IGWEBUIKE: African Journal of Arts and Humanities

PLATO’S THEORY OF JUSTICE AS A PANACEA TO POOR GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION PROBLEMS IN MODERN NIGERIAN SOCIETY

Orji, Chidi Paul, Ph.D. — Sun, 18 Feb 2024 18:33:14 +0000

Nigeria is a nation with enormous potential. This potential has, however, been marred by numerous issues. Due to dysfunctional leadership and widespread corruption, which are all signs of weak, underperforming, or non-performing governmental institutions, poor governance has become the norm in Nigerian society. Many of the advantages of democracy, including as good roads, piped water, rural electricity, and healthcare facilities, have yet to be enjoyed by many Nigerians as a result of the poor performance of our leaders. What part does Plato's theory of justice play in this research study's approach to the problem of governance and leadership? How to resolve the leadership crisis that is impairing good governance in Nigeria currently seems to be the key issue. The battle for good governance in Nigeria and Plato's theory of justice will be covered in this essay using an explanatory and analytical approach. The study will examine how leadership and power are structured in contemporary Nigerian politics. It will contend that the country's weak leadership has stymied its enormous political and economic potential. It would also assess Plato's philosophy academically, as well as issues of class and the support for his conception of justice. In the end, it would show whether the idea is feasible in a developing nation like Nigeria.

MARX’S THEORY OF DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM AS A CONTEMPORARY MODEL FOR NATION BUILDING: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Orji, Chidi Paul, Ph.D. — Sun, 18 Feb 2024 18:34:12 +0000

Karl Marx's bundle of ideas, postulates, and views is known as dialectical materialism. In it, he speculated about political and economic remedies to the issues facing France. It was a response to what he perceived as unfairness and social and economic wrongs that were quickly establishing themselves as the norm in his society. The relevance of actual circumstances in terms of class, labor, and socioeconomic interactions was underlined by the Marxist dialectic. Contrarily, the Hegelian dialectic emphasizes the notion that inconsistencies in natural occurrences can be resolved by deciphering them and synthesizing a resolution while preserving their essential characteristics. Marx thought addressing and rearranging the social organization systems at the core of the issues would be the most effective way to handle the issues brought on by stated contradictory phenomena. With this in mind, the goal of this research work is to critically analyze Marx's theory of dialectical materialism and then show how, if properly embraced in society, it may aid in the building of a nation. This study will eventually come to the conclusion that, despite communism's failure in practice, it still contains some key ideas and principles that are essential to the advancement of a nation.

THE ETHICS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AS THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF INFORMATION-BASED TECHNOLOGY EXAMINED IN LIGHT OF BANKING INDUSTRY

Chris Abakare, PhD, Victor Ogheneochuko Jeko., PhD — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 21:22:03 +0000

The ethics of artificial intelligence as the epistemology of digital consciousness presupposes human -centeredness. The epistemology of artificial intelligence presupposes Cartesian, Kantian and cognitive paradigms. The AI ethics can be used to analyze the impact of banking innovation technology by ensuring quality services and financial inclusion. The impact of technology on the banking sector reveals a kind of a transformative moment. AI itself is a product of reasoning and scientific method. AI research is equally consistent with the epistemology of information technology. Information technology has resulted in the increase in the input-output flow in the banking performance of global economies. Artificial intelligence concerns itself with the notion of information technology in a global economy. Artificial intelligence is actually a reflection on the cognitive activity of minds and machines. Artificial intelligence as a collective term has both strengths and weaknesses. The notion of artificial intelligence stipulates that certain technological instruments such as the robots, computers, smart phones, biometric machines all exhibit certain cognitive activity. Artificial intelligence has undoubtedly changed the course of human history. Scholars in the fields of philosophy, psychology, law, political science, mathematics and computer engineering have been fascinated by the concept of artificial intelligence since its inception. This paper adopts the method of analysis. This paper discusses the resulting benefits of the use of artificial intelligence in baking industry. This paper concludes that the rise of artificial intelligence marks the triumph of the 21st century. Artificial intelligence challenges our understanding of consciousness, ethics and the very essence of what it means to be human.

BURIAL CULTURE OF THE ISOKO AND URHOBO PEOPLE OF DELTA STATE 1990-2020

Iniaghe, Veronica Oghenetano, Obiakor, Nwachukwu John — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 21:29:53 +0000

This paper focuses on the burial culture of the Isoko and Urhobo people of Delta state, especially from 1990 to 2020, and the aspect of the burial culture as it pertains to returning the body of a woman at death back to her natal home for burial. With the wave of globalization came a number of changes in the burial culture of the Isoko and Urhobo people of Delta state. This paper aims at examining the changes and the continuity in an aspect of the burial culture of the Isoko and Urhobo people of Delta State. It critically examines the practice of returning the body of a deceased woman back to her natal home for burial. This practice has over the years been questioned, interrogated and called for scrutiny by both the Isoko and Urhobo people and some of their neigbours. The work argues that social factors have introduced continuous changes in the Isoko and Urhobo culture with regards to their funeral rites and the burial culture of the people have been greatly affected. This practice have been perceived as one which promotes patriarchal dominance. The work adopts the analytical method, using both primary and secondary sources of data in interrogating the practice of returning the body of a deceased woman back to her natal home for burial rather than burying her in her husband’s home and maintains that if this practice is not properly handled, it could affect inter-group relations. The paper therefore concludes that this practice is posing as a serious threat to a peaceful and harmonious inter-group relationship among families that are involved in inter-tribal marriage. It recommends that the Isoko and Urhobo people should rehabilitate properly to blend with modernity in this aspect of their culture while preserving some others.

THEOLOGICAL GROUND FOR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CHURCH AND THE STATE: TARABA EXPERIENCE

Karbon Philip Benjamin, PhD, Emmanuel Ezekiel, Confidence James Dang — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 22:15:52 +0000

The church had been an old institution that sharpened the behavours of its members in society. The State has also been an old institution that sharpens the behavours of its members in society, the church is controlled by divine power while the State is controlled by human authority. The study critically examined “the theological ground for the relationship between the church and the state: Taraba experience” which has generated some debates among scholars over the years giving rise to different theological perspectives. The researcher employed a descriptive survey for data collection in the course of this work. The researcher has discovered that the church cannot adequately influence the state without involving in state affairs. It is only when the church has stepped out of her “comfort zone” to begin to interact with the state that she can create a positive impact in society. Therefore, this paper suggested that the church must take her original mandate given by God which involves dominion over the earth seriously and she must caution the government to discharge her civil responsibilities with the consciousness that it is a divine appointment from God. Furthermore, the Church should intensify its efforts in the area of interacting with the state to influence her positively.

THE AFRICAN MIND AND THE PRIMORDIAL THOMISTIC PRINCIPLES

Mary Christine Ugobi-Onyemere, IHM, PhD — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 14:20:56 +0000

The African mind is generally in search of holistic existence. This quest sometimes appears to be somewhat hampered by the realistic living conditions in most African contexts, thus making it hard for the searching mind to attain its ideals. Nonetheless, the African mind learns to establish poise through substantial understanding. Although tossed between the daily experiential oscillations of the swift shift (move) from cultural amiable values to enigmatic secular tendencies, the African mind becomes enriched with wisdom rediscovered in the wider cultural milieu. Hence, the knowledge from the broader perspective empowers it to introduce needed changes for a positive upsurge in both the individual and society. The thomistic primordial notions of the “Habits of the First Principles” provide a framework for this sagacious embrace and transformation in a world still mutilated by injustice, corruption, intolerance and violence. According to this proposal, the quintessence of truth and integral existence is recaptured by the very nature of these conceptions. In Thomas Aquinas’ viewpoint, these habits constitute the “act of being” (actus essendi) human. Because they have two principal aspects, the speculative – in the form of principle of non-contradiction (PNC) – and the practical, namely, synderesis, they name what constitutes the essence of the human person. In other words, the thomistic habits are not only essentially rooted in human nature, they also form the core of human actions. Invariably they redirect individual persons to wise fundamental human option: “to do good and avoid evil,” albeit the contextual cultural varieties. In this paper, I demonstrate that the African mind shares in the wisdom of the rich resources of primitive philosophical notions geared towards individual and societal integral development.