March 2006
Rawls in the African predicament: Some theoretical considerations
The colonial experience in Africa is an epochal phenomenon. This is because the postcolonial conditions became crippling enough to determine the direction that Africa would take. The colonial logic through series of sociocultural, economic and political “pre-texts” ensured the disruption of the African psyche and societies. One of the ways in which the Africa is coming to term with its disrupted existence is...
March 2006
The critical presence of the other: Comparative philosophy, self-knowledge, and accountability
Western philosophy has traditionally taken justification as necessary for constituting genuine knowledge. On the contemporary scene, however, several influential epistemological theories (Gadamer, Polanyi, Kuhn, Sellars) see the project of epistemological transparency as undermined by the fact that implicit conditions necessarily underlie our explicit knowing. In this paper, I argue that “we” must engage...
March 2006
Sin, punishment and forgiveness in ancient greek religion: A yoruba assessment
This paper looks in particular at the special sin of hubris in ancient Greek religious thought. It examines what constitutes hubris and some cases in which hubris has been committed and punished. It demonstrates with examples that hubris is an unforgivable sin in ancient Greek religion and examines the reasons for this concept. Finally, the paper interprets the operation of hubris in Greek religion from the Yoruba...
March 2006
The quest for development in Africa and the dilemma of competing cultural paradigms
This essay reopens the debate among African politicians and intellectuals concerning which paradigm is the most suitable for achieving the goals of development in Africa at this present moment of her history. Since the early 70s, African intellectuals and politicians have reflected on this problem and the highpoint of the debate was that only a synthesis of our traditional cultural elements with other relevant areas of...
March 2006
Giving voice: Instigating debate on issues of citizenship, participation and accountability
While there is a near unanimity on the need for participation there is yet no such agreement on the type and degree of participation to be adopted in a particular project. One thing that has never being doubt is the fact that local people have not being accorded their rightful recognition and respect by most intervention agencies hence the failure of some projects. So how does a project which seeks to address the issues...
March 2006
Change and continuity in native political systems: The case of the Denkyira state
Using Denkyira (an Akan tribal group in Ghana) as case study, the paper analyses the emergence, subsistence and declivity of indigenous political systems in post-colonial Africa. It argues that whilst there has been continuity in the cherished values of democracy and development, there has been a change in the political and social institutions for their realization. And colonialism bears a heavy, though far from...
March 2006
A retrospect towards change: Proverbs in gynocentric Yoruba written plays
Among the Yoruba of Nigeria, OWE (proverbs) are short veiled charter statements, highly valued as a socializing phenomenon. They originate from the observation of natural occurrences and human interactions. Proverbs, like myths, have been chauvinistically manipulated to vindicate women\'s disempowerment especially in important public shares, through socio-acculturation. However, despite an entrenched negative...
March 2006
Yoruba deities in Aimé Césaire\'s Dramaturgy
The French Caribbean Literature is replete with African cultural archetypes, an important inheritance from the African origin of the predominantly black population. Most prominent of these archetypes are traceable to the Yoruba culture and faith system. This paper studies the esthetic use of Yoruba deities in Aimé Césaire\'s dramatic works. The study reveals that Césaire, who is ever conscious...
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