Saharan Africa: the Igbo Paradigm
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The Establishment Clause, Secondary Religious Effects, and Humanistic Education
The Establishment Clause, Secondary Religious Effects, and Humanistic Education The Supreme Court decisions proscribing prayer' and Bible reading2 in public schools provoked considerable public debate. That debate has con- tinued,3 fueled in part by fear that the removal of those religious practices from public schools would hinder the moral development of school chil- dren.4 A number of different, avowedly nonreligious, moral education pro- grams5 that purport to encourage and channel the moral development of the individual child have emerged in the wake of the prayer and Bible- reading decisions.6 Although diverse in method, all of these programs, un- like more traditional forms of moral training,7 reflect the influence of an educational philosophy known as Humanistic Education. The Humanistic Education movement, originally concerned primarily with counteracting the dehumanizing character of technocratic modern ed- ucation,' has evolved into a comprehensive social and moral philosophy' 1. Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962). 2. Abington School Dist. v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963). 3. See N.Y. Times, Apr. 20, 1980, § 12, at 3, col. 1 (many groups still fighting to put prayer back in public schools; between 10% and 30% of public schools still refuse to comply with prayer decisions). 4. See, e.g., N.Y. Times, Jan. 24, 1980, § 2, at 10, col. 5 (some proponents of prayer believe that "crime, vandalism, and drugs are all results of ruling prayer from the schools"); cf D. BOLES, THE BIBLE, RELIGION, AND THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 245-48 (1961) (proponents of Bible reading believe that its absence from public schools will lead to decline in moral standards). -
208, (Issn: 2276-8645) 197 S
International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Reviews Vol.8 No.1, April 2018; p.197 – 208, (ISSN: 2276-8645) SUPERNATURALISM IN AFRICAN LITERATURE A STUDY OF LAYE’S THE AFRICAN CHILD AND AMADI’S THE CONCUBINE CHINYERE OJIAKOR (Ph.D) Department of English Madonna University Nigeria [email protected] & NKECHI EZENWAMADU (Ph.D) Department of English Madonna University Nigeria [email protected] Abstract This article x-rays the existence of the supernatural and their influence on mankind which has become a pre-dominant factor that has gained prominence and importance from time immemorial, and how writers have tried to project this concept in their literary engagements. In an attempt to establish this argument, the researcher explored Elechi Amadi's The Concubine and Camara Laye's The African Child. These novels depict and explore the idea of the supernatural in various manifestations and they are rich in supernatural and are rooted in the mythology and traditional African belief of supernaturalism. Supernaturalism is the belief that there are beings, forces, and phenomena such as God, angels or miracles which interact with the physical universe in remarkable and unique ways. The African man had begun to have some conceptions about the spiritual or mysterious essence of some natural phenomena and had begun to interpret his life in tandem with the "unknown". Opponents of these beliefs seem to pose the question: are there forces beyond the natural forces studied by physics and ways of sensing that go beyond our biological senses and instruments? They recognized that there may always be things outside the realm of human understanding as of yet unconfirmed which the African, not been able to research deeply on it, would term "supernatural". -
Igbo Folktales and the Idea of Chukwu As Supreme God of Igbo Religion Chukwuma Azuonye, University of Massachusetts Boston
University of Massachusetts Boston From the SelectedWorks of Chukwuma Azuonye April, 1987 Igbo Folktales and the Idea of Chukwu as Supreme God of Igbo Religion Chukwuma Azuonye, University of Massachusetts Boston Available at: http://works.bepress.com/chukwuma_azuonye/76/ ISSN 0794·6961 NSUKKAJOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS AND AFRICAN LANGUAGES NUMBER 1, APRIL 1987 Published by the Department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, University of Nigeria, Nsukka NOTES ON THE CONTRIBUTORS All but one of the contributors to this maiden issue of The Nsukka Journal of Linguistics and African Languages are members of the Department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, Univerrsity of Nigeria, Nsukka Mr. B. N. Anasjudu is a Tutor in Applied Linguistics (specialized in Teaching English as a Second Language). Dr. Chukwuma Azyonye is a Senior Lecturer in Oral Literature and Stylistics and Acting Head of Department. Mrs. Clara Ikeke9nwy is a Lecturer in Phonetics and Phonology. Mr. Mataebere IwundV is a Senior Lecturer in Sociolinguistics and Psycholinguistics. Mrs. G. I. Nwaozuzu is a Graduate Assistant in Syntax and Semantics. She also teaches Igbo Literature. Dr. P. Akl,ljYQQbi Nwachukwu is a Senior Lecturer in Syntax and Semantics. Professor Benson Oluikpe is a Professor of Applied and Comparative Linguistics and Dean of the Faculty of Arts. Mr. Chibiko Okebalama is a Tutor in Literature and Stylistics. Dr. Sam VZ9chukwu is a Senior Lecturer in Oral Literature and Stylistics in the Department of African Languages and Literatures, University of Lagos. ISSN 0794-6961 Nsukka Journal of L,i.nguistics and African Languages Number 1, April 1987 IGBD FOLKTALES AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE IDEA OF CHUKWU AS THE SUPREME GOD OF IGBO RELIGION Chukwuma Azyonye This analysis of Igbo folktales reveals eight distinct phases in the evolution of the idea of Chukwu as the supreme God of Igbo religion. -
Beyond the Principles of Bioethics: Facing the Consequences of Fundamental Moral Disagreement
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1677-2954.2012v11n1p13 BEYOND THE PRINCIPLES OF BIOETHICS: FACING THE CONSEQUENCES OF FUNDAMENTAL MORAL DISAGREEMENT H. TRISTRAM ENGELHARDT (Rice Universtiy / USA) ABSTRACT Given intractable secular moral pluralism, the force and significance of the four principles (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice) of Tom Beauchamp and James Childress must be critically re-considered. This essay examines the history of the articulation of these four principles of bioethics, showing why initially there was an illusion of a common morality that led many to hold that the principles could give guidance across cultures. But there is no one sense of the content or the theoretical justification of these principles. In addition, a wide range of secular moral and bioethical choices has been demoralized into lifestyle choices; the force of the secular moral point of view has also been deflated, thus compounding moral pluralism. It is the political generation of the principles that provides a common morality in the sense of an established morality. The principles are best understood as embedded not in a common morality, sensu stricto, but in that morality that is established at law and public policy in a particular polity. Although moral pluralism is substantive and intractable at the level of moral content, in a particular polity a particular morality and a particular bioethics can be established, regarding which health care ethics consultants can be experts. Public morality and bioethics are at their roots a political reality. Keywords: Bioethics. Pluralism. Moral disagreement. Ethical particularism. RESUMO Dado o pluralismo moral secular intratável, a força e o significado dos quatro princípios (autonomia, beneficência, não maleficência e justiça) de Tom Beauchamp e James Childress precisam ser reconsiderados criticamente. -
The Influence of the Supernatural in Elechi Amadi’S the Concubine and the Great Ponds
THE INFLUENCE OF THE SUPERNATURAL IN ELECHI AMADI’S THE CONCUBINE AND THE GREAT PONDS BY EKPENDU, CHIKODI IFEOMA PG/MA/09/51229 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND LITERARY STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA. SUPERVISOR: DR. EZUGU M.A A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF ARTS (M.A) IN ENGLISH & LITERARY STUDIES TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA. JANUARY, 2015 i TITLE PAGE THE INFLUENCE OF THE SUPERNATURAL IN ELECHI AMADI’S THE CONCUBINE AND THE GREAT PONDS BY EKPENDU, CHIKODI IFEOMA PG /MA/09/51229 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH & LITERARY STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA. JANUARY, 2015 ii CERTIFICATION This research work has been read and approved BY ________________________ ________________________ DR. M.A. EZUGU SIGNATURE & DATE SUPERVISOR ________________________ ________________________ PROF. D.U.OPATA SIGNATURE & DATE HEAD OF DEPARTMENT ________________________ ________________________ EXTERNAL EXAMINER SIGNATURE & DATE iii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my dear son Davids Smile for being with me all through the period of this study. To my beloved husband, Mr Smile Iwejua for his love, support and understanding. To my parents, Elder & Mrs S.C Ekpendu, for always being there for me. And finally to God, for his mercies. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My greatest thanks go to the Almighty God for his steadfast love and for bringing me thus far in my academics. To him be all the glory. My Supervisor, Dr Mike A. Ezugu who patiently taught, read and supervised this research work, your well of blessings will never run dry. My ever smiling husband, Mr Smile Iwejua, your smile and support took me a long way. -
"Good Without God": Happiness and Pleasure Among the Humanists
Matthew Engelke "Good without God": happiness and pleasure among the humanists Article (Published version) (Refereed) Original citation: Engelke, Matthew (2015) "Good without God": happiness and pleasure among the humanists. HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, 5 (3). pp. 69-91. ISSN 2049-1115 DOI: 10.14318/hau5.3.005 Reuse of this item is permitted through licensing under the Creative Commons: © 2015 The Author CC BY 4.0 This version available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/65522/ Available in LSE Research Online: February 2016 LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. You may freely distribute the URL (http://eprints.lse.ac.uk) of the LSE Research Online website. 2015 | Hau: Journal of Ethnographic Theory 5 (3): 69–91 SPECIAL ISSUE “Good without God” Happiness and pleasure among the humanists Matthew Engelke, London School of Economics and Political Science In this article, I explore conceptions of happiness and pleasure among secular humanists in Britain. Based on fieldwork among members of the British Humanist Association, and its associated local groups, I argue that happiness for the humanists is both the promise and demand of enlightenment, of an appeal to reason over and against what they see as the irrationality of religion. For them, happiness and pleasure are subjective experiences, but they are also indices of philosophical and ethical commitments. -
(Igbo) Philosophy of Death
Philosophy Study, June 2019, Vol. 9, No. 6, 362-366 doi: 10.17265/2159-5313/2019.06.006 D D AV I D PUBLISHING Epistemic Inquiry into African (Igbo) Philosophy of Death Raphael Olisa Maduabuchi, Stephen Chijioke Chukwujekwu Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria This paper sought to examine Igbo philosophy of death as an essential feature for authentic human existence in Africa. Death is a mystery which defies human understanding. No wonder, existentialist philosophers conceive death as the facticity of human existence. Different cultures have undertaken to unravel the mystery of death. Hence, African nay Igbo conceives death as a transition of human beings from this physical world of the living to the world of the spirit. The invisible world of the spirit is a place where our revered ancestors live. The second burial rites are performed to gravitate the dead to ancestral world of spirit. African metaphysical assumptions of death and life after death are therefore subjected to critical examination. Keywords: Igbo, Africans, ancestors, spiritual, physical and existence Introduction Death is a common phenomenon which everybody expects in anticipation. Scholars conceive death differently. On this note, death is defined as end of life; the state of being dead (Hornby, 2011, p. 298). The state of being dead implies that one is no longer alive. Death can be sudden, violent and peaceful. In some cases, it comes at a moment when one least expects it. Anybody can die at any moment. Philosophers have undertaken to unravel the mystery behind death. Jean Paul Sartre conceived death as a meaningless absurdity which removes all meaning from human existence (Omoregbe, 1991, p. -
OF CULTURAL FESTIVALS and RELATIONS in WEST AFRICA: PERSPECTIVES on MBANO of SOUTHEAST NIGERIA SINCE the 20TH CENTURY Chinedu N
Mgbakoigba, Journal of African Studies, Vol. 8 No. 2. May, 2021 OF CULTURAL FESTIVALS AND RELATIONS IN WEST AFRICA: PERSPECTIVES ON MBANO OF SOUTHEAST NIGERIA SINCE THE 20TH CENTURY Chinedu N. Mbalisi OF CULTURAL FESTIVALS AND RELATIONS IN WEST AFRICA: PERSPECTIVES ON MBANO OF SOUTHEAST NIGERIA SINCE THE 20TH CENTURY Chinedu N. Mbalisi Department of History and International Studies, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka [email protected] Abstract Africa is prominently known for its rich cultural heritage, festivals and traditional celebrations. The Igbo of southeast Nigeria are known globally for their addiction to their traditional way of life, belief systems and celebration of numerous cultural festivals. These traditional and cultural festivals form the basic foundation of the rich heritage of the Igbo. Most of these celebrations begin from birth. Usually, the birth of a new born baby is greeted with joy and fanfare by his/her parents and their relatives. The celebrations continue till the period of transition (death); from puberty to adulthood, marriage, title taking, old age till one rejoins his/her ancestors, then comes the final celebration. Mbano people of southeast Nigeria have numerous traditional and cultural festivals which form the nucleus of their relations with their neighbours. In fact, the cultural festivals depict the rich cultural heritage of the people and are used to show in most parts, the kinship between the people and their proximate neighbours. This paper essays to demonstrate the import of these traditional and cultural festivals to the nature of relationship prevalent between Mbano people and their neighbours in southeast Nigeria. The work adopts the orthodox historical method of narrative and analysis. -
“Things Fall Apart” in “Dead Men's Path”
International Journal of Linguistics and Literature (IJLL) ISSN(P): 2319-3956; ISSN(E): 2319-3964 Vol. 7, Issue 6, Oct - Sep 2018; 57-70 © IASET “THINGS FALL APART” IN “DEAD MEN’S PATH”, A STORY FROM CHINUA ACHEBE’S GIRLS AT WAR AND OTHER STORIES Komenan Casimir Lecturer, Department of English, Félix Houphouët-Boigny University of Coode, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire ABSTRACT Introduced in Igbo-land owing to colonialism, Western school proves intolerant of Odinani, the Igbo traditional religion,by closing “Dead Men’s Path”, a symbol of three realms of existence: the dead, the living and the unborn children. To claim the right of being practiced freely, Odinaniwage war with the school. The ins and outs of these conflicts permits of postulating that “things fall apart” in “Dead Men’s Path”, a short story excerpted from Achebe’s Girls at War and Other Stories. KEYWORDS: “Things Fall Apart”, “Dead Men’s Path”, Intolerant School, Odinani, Igbo, Achebe Article History Received: 04 Oct 2018 | Revised: 16 Oct 2018 | Accepted: 03 Nov 2018 INTRODUCTION Introduced in Africa with the advent of colonization and its civilizing mission, school as one feature of the white man’s ways, has clashed with Odinani, the Igbo traditional religion based on the ancestral veneration or what is referred to as the first faith of Africans 1. As a result, the inherited religious practices have become obsolete, as shown in Chinua Achebe’s “Dead Men’s Path”, a short story extracted from Girls at War and Other Stories (1972). This work is a collection of short stories in which the author attests to the culturo-spiritual conflict between the African culture and the European one 2. -
Wajiar Vol.21 No.2 March 31, 2020
West African Journal of Industrial and Academic Research vol.20 No2. March 2020 1 West African Journal of Industrial & academic research Vol. 21 No. 2. March 2020 West African Journal of Industrial & Academic Research Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Oliver E. Osuagwu, DSc CS, PhD IT, FNCS, FBCS CITP, MIEEE, MACM Editorial Board: Prof Tony B.E. Ogiemien, PhD, BL, (USA), Engr. Prof E. Anyanwu, Ph.D, FNSE, Prof. G. Nworuh, PhD,, Dr. B. C. Ashiegbu, PhD ,Prof .E. Emenyionu, PhD, (Connecticut USA,) , Prof. E.P. Akpan, Ph.D, Engr. Prof. C.D. Okereke, Ph.D, Prof. B.E.B. Nwoko, Ph.D, Prof. N..N. Onu, PhD, Prof M.O. Iwuala, PhD, Prof C.E.Akujo, PhD, Prof. G. Okoroafor, PhD, Prof Leah Ojinna, Ph.D (USA), Prof. O. Ibidapo-Obe, PhD, FAS., Prof. E. Adagunodo, PhD, Prof. J.C .Ododo, PhD, Dan C. Amadi, PhD (English), Prof.(Mrs) S.C. Chiemeke, PhD,FNCS, Prof (Mrs) G. Chukwudebe,PhD, FNSE, Prof. E.N.C. Okafor, PhD, (Mrs) I. Achumba, PhD, T. Obiringa, PhD, Prof S. Inyama, PhD, Prof. C. Akiyoku, PhD, FNCS, Prof. E. Nwachukwu, Ph.D, FNCS, Prof. S. Anigbogu, PhD,FNCS, Prof. H. Inyama, PhD, FNSE, Prof J..N. Ogbulie, PhD, Prof. M..M. Ibrahim, PhD, Prince Oghenekaro Asagba, PhD câuÄ|á{xw uç Olliverson Industrial Publishing House The Research & Publications Division of Hi-Technology Concepts (WA) Ltd YÉÜ g{x International Institute for Science, Technology Research & Development, Owerri, Nigeria & USA All rights of publication and translation reserved. Permission for the reproduction of text and illustration should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief @ OIPH, 9-14 Mbonu Ojike Street, Ikenegbu, Owerri, Nigeria or via our email address or the international office for those outside Nigeria ‘ © International Institute for Science, Technology Research & Development, [IISTRD] Owerri, Nigeria/USA West African Journal of Industrial and Academic Research vol.20 No2. -
A VARIETY of MORAL SOURCES in a SECULAR AGE – Damian Barnat –
Diametros 54 (2017): 161–173 doi: 10.13153/diam.54.2017.1138 A VARIETY OF MORAL SOURCES IN A SECULAR AGE – Damian Barnat – Abstract. The aim of my paper is to assess in a critical way the views presented by Graeme Smith in his book A Short History of Secularism (2008) as well as in his paper Talking to Ourselves: An Inves- tigation into the Christian Ethics Inherent in Secularism (2017). According to Smith, secular Western societies are underpinned by Christian ethics. An example of a moral norm that – in Smith’s opin- ion – derives from medieval Christianity and shapes the moral condition of the members of con- temporary societies, is the concern about the poor. My criticism of Smith’s thesis is based on the distinction between moral norms and the ways of justifying them. Referring to this distinction, my objective is to show that certain norms which appear to be the same cannot be treated as identical due to the significant differences in their justification. Keywords: Charles Taylor, secularism, ethics, religion, modernity, Enlightenment. Introduction The aim of my paper is to assess in a critical way the views presented by Graeme Smith in his book A Short History of Secularism (2008),1 as well as in his paper Talking to Ourselves: An Investigation into the Christian Ethics Inherent in Secu- larism (2017).2 According to Smith, secular Western societies are underpinned by Christian ethics. An example of a moral norm that – in Smith’s opinion – derives from medieval Christianity and shapes the moral condition of the members of con- temporary societies, is the concern about the poor. -
126 the Travails of the Igbo Ethnic Group in Nigeria
126 THE TRAVAILS OF THE IGBO ETHNIC GROUP IN NIGERIA AND THE INDISPENSABILITY OF THE TRADITIONAL SOCIO-CULTURAL PRACTICES IN THE RESTORATION OF THE MUCH-NEEDED UNITY Chidi Mike Amaechi Department of History and International Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka Enugu State, Nigeria. Abstract The Igbo ethnic group in Nigeria has been groaning under the colossal weight of injustice, criminal neglect and institutional marginalization especially since the end of the Nigerian Civil War. This is more apparent in the composition of the military, political appointments, provision of social amenities and infrastructure, and choice of official policies. The psychological effect is even more traumatizing and debilitating. In a state of confusion, despair, and hopelessness, the average Igbo person is politically disoriented and manipulated and the age-long flaunted culture of ‘unity of purpose’ has been abandoned together with the traditional socio-cultural practices that anchored the people’s high moral standards and unsullied sense of dignity. Moreover, at the detriment of Igbo group interest, the political elite now revel in selfish individualism as a result of inferiority complex and have not been able to, early enough, analyze situations and take a firm stand on issues, as each situation demands. In support of the view that the marginalization of the Igbo stems largely from internal disunity, and in addition to other views on the solution to this problem of Igbo disunity, it is the position of this paper that the revival of those traditional socio-political cum cultural institutions and values which sustained the bonds of Igbo unity in the face of the seemingly acephalous and segmented nature of the people, would go a long way in restoring this much-needed unity.