic pressures and directives from external erstwhile controlling colonial forces, cannot but continue to produce and reproduce the parodies of humanity which have bred upheavals, discontent, insurgency, protest without meaning, misplacement of resources and total abandonment of reason in official quarters in Nigeria and the larger Africana family. This is responsible for what I mentioned earlier; a situation where in so-called educated South-west Nigeria, a government takes to disparaging humanities education, the global unemployment/underemployment of black youths and the failed state status of Nigeria in the 21st Century (incapable of securing its borders, unable to protect its citizens and being a space for degrading lawlessness) are just three examples
George Wright’s Metaphysical Argument against the Death Penalty
Full text linkThe debate on the morality of the death penalty is as old as human civilization. There is good reason to believe that the debate will continue unabated, even if abolitionist dream of a universal eradication of the penalty is realized. Those who advocate for the retention of the punishment - retentionists – support their position with a variety of arguments; the two most prominent are the argument from retribution and the argument from deterrence. Opponents of the death penalty – the abolitionists – have also adduced strong arguments to support their campaign for its total abolition. This paper will examine a major abolitionist argument. Arguably, the omnibus case against the death penalty is the argument constructed around the unique sacredness or uniqueness of human life. I refer to this line of reasoning as the metaphysical argument against the death penalty. In this paper I will undertake a comprehensive and critical review of R. George Wright’s statement of the metaphysical argument. My conclusion is that while the argument is plausible, indeed valid, as Wright states it, it is philosophically unsound, because the premises from which Wright purports to derive his abolitionist conclusion are composed of, at best, contingently true or worse, out rightly false propositions.
Keywords: death penalty metaphysical argument agains
Dimensions of Nurse Job Satisfaction in Jamaica
No full textObjectives:
1. Test if 11 dimensions of work (4 social and 7 technical dimensions) were important to nurse job satisfaction in a sample of Jamaican nurses
2. Identify if clarity and demographics are related to nurse job satisfaction in Jamaica.
Methods: This is a quantitative study testing a model of nurse job satisfaction using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Parceling of data was used to accommodate a small sample with 36 parameters. Following ethical approval, all 582 nurses from the University Hospital of West Indies were invited to respond to the Healthcare Environment Survey (HES) which used a Likert Scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7) to test 11 dimensions of nurse job satisfaction.
Results: Eighty-two nurses responded (14.1% response rate). All 11 dimensions were found to be important to nurse job satisfaction in this study. The four social dimensions that had good factor loadings included satisfaction with relationships with physicians (0.70, p = < 0.001), relationships with coworkers (0.72, p = < 0.001), engagement of unit manager (0.52, p = < 0.001), and patient care (0.35, p = 0.001). The seven technical dimensions that loaded into the factor analysis and had good model fit included satisfaction with professional growth (0.62, p = < 0.001), distributive justice (0.49, p = < 0.001), workload (0.68, p = < 0.001), autonomy (0.70, p = < 0.001), executive leadership (0.51, p = < 0.001), resources (0.50, p = < 0.001), and staffing/scheduling (0.39, p = < 0.001). Being the main source of income from one’s household and having clarity in the system both had a positive impact on nurse job satisfaction. Adequate model fit for this 2-factor solution was evidenced by an RMSEA of 0.08, CFI of 0.90, and SRMR of 0.07.
Conclusion: All four social and seven technical dimensions of nurse job satisfaction appear to be important for this sample of Jamaican Nurses. Further confirmatory testing should be conducted in other samples in Jamaica to establish validity of this model across settings in Jamaica.
Key Words: Job Satisfaction, Nurses, Jamaica, Clarity of System, Demographic