http://ir.library.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/289 Philosophy 2026-04-07T17:26:00Z http://ir.library.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/9134 Title: A YORÙBÁ PERSPECTIVE ON W. V. O. QUINE’S INDETERMINACY OF TRANSLATION THESIS Authors: OJELAKIN, O.A Abstract: Indeterminacy, a condition of instability of meaning, uncertainty and variations in interpretations of grammatical forms and categories in any natural language, has generated both linguistic and philosophical challenges among scholars. Previous studies have examined the problem of translation using the theories of conceptual relativism and universalism. These theories however failed to provide enough bases for resolving the dilemma of cross-cultural understanding. This is due to the conflicting nature of the principles they articulate and their disregard for the skill of the translator and the purpose of the translation as important factors for providing purposeful action. This study, therefore, uses a Yoruba pragmatic perspective to interrogate the ‘Indeterminacy Thesis,’ with a view to determining the crucial role of the translator in translation. Hans Josef Vermeer’s Skopos Theory, which emphasises the communicative purpose in translation, was adopted as the framework, while the interpretive design was used. The texts used in Philosophy of Language included W. V. O. Quine’s Word and Object (WO) and Ontological Relativity (OR), Donald Davidson’s On the Very Idea of Conceptual Scheme (OVICS), Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolution (SSR) and George Steiner’s After Babel (AB). The texts used in African Philosophy included Kwasi Wiredu’s Cultural Universal and Particular (CUP), Isola Bewaji’s African Language and Critical Discourse (ALCD) and Segun Gbadegesin’s African Philosophy (AP). These texts deal extensively with the idea of culture, translation and cross-cultural understanding. The texts were subjected to the conceptual, critical and reconstructive tools of philosophy. The WO and OR revealed that the totality of intrinsic and extrinsic approaches to translating from one language into another fails to determine a unique system of translation. These approaches are inadequate because of their disregard for the linguistic skill and cultural background of the translator as well as the purpose of the translation. Variations in socio-cultural contexts make it fundamental that what needed to be translated is meaning rather than language (OVICS and SSR). The CUP and AB demonstrated that in the translation process, contextual factors cannot be overlooked. A meaningful translation requires the translator to determine the purpose of translation and the most suitable method for achieving it. The AP and ALCD showed that in Yoruba linguistic philosophy, translation is not only a linguistic act but also a cultural one. It is the intricate relationship between language and culture that shapes reality. Critical intervention revealed that the Yoruba indigenous education system, which deployed pragmatic and functional means to denote the essence of concepts as a product of culture, bridges the gap in translation created by other linguistic approaches. This system enables the translator to factor context and culture into the translation process. It also readily absorbs necessary linguistic elements from other cultures. The Yoruba linguistic philosophy provides a pragmatic understanding of translation which privileges the linguistic skill and cultural intelligence of the translator, and the objective of the translation. This provides one framework for undermining the indeterminacy thesis of W. V. O. Quine. Description: A Thesis in the Department of Philosophy, submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY of the UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.library.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/9133 Title: CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE AS BASIS FOR DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA Authors: OLATUNJI, F.O Abstract: Cultural knowledge, centred on the belief systems of a people and abstracted from the totality of their skills and values, is very crucial to the development of a society. Previous studies on development have proved to be inadequate in resolving the dilemma of development in Africa because they emphasised economism – a uni-dimensional idea and approach to development that gives primacy to individualism, market liberalisation, and material aspect of development, while ignoring the cultural realities of the people. This study, therefore, examined the centrality of cultural knowledge to development in Africa. The study adopted Arturo Escobar’s Ethnographic model, which argues that societies of the Global South should be allowed to pursue their own development as they deem fit without the influence of the Global North. Ten relevant texts in Philosophy of Culture including Escobar’s Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World (ED), Hoppers’ Culture, Indigenous Knowledge and Development (CIKD) and Verhelst’s No Life Without Culture (NLWC); eight texts in Epistemology including Descartes’ Discourses on Method (DM), Hobbes’ Leviathan (LN) and Bacon’s The New Organon (TNO); and six texts on Political Economy including Sachs’ Common Wealth (CW), Stiglitz’ The Price of Inequality (TPI), Stiglitz and Charlton’s Fair Trade for All (FTA) were analysed. These purposively selected texts dealt with the idea of development and how it should be approached from the cultural and economic perspectives. Conceptual analysis and reconstruction were adopted for analysis. Texts in Philosophy of Culture revealed that Western conception of development is ethnocentric, authoritarian and technocratic and rejected models that provided Western theories alone as ideal models for the Global South, which Africa has been following (ED, CIKD and NLWC). Texts in Epistemology upheld the quest for social change through the essence of knowledge in order to liberate and expand the horizons of intelligence of the people (DM, LN and TNO). Texts on Political Economy emphasised that market forces built on capitalist ideology made development linear and tailored towards economism (CW, TPI and FTA). Critical intervention shows that the totality of skills, experiences, beliefs, values, taboos, norms and insights of a people guide the contents and processes of their development. Knowledge of these cultural elements not only forms the basis for decision-making but also informs the survival strategies adopted by people in matters relating to critical issues of life. The challenge of development in Africa has remained because of the uni-dimensional approach to development, which emphasises economism, to the neglect of other cultural elements that define the people’s reality. Therefore, cultural knowledge can better enhance development in Africa. Description: A Thesis in the Department of Philosophy submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY of The University of Ibadan. Ibadan, Nigeria 2017-06-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.library.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/9132 Title: ÌFẸ́-INÚ AND SOCIAL ORDER IN YORÙBÁ THOUGHT SYSTEM Authors: SHITTA-BEY, O.A Abstract: Ìfẹ́-Inú, the human will in Yorùbá ontology, exercises considerable influence on social order, which is the harmonious functioning of different facets of society to enhance human flourishing and development. However, the persistence of social disorder has made sustenance of peace and development difficult in contemporary society due to lack of consideration for Ìfẹ́-Inú. Earlier studies on social order have emphasised the physical actions of the human person, either as individuals or collectives, as determinants of social order while under-exploring the state of Ìfẹ́-Inú, which produces, as well as drives decisions and actions in human persons. This study, therefore, philosophically examined Ìfẹ́-Inú and how it is mediated in Yorùbá thought to initiate decisions and actions, with a view to promoting a morally desirable social order that will guarantee peace and sustainable development. The study adopted Emile Durkheim’s methodological holism and Herbert Spencer’s methodological individualism as framework. Holism explains social order on the basis of an understanding of social institutions while individualism bases social order on individuals’ behaviours and conducts. Six relevant texts in the philosophy of the social sciences, five on ontology and six on Yoruba culture which deal extensively with the concept of the human person in relation to social order were purposively selected. The analytic, critical and reconstructive methods were employed in this study. The analytic method was used to elucidate the importance of the human will and social order. The critical method was employed to interrogate how social order is guaranteed through the mediation of Ìfẹ́-Inú in Yorùbá culture, while the reconstructive method was used to determine the constitution of ọmọlúwàbí (a virtuous person) through the mediation of Ìfẹ́-Inú. Texts in the philosophy of the social sciences established that human persons are determinants of social order, but did not consider Ìfẹ́-Inú in its ontological and moral dimensions as very significant in their explanations, and therefore, under-explored the connection between social order and the state of Ìfẹ́-Inú. Texts on ontology revealed the importance of Ìfẹ́-Inú as the initiator and driver of decisions and actions in human persons. Texts on Yorùbá culture revealed that Ìfẹ́-Inú is mediated by culture to ensure the formation of ọmọlúwàbí. Ọmọlúwàbí exhibits such virtues as trust, honesty, inter-dependence, integrity, cooperation and perseverance necessary for harmonious living. Critical reflections revealed that the mediation of Ìfẹ́-Inú ensures that citizens are socialised to become ọmọlúwàbí. At the normative level, ìwà (character) is central to the formation of ọmọlúwàbí and character development serves as the basis for taming the negative traits of Ìfẹ́-Inú. The mediation of Ìfẹ́-Inú by culture, to produce ọmọlúwàbí who will promote social order, addresses the role of Ìfẹ́-Inú in the areas of desires, actions and decisions which form the basis for the promotion of a morally desirable social order pursuant to the quest for peace and sustainable development in society. The mediation of Ìfẹ́-Inú in Yoruba culture which produces ọmọlúwàbí is capable of enhancing the promotion of a morally desirable social order. Therefore, Ìfẹ́-Inú is fundamental to peace and sustainable development in society. Description: A Thesis in the Department of Philosophy Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in Partial fulfilment for the Award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Ìbàdàn 2014-09-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.library.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/9110 Title: THE NOTION OF PRUDENCE IN ARISTOTLE AND THE CRISIS OF LEADERSHIP IN NIGERIA Authors: WOGU, I.A.P Abstract: Two schools of thought, the Moralist School and the Realist School, have discussed the problem of leadership. Moralists have called for an explicit recognition of the moral nature of leadership but failed to provide leaders with a consistent direction of what ethical leadership should be. Realists argue for a total autonomy of the political sphere. They fail to recognize the existence and relevance of any moral consideration in the political arena; consequently, they subordinate moral standards to those of politics. The ideological confusion arising between both schools of thought is responsible for the absence of an adequate and consistent theory of political leadership. This study, therefore, seeks to provide a theory of political leadership that will constitute a viable framework for good leadership in Nigeria. Aristotle’s notion of prudence which states that prudent judgment is a central moral resource for political leaders was adopted for this research. The study employed the method of conceptual analysis to clarify the concepts of virtue, prudence and leadership. The reconstructive method was also used to synthesize basic elements of the moralist and the realist schools of thought with Aristotle’s notion of prudence. Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, David Notions’ Democracy and Moral Development and A Politics of Virtue and Otto Gierke’s Natural Law and the Theory of Society, constitute some of the primary texts for this study. Texts and other library and archival materials used were subjected to content analysis. Bad political leadership in Nigeria has continued to be one of the root causes of crisis in the nation. This problem is generated by the lack of an acceptable and consistent theory of leadership. There is also the absence of a standard guideline and framework to guide leaders in their daily decision making processes. Moralist insists that an explicit recognition of the moral nature of leadership must be given due priority. However, this opinion failed to provide leaders with a consistent guideline of what the essence of ideal leadership should be. Realists maintain that universal moral principles cannot be applied to the actions of political leaders in their abstract universal formulation, but that they must be filtered through the concrete circumstances of time and place. This realist position creates detached and selfless leaders who allow nothing get in their way of achieving successful political actions. Leadership crisis in Nigeria arises as a result of the absence of practical prudence, which is a core virtue in Aristotle’s ethics. Prudent judgment is required to identify the salient aspects of political situations which leaders have obligations to consider before making political decisions. The guidelines prescribed by Aristotle in making prudent judgment include: Disciplined reason and openness to experience; Foresight, Deploying power; Timing and momentum; Proper relation of means and ends; Durability and legitimacy of outcomes; and Consequences for community. Aristotle’s notion of prudence, therefore, provides a consistent guideline for drastically reducing the scourge of bad leadership in Nigeria. Its practical adoption would enhance the quality of political leadership in Nigeria. Description: A Thesis in the Department of Philosophy, Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY of the THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN 2012-09-01T00:00:00Z