The concepts development and underdevelopment have only been widely used in their present sense since the end of the Second World War. For much of modern history, the economic and social divisions of the world were understood as expressions of natural differences in race and climate. Differences in income were treated in much the same…

Introduction  Mill’s Categorical Principle I regard utility as the ultimate appeal on all ethical questions; but it must be utility in the largest sense, grounded on the permanent interests of man as a progressive being. 1 The foregoing remark from Mill’s essay on liberty makes the focus of our investigation in this study quite…

To many contemporary philosophers of science, the philosophy of Immanuel Kant is a necessary starting point. His thesis on epistemology is a sure reference for modern minds of the likes of Hans Reichenbach, T.S. Kuhn, Karl Popper and D. Shapere. This should not be a matter for disputation, more so when it is recognized that…

Underlying every branch of social science is an epistemology, a fundamental abstract and unifying principle bout how we are to recognize the structure or object of knowledge. In the conceptualization of development economies, two models are common (the classical and the radical) in the explanation of underdevelopment. We will suggest that the epistemology underlying the…

Introduction In dealing with the thought of Martin Heidegger, we shall be dealing with a thinker whose background and training have been primarily in the traditions of Western philosophical thought. Heidegger, in his treatment of the theme of ‘Being’, makes the point over and over again that one’s apprehension of Being lies beyond the power…

Let me begin as should be expected by the code of conduct amongst people of Yoruba extraction, a Nigerian ethnic nationality group and say, E ku ile o, se daadaa ni mo ba yin? This salutation is for everybody here present that has come in felicitation without common host at this auspicious gathering. Read More

What is proposed in this intervention is an attempt to see philosophy as traditionally conceived as a rigorous intellectual in general discourse in the light of a shift in paradigm and this, without losing its essence as rigorous intellectual and practical engagements, as a prescriptive ‘First Order’ discipline. The main thrust of pragmatism which is…

Introduction  Human beings, it seems plausible to say, are typically subject to moral obligations and this seems a difference between them and the objects studied by natural science.  It is widely thought, for example, that killing people needs justification so that where there is no justification we have an obligation not to kill. Similarly, it…

Introductory Remarks Ludwig Wittgenstein is one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century. Although no single label is adequate to describe his philosophy, his contributions to the movement known as ‘linguistic’ or ‘analytic’ philosophy best serves to indicate where his most original contributions lay, and where his influence on other thinkers can be…

Karl Marx, probably in a contemplative mood, once retorted that it is not enough for philosophers to interpret the world. Rather, he said concerted effort must be made at changing it. If we understand Marx properly we shall then say he would reject perennial philosophy and embrace a social-determinist philosophy. Thus, he would see in…

Introduction In the search for the ‘indubitable truth’, philosophers have often disagreed on the methodology of arriving at this ultimate reality. While Thales and other pre-Socratic thinkers − from Plato to Hegel–found solace in ‘system building’ by way of speculation to arrive at certainty[1], others such as  David Hume have told us to take any…

Opening Remarks As  a Lagos-born and bred boy, my studentship at University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in the 70s was a vantage position to the gateway of Ondo State, then inclusive of the present Ekiti State. Back then, it was possible that out of every 10 fellow student-acquaintances one had, seven were…