The need for interactions in the world that take into consideration the peculiarities of everyone... more The need for interactions in the world that take into consideration the peculiarities of everyone/culture is triggered by the urge of one or few cultures to subsume all others into some sort of arrangement that is not properly negotiated. This paper argues for inclusiveness of cultures that have been suppressed in the guise of creating a global village. There are some lessons that hegemonic cultures can learn from others. The paper makes the case for a synergistic approach that is based on openness of every culture. This makes it possible to avoid stereotypes and approach different communities based on intercultural encounters.
Filosofia Theoretica: Journal of African Philosophy, Culture and Religions
In this paper, we argue that communalism is not uniquely African. It comes in different forms of ... more In this paper, we argue that communalism is not uniquely African. It comes in different forms of social and psychological thinking which can be found in any culture and society whether capitalistic or socialistic where the notion of social belongingness through reasoned reflection transcends the desire for personal gratification. We claim that some values of communalism such as altruism, mutual cooperation, complementarity etc., can be useful in shaping a viable system of democracy for Africa, not because communalism is unique to Africa, but because it is not. We contend that part of the challenges of democratic practice in Africa is the inclination to extreme form of individualism embedded in its capitalist roots. We show that the structure of democracy can evolve to adapt to changes mediated by communal values. Using the methods of hermeneutics and conversational thinking, we will argue that democratic practice in Africa can profit from communalism and should be restructured to ad...
International journal of multidisciplinary and current research, 2016
Among the various human rights stipulated, culture and religion are some of the most sensitive to... more Among the various human rights stipulated, culture and religion are some of the most sensitive topics that cause difficulties in addressing other forms of rights; the difficulty associated with it is such that it affects a vast majority of other rights. In this article, we shall focus on the universality of human rights with special attention to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The coercive and the democratic test for the universality of human rights are the major arguments presented for the justification of the human rights as a document that transcends regional, cultural and religious sentiments. Human dignity is identified as the ultimate implication of UDHR with specific reference to intercultural and inter-religious dialogue it enhances. The assessment of these arguments through analytical method is further supported by the optimistic approach that would focus on the mutual guarantee on the part of religious and cultural groups in order to enhance a peaceful coexisten...
Progress in Karl Popper's philosophy is a problem-solving approach that dwells on criticism a... more Progress in Karl Popper's philosophy is a problem-solving approach that dwells on criticism as a means of heralding the new based on the dissatisfaction with the old that the critical approach is capable of exposing. In his philosophical reflection, Popper presented a model of progressive political society based on the evidential progress in science by the transposition of scientific principle to political philosophy. His perceived principles of science open a closed society from its undemocratic patterns of operations that is retrogressive to an open society with a pattern of operations that are progressive. Karl Popper's notion of progress is a potent tool for evaluating progress in a democratic setting. The bulk of this essay would be devoted to analyzing the components of Popper's notion of progress and these components shall be used to evaluate certain components of democratic practices in Nigeria. If Nigeria's practice of democracy is in accordance with the ide...
Alternation: Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Arts and Humanities in Southern Africa
If a people were to write their own history to be solely accepted as an ideal, it would not be ab... more If a people were to write their own history to be solely accepted as an ideal, it would not be abnormal for them to do so in their own favour. The history of the African peoples as documented by Western literatures, mostly comprises the exaltation of European culture through various stereotypical labellings of African history and culture.In the same vein, most Africans would be tempted to rewrite African history in favour of the cultures/ traditions of the African people themselves. Western historicism, however, has gradually denied the African an identity, primarily by eulogising its vindictive colonial presence in Africa, with the purpose of creating a cultural superstructure for the West. Through critical analysis and the conversational method, we submit that a balanced reordering of history in a sane manner is quickened when informed African scholars in their various disciplines take up the task of historiography to create their own peculiar narrative that will provide both the scholarly agenda and its related content, to set the African people on a course of wholesome prosperity.
The need for interactions in the world that take into consideration the peculiarities of everyone... more The need for interactions in the world that take into consideration the peculiarities of everyone/culture is triggered by the urge of one or few cultures to subsume all others into some sort of arrangement that is not properly negotiated. This paper argues for inclusiveness of cultures that have been suppressed in the guise of creating a global village. There are some lessons that hegemonic cultures can learn from others. The paper makes the case for a synergistic approach that is based on openness of every culture. This makes it possible to avoid stereotypes and approach different communities based on intercultural encounters.
Filosofia Theoretica: Journal of African Philosophy, Culture and Religions
In this paper, we argue that communalism is not uniquely African. It comes in different forms of ... more In this paper, we argue that communalism is not uniquely African. It comes in different forms of social and psychological thinking which can be found in any culture and society whether capitalistic or socialistic where the notion of social belongingness through reasoned reflection transcends the desire for personal gratification. We claim that some values of communalism such as altruism, mutual cooperation, complementarity etc., can be useful in shaping a viable system of democracy for Africa, not because communalism is unique to Africa, but because it is not. We contend that part of the challenges of democratic practice in Africa is the inclination to extreme form of individualism embedded in its capitalist roots. We show that the structure of democracy can evolve to adapt to changes mediated by communal values. Using the methods of hermeneutics and conversational thinking, we will argue that democratic practice in Africa can profit from communalism and should be restructured to ad...
International journal of multidisciplinary and current research, 2016
Among the various human rights stipulated, culture and religion are some of the most sensitive to... more Among the various human rights stipulated, culture and religion are some of the most sensitive topics that cause difficulties in addressing other forms of rights; the difficulty associated with it is such that it affects a vast majority of other rights. In this article, we shall focus on the universality of human rights with special attention to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The coercive and the democratic test for the universality of human rights are the major arguments presented for the justification of the human rights as a document that transcends regional, cultural and religious sentiments. Human dignity is identified as the ultimate implication of UDHR with specific reference to intercultural and inter-religious dialogue it enhances. The assessment of these arguments through analytical method is further supported by the optimistic approach that would focus on the mutual guarantee on the part of religious and cultural groups in order to enhance a peaceful coexisten...
Progress in Karl Popper's philosophy is a problem-solving approach that dwells on criticism a... more Progress in Karl Popper's philosophy is a problem-solving approach that dwells on criticism as a means of heralding the new based on the dissatisfaction with the old that the critical approach is capable of exposing. In his philosophical reflection, Popper presented a model of progressive political society based on the evidential progress in science by the transposition of scientific principle to political philosophy. His perceived principles of science open a closed society from its undemocratic patterns of operations that is retrogressive to an open society with a pattern of operations that are progressive. Karl Popper's notion of progress is a potent tool for evaluating progress in a democratic setting. The bulk of this essay would be devoted to analyzing the components of Popper's notion of progress and these components shall be used to evaluate certain components of democratic practices in Nigeria. If Nigeria's practice of democracy is in accordance with the ide...
Alternation: Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Arts and Humanities in Southern Africa
If a people were to write their own history to be solely accepted as an ideal, it would not be ab... more If a people were to write their own history to be solely accepted as an ideal, it would not be abnormal for them to do so in their own favour. The history of the African peoples as documented by Western literatures, mostly comprises the exaltation of European culture through various stereotypical labellings of African history and culture.In the same vein, most Africans would be tempted to rewrite African history in favour of the cultures/ traditions of the African people themselves. Western historicism, however, has gradually denied the African an identity, primarily by eulogising its vindictive colonial presence in Africa, with the purpose of creating a cultural superstructure for the West. Through critical analysis and the conversational method, we submit that a balanced reordering of history in a sane manner is quickened when informed African scholars in their various disciplines take up the task of historiography to create their own peculiar narrative that will provide both the scholarly agenda and its related content, to set the African people on a course of wholesome prosperity.
Uploads
Papers by Solomon Ojomah