The University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica: UWI Journals
Not a member yet
1675 research outputs found
Sort by
Barry Chevannes, Myalism, Revivalism, Rastafari and Leadership
Get PDFAbstract
Humans have only been able to survive in association with other humans. For this reason, society has been the only logical, practical and pragmatic arrangement in which such survival has been maximally realized, both for the self in terms of the basic necessities and, where the former have been achieved, other luxuries of life; and for the group as communes for the clearest definition, realization and appreciation of worthwhile modes of existence and interaction. This is a basic datum of human existence which is incontrovertible, even by the most cynical conception of human existence in the form of extreme individualism and libertarianism championed, by the advocates of social contract such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Bewaji 1999).
The next statement boldly posited in this discussion is this: Human societies have been able to develop socially, culturally, economically, technologically, scientifically, spiritually, aesthetically and make progress, or they have fallen into decay, dysfunction and committed communal and corporate suicide as a consequence of the kinds of leadership and leadership education that the societies have had. To this end, it is affirmed that the decisions that leadership makes determines the fortunes of society as a group and of individuals as atomic members of society.
These are the banal hypotheses that guide this discussion. And they are banal hypotheses that have implications that a single disciplinary investigation cannot fully sustain, because they have so many ramifications that require multidisciplinary approaches for proper elucidation and harnessing. But they are ones that have become very persuasive to me, given my humble familiarity with some of the various elements of the academe and how they have studied societies and commented on human existence. In this discussion, therefore, I examine how Barry Chevannes’ research has evidenced these hypotheses, given the fact that he straddles so many disciplines (philosophy, sociology, anthropology and religion) which help us to focus attention on various elements of the social sciences. I am of the considered view that his signal research and life devotion to the Rastafarian and sibling religions of Jamaica, on the one hand, and his advocacy on matters of social issues such as fatherhood, children rights, gender justice, poverty eradication, etc., on the other hand, in Jamaica, clearly show these hypotheses as valid means of gaining a perspective to understand the implications of his research for leadership in Jamaica, the Caribbean and in Black societies generally.
I argue then that the works of Barrington Chevannes, who is being celebrated here now (just like the seminal works of Rex Nettleford and Orlando Patterson, who are living intellectual legends and icons of knowledge and culture, in my judgment), all show this critical nature of leadership to and in human society. I concentrate the searchlight on Rastafarianism and kindred Jamaican religio-cultural and intellectual ideas treated by Chevannes here for practical reasons. Scratching the surface is all that can be done here, but just scratching the surface clearly show that the challenges that Rastafarians, Rastafarianism, Jamaica and, in deed, blacks universally, have faced and are facing, are directly and indirectly traceable to the paucity of leadership
The Contribution of Philosophy to Africa’s Quest for Development
Get PDFAbstract
Whether Africa is compared with other continents or it is considered on its own, much of Africa is in a precarious state. Africa is known to be lagging behind in development not only in economy, but also in science, politics, technology, etc. This precarious state has made many scholars to be cynical about the contributions that philosophy has made towards the development of the continent. In this study, however, it is argued that such cynical attitude is due to a myopic conception of “development”, which excludes growth in education, economy, politics, science, mental aspect of culture, and/or the unawareness of the fact that Africans (including the colonial and neo-colonial interferences) lead the continent to a precarious state not because of the inability on the part of the philosophers to proffer solutions but owing to the unwillingness and failure on the part of African leaders in their unrefined political, educational, economic, technological, and scientific policies to adopt the solutions proffered.
Key Words: Philosophy, Development, Africa, Historical, Growth, Politics, Unwillingnes
Immanuel Kant and Bertrand Russell’s Theory of Space: A Comparative Analysis
Get PDFAbstract
In the Critique, Kant presents space and time as “subjective forms of intuition of the mind known a priori”. In recent decades, many contemporary philosophers have commented on the basis and validity of Kant’s theory. Russell’s construct of a “public” or physical space represents one of such responses. He argues that for Kant to say that space is subjective does not distinguish between perceptual space (i.e. the space that it seems to us that objects are in) and physical space (i.e. the space that objects actually are in). Russell’s argument is that it is possible to construct physical space of objects existing independently of the human mind. Kant’s theory is more like Russell’s except that the independent existence of objects in this space is a point of debate. Again, unlike Kant’s psychological explanation of how we get the concept of physical space, Russell’s point is that we do have the right to infer an actual existing physical space since we can construct some of its properties from perceptual spaces that we are immediately aware of. On this basis, the paper argues that physical space more according to Russellian view than Kant’s theory is empirically consistent with our ordinary human beliefs.
Keywords: Bertrand Russell, Immanuel Kant, Theory of Space, Tim
Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Education and Africa: the Challenge of Epistemicide and Excentric Educational System and Practice
Get PDFAbstract
Africa is blessed with an abundance of resources – human, natural and spiritual. The resources abound under the earth, above the earth and also in the human population. The variegated geography and climate ensures there is a floral and fauna variety which constitute a template on which Africans have traditionally survived and thrived to create civilizations and cultures. However, with the visitation of colonialism, slavery, cemented through concerted epistemicide, the resources of Africa – human and natural – were expropriated, appropriated and vandalized. A form of vandalism, destruction, denial and capturing of all spaces of being and existence of Africa and Africans took place over hundreds of years. It was this which denuded the African material and intellectual spaces of intrinsic validity. The effect has been the loss of indigenous knowledge systems to Africa and Africans who were the original creators and users of these. As we enter into a new phase of wealth creation and management, it is significant that knowledge, as knowledge for knowing sake and for doing and controlling reality, now looms large in the determination of prosperity of nations and societies. Countries with little or no natural resources have grown into international dominance and prosperity through the development of knowledge societies. It is argued in this paper that Africa and the African Diaspora has a duty to posterity to research, document and develop the indigenous knowledge systems as the foundations for sustainable wealth for global Africa and Africans.
Keywords: Indigenous, knowledge, epistemicide, agriculture, pharmacology, pharmaceutics, architecture, toxicology, technology, health, educatio
Complementarism and Consolationism: Mapping out a 21st-Century African Philosophical Trajectory
Get PDFAbstract
African philosophy has been compelled to constantly define itself in relation to a domineering Western philosophy given the historical circumstances of colonialism and the dual heritage of the professional African philosopher who is at once an African by cultural affiliation and a participant in Western civilization by reason of her Western education. Many notable African philosophers have responded to the challenge posed by the tremendous success of Western philosophy by philosophizing in ways that seek to transcend a purely Afrocentric agenda on the one hand and an uncritical acceptance of Western philosophical methods on the other hand. In this paper, I present and interrogate the response of the noted Nigerian philosopher, Innocent Asouzu, to the crisis of identity in African philosophy. I demonstrate that Asouzu’s ibuanyidanda philosophy of complementarism is a philosophical synthesis that seeks to transcend the famous universalism-particularism divide in African philosophy. Adopting an expository, analytical, and evaluative methodology, I show how the philosophical current of consolationism advances the philosophical trajectory Asouzu was blazing. I introduce into African philosophical discourse the universal category of consolation which supplies a panpsychist framework for exploring meaning in a tragic universe.
Keywords: Complementarism, Consolationism, Ibuanyidanda philosophy, African philosophy, Mood, Panpsychism
