Ubuntu’s Ontological Account in African Philosophy and its Cross-Tradition Engagement on the Issue of Being versus Becoming

This paper x-rays Ramose’s ubuntu ontological account in African philosophy and its cross-tradition engagement on the issue of being versus becoming (such as the Yin-Yang, Heraclitean, Nietzschean, Whiteheadean and the Buddhists’ accounts) with a view to showing how convergence and divergence of thoughts in the African, European, and Asian philosophy contexts can advance cross-cultural philosophizing or cross-tradition approach to doing philosophy. Ramose’s ubuntu ontology designates a reconstruction of reality within the framework of motion, as captured in his concept of be-ing-becoming, while the Heraclitean, Nietzschean, Whiteheadean and the Buddhists’ ontological accounts also conceive reality within the confines of endless motion, except the Yin-Yang metaphysical vision that interprets reality within the perspective of complementarity. Attempts are made, in the paper, to highlight the Ramosean ubuntu ontology and how it can constructively engage with other traditions’ ontological accounts, as mentioned above, in a fruitful encounter of the African thought tradition, which Ramose belongs to, and the European and Asian traditions of thought, which the other mentioned ontological accounts belong to

Asouzu’s Complementarism and Nietzsche’s Perspectivism: Implications for Cross-Cultural Philosophizing

This paper examines Asouzu’s complementarism and Nietzsche’s perspectivism with a view to showing how convergence and divergence of thoughts in the Asouzuan and Nietzschean philosophy contexts can inform cross-cultural philosophizing. Asouzu’s complementarism projects multiplicity of perspectives as constitutive of reality and construes it as a composite of missing links, while Nietzsche’s perspectivism also postulates multiplicity of views and interpretations as he believes that reality is deeply rooted in infinite possibilities. Attempts are made, in this paper, to articulate the essential principles of Asouzu’s complementarism and to highlight the dynamics of Nietzsche’s perspectivism in a fruitful encounter of the African tradition of thought which Asouzu belongs to and the European thought tradition which Nietzsche belongs to. These two traditions of thought will be critically x-rayed to show their implications for cross-cultural philosophizing. Simply put, the paper will show how the philosophical studies of the ideas of complementarism and perspectivism in the thoughts of the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, and the African philosopher, Innocent Asouzu, can enrich the cultural understanding of human societies and ideas for the betterment of universal values and humanism

Nietzsche’s idea of eternal recurrence and the notions of reincarnation in Onyewuenyi and Majeed

This paper examines Nietzsche’s idea of eternal recurrence and the notions of reincarnation in Onyewuenyi and Majeed with a view to showing how convergence and divergence of thought in the Nietzschean, Onyewuenyean and Majeedean philosophy contexts can inform cross-cultural philosophizing. Nietzsche’s idea of eternal recurrence represents his deep thought, which claims that every aspect of life returns innumerable times, in an identical fashion. On the other hand, Onyewuenyi posits that reincarnation is un-African as he conceives it as the theory that when the soul separates from the body, at death, it informs another body for another span of life, while Majeed sees evidence of the African rootedness of the belief in reincarnation, based on his study of the Akan people of Ghana and concedes that the belief, itself, is irrational, since there is no scientific or empirical basis for it. Attempts are made to highlight the dynamics of Nietzsche’s idea of eternal recurrence and to articulate the essential ingredients of Onyewuenyean and Majeedean conceptions of reincarnation. These forms of thought will be examined critically to exhibit their convergence and divergence in the context of cross-cultural philosophizing. Keywords: eternal recurrence, reincarnation, will to power, vital force, cross-cultural philosophy, spirit-worl

THE LIMIT OF DEDUCTIVE REASONING IN LAW AND A STUDY OF NEIL MACCORMICK’S SECOND-ORDER JUSTIFICATION

Among lawyers and judges, it is widely held that legal reasoning is characterized by deductive and inductive arguments. Although not many are prepared to accept this, the role of deduction and induction are not disputed.  However, what is argued about is that whereas deductive reasoning holds true of factual propositions, it does not hold between norms. And even in clear cases, it is inappropriate to apply deductive reasoning; hence there is therefore, a limit to what deductive reasoning can go in law. MacCormick, for example, recognizes this limit and thus proposes a ‘second-order justification’ which, according to him, involves justifying choices; choices between rival possible rulings. These are choices to be made within the specific context of a functioning legal system. In this paper, attempt is made to demonstrate the extent to which MacCormick’s theory on ‘second-order justification’ remedies the limitation engendered in law by deductive and inductive reasoning. Taking into cognizance the fact that theoretical framework of the individual judge in question plays a huge role in the determination of court cases and judgement, the work, having presented the author’ own view, subjected same under critical interrogation, analysis and evaluation and found out that second-order justification is indeed defensible in law

POWER, LIBERTY AND AUTHORITY IN A CONTRACTUAL SOCIETY

The stability of a bank is said to be a function of its Capital adequacy which in turn influences its performance. Commercial Banks in Nigeria operate under different levels of capital adequacy. This study therefore sought to examine the effect of capital adequacy ratio on the performance of listed commercial banks in Nigeria proxied by return on capital employed from 2014-2019.  Data for this study, collected from the sampled commercial banks annual financial reports for the period covered, were analysed using panel regression. The study found that capital adequacy ratio had significant and positive effect on return on capital employed of listed commercial banks in Nigeria. Based on this finding, the Central Bank of Nigeria is advised to increase the Capital Adequacy Ratio of commercial banks and ensure that they are complied with. This is expected to bring about improved performance of the banking sector