INTELLECTUS: The African Journal of Philosophy, 2024
The environment is under a serious threat, caused by human actions and inactions. One of such thi... more The environment is under a serious threat, caused by human actions and inactions. One of such things that posed a threat is the human population which is estimated to be about 7.9 billion and it is increasing on a daily basis and the way humans deal with nature. However, the need for sustainability makes it necessary for every occupant of the earth to play a role in protecting the environment. There have been several campaigns and sensitization by scientists to make people understand the threat they are posing to the environment and the need to stop, then make sure they protect their environment from more damage. Despite all campaigns, seminars and conferences organized to sensitize the people on why they need to treat nature well for their own sake and that of other creatures, the issue keeps getting worst, and people are causing more damage to the environment. Since scientific sensitization seems not to be working, this paper suggests a religious approach to solving an environmental problem and specifically looks at how to tackle the issue from an Islamic point of view. The world Muslim is with an estimated population of about 1.907 billion. If these people follow the teachings of the holy Qur'an to protect nature, then the environmental crisis the world is facing currently will be reduced drastically. The hermeneutic approach is used to reiterate the Qur'an and the Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him), a prescription on the way the environment should be treated.
VIRTUE EPISTEMOLOGY AND THE CURBING OF FAKE NEWS MENACE IN THE NEWS MEDIA, 2022
The advent of the internet has brought with it a lot of good and evil, part of the evil the inter... more The advent of the internet has brought with it a lot of good and evil, part of the evil the internet brought is fake news. News and information travel these days on social media faster than the conventional media and online news consumers are prone to more fake news than before because many of the sources or agents are hiding. It has become very difficult to know which news is fake and which is real irrespective of where it emanates from. The issue of fake news has become a new trend in political discourse as a means to mudsling opponents. Fake news has resulted in depression, war, manipulation of due process and the like. It is for this reason this work attempts to expose its epistemological import. The question raised in this work is, what does it mean for a piece of news to be fake? How can it be curbed? In addressing these questions, we identified two factors in determining authentic information: the perceptual traits of the media house and the character traits of its agent. The aim is to use indices of virtue epistemology to determine which news we are supposed to be believed as the real news and which one we are not supposed to belief. We argue that motivation, interest and intention of media agents and houses should be taken into consideration as parameters for measuring genuineness of information. This work concludes that inculcating character-traits and perceptual traits as suggested in virtue epistemology to media practices can help to reduce spreading of fake news and its menace.
wasi Wiredu, a prominent Ghanaian philosopher, having realized the damage the Western-style democ... more wasi Wiredu, a prominent Ghanaian philosopher, having realized the damage the Western-style democracy has done to Africa, proposed an alternative form of democracy to salvage Africans K from political depression. The alternative suggested by Wiredu to replace the majoritarian democracy adopted by Africa since its colonial era is Consensual Democracy. Since Wiredu Suggested this form of democracy in his 1995 paper, titled, "Democracy and Consensus: A Plea to Non-Party Polity," there have been several arguments condemning the system as not compatible with contemporary African societies. This paper explores Wiredu's critique of Western-style democracy and builds on that to say that despite its inadequacies, consensual democracy is more African than majoritarian democracy and should be worked on rather than discarded. In doing this, the paper explains Wiredu's vision for Africa and examines the implications of his ideas for the political landscape of the continent. By delving into Wiredu's philosophical contributions, this work seeks to contribute to the ongoing discourse on democracy and governance in Africa.
The emergence of orthodox medicine which came through Africa's contact with western civilization ... more The emergence of orthodox medicine which came through Africa's contact with western civilization diverted the attention of Africans from the use of African medicine to the use of orthodox medicine. The European colonizers for their economic gains condemned African medicine and refer to it as fetish, evil, inaccurate, ineffective, and superstitious. This paper seeks to make a case for a return to the homeopathic form of treatment with the use of African medicine as against allopathic (orthodox medicine) introduced to the continent. Though African medicine is characterized by some inadequacies, it is still better than orthodox medicine with an allopathic form of treatment and side effects. The paper argued that a more intensive effort if applied to African medicine, will make it capable of being a better alternative form of treatment for health issues in Africa. To this end, the paper suggests measures needed to strengthen Afro-medical practices and articulates the possible benefits of such an approach. The paper concludes that properly harnessed, African medicine has prospective end results as a form of alternative medicine in Africa.
INTELLECTUS: The African Journal of Philosophy, 2024
The environment is under a serious threat, caused by human actions and inactions. One of such thi... more The environment is under a serious threat, caused by human actions and inactions. One of such things that posed a threat is the human population which is estimated to be about 7.9 billion and it is increasing on a daily basis and the way humans deal with nature. However, the need for sustainability makes it necessary for every occupant of the earth to play a role in protecting the environment. There have been several campaigns and sensitization by scientists to make people understand the threat they are posing to the environment and the need to stop, then make sure they protect their environment from more damage. Despite all campaigns, seminars and conferences organized to sensitize the people on why they need to treat nature well for their own sake and that of other creatures, the issue keeps getting worst, and people are causing more damage to the environment. Since scientific sensitization seems not to be working, this paper suggests a religious approach to solving an environmental problem and specifically looks at how to tackle the issue from an Islamic point of view. The world Muslim is with an estimated population of about 1.907 billion. If these people follow the teachings of the holy Qur'an to protect nature, then the environmental crisis the world is facing currently will be reduced drastically. The hermeneutic approach is used to reiterate the Qur'an and the Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him), a prescription on the way the environment should be treated.
VIRTUE EPISTEMOLOGY AND THE CURBING OF FAKE NEWS MENACE IN THE NEWS MEDIA, 2022
The advent of the internet has brought with it a lot of good and evil, part of the evil the inter... more The advent of the internet has brought with it a lot of good and evil, part of the evil the internet brought is fake news. News and information travel these days on social media faster than the conventional media and online news consumers are prone to more fake news than before because many of the sources or agents are hiding. It has become very difficult to know which news is fake and which is real irrespective of where it emanates from. The issue of fake news has become a new trend in political discourse as a means to mudsling opponents. Fake news has resulted in depression, war, manipulation of due process and the like. It is for this reason this work attempts to expose its epistemological import. The question raised in this work is, what does it mean for a piece of news to be fake? How can it be curbed? In addressing these questions, we identified two factors in determining authentic information: the perceptual traits of the media house and the character traits of its agent. The aim is to use indices of virtue epistemology to determine which news we are supposed to be believed as the real news and which one we are not supposed to belief. We argue that motivation, interest and intention of media agents and houses should be taken into consideration as parameters for measuring genuineness of information. This work concludes that inculcating character-traits and perceptual traits as suggested in virtue epistemology to media practices can help to reduce spreading of fake news and its menace.
wasi Wiredu, a prominent Ghanaian philosopher, having realized the damage the Western-style democ... more wasi Wiredu, a prominent Ghanaian philosopher, having realized the damage the Western-style democracy has done to Africa, proposed an alternative form of democracy to salvage Africans K from political depression. The alternative suggested by Wiredu to replace the majoritarian democracy adopted by Africa since its colonial era is Consensual Democracy. Since Wiredu Suggested this form of democracy in his 1995 paper, titled, "Democracy and Consensus: A Plea to Non-Party Polity," there have been several arguments condemning the system as not compatible with contemporary African societies. This paper explores Wiredu's critique of Western-style democracy and builds on that to say that despite its inadequacies, consensual democracy is more African than majoritarian democracy and should be worked on rather than discarded. In doing this, the paper explains Wiredu's vision for Africa and examines the implications of his ideas for the political landscape of the continent. By delving into Wiredu's philosophical contributions, this work seeks to contribute to the ongoing discourse on democracy and governance in Africa.
The emergence of orthodox medicine which came through Africa's contact with western civilization ... more The emergence of orthodox medicine which came through Africa's contact with western civilization diverted the attention of Africans from the use of African medicine to the use of orthodox medicine. The European colonizers for their economic gains condemned African medicine and refer to it as fetish, evil, inaccurate, ineffective, and superstitious. This paper seeks to make a case for a return to the homeopathic form of treatment with the use of African medicine as against allopathic (orthodox medicine) introduced to the continent. Though African medicine is characterized by some inadequacies, it is still better than orthodox medicine with an allopathic form of treatment and side effects. The paper argued that a more intensive effort if applied to African medicine, will make it capable of being a better alternative form of treatment for health issues in Africa. To this end, the paper suggests measures needed to strengthen Afro-medical practices and articulates the possible benefits of such an approach. The paper concludes that properly harnessed, African medicine has prospective end results as a form of alternative medicine in Africa.
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