UNIBEN MADE

I'm still aesthetically appreciating this Emy-made fast food.

THE INTER-SUBJECTIVITY OF THE CONCEPT OF BEAUTY

                     

1.0.PREAMBLE:

The concept of beauty has constituted one of the principal disturbing issues in the history of Aesthetics. And because there has never been a consensus on the definition of the term, the concept of ‘beauty’ has consequently generated controversies among thinkers. For instance, Pythagoras argued that numbers, proportion and patterns constitute beauty.[1] Plato’s Formism ended up in metaphysical objectivism. For him, ‘Beauty’ resides in the world of Forms, and what we conceive as beautiful are only copies of the ideal Beauty. Moreover, according to Aristotle, beauty is nothing but goodness. Besides, David Hume maintained that beauty lies in our individual perception. As a result of these, it is worthy to note that the peculiar quality called ‘beautiful’ is not the same at all times and for all persons. Nevertheless, the fundamental questions remain: What is beauty? What is the nature of beauty? How can we identify someone who is beautiful? In other words, what makes somebody or a work of art beautiful? Is beauty objective or subjective? If I say that beauty lies in how I conceive of it, from where then did I know that it is beautiful? If I say that beauty is objective, how then do I explain the diversity in the conception of beauty? Following from the above, a philosophical investigation into the concept of beauty will solely occupy the interest of this work.

ISIS’ CATACLYSMISM: A PHILOSOPHICAL APPRAISAL

By Dominic E.B. Anyalagbuna

1.0.ABSTRACT:

The very inhumane hazards of the so-called Islamic militant group named ISIS are indeed highly cataclysmic! However, this paper is faced with the problem of undertaking a philosophical examination of the named group. This, the paper does, using the critical-evaluative method by considering their history, aims and activities. Upon this examination, this work discovers that, among other relevant theories, this rebel group seems to be operating on the Transcendental Idealism of Immanuel Kant which states that ‘only ideas in the mind exist,’ though one cannot absolutely arrive at it. This theory follows from the militants’ idea of Muhammad’s prophecy that ‘there will be a time when the whole world will be subjected under a ‘caliphate,’ with a ‘caliph’ as their head. Nevertheless, in the end, this treatise highlights that the solution to ISIS’s crisis is mental and intellectual re-formation. In such-wise, this work adequately recommends an urgent mental re-configuration founded on re-interpretation of the Quran among these Islamic extremists, which

‘IRRELIGIOUS RELIGIOSITY’: A HORRIBLE CONSEQUENCE OF THE PROLIFERATION OF CHURCHES

BY: DOMINIC E.B. ANYALAGBUNA

1.0.Prolegomenon:

In his monumental work entitled Introduction to African Philosophy, the renowned scholar, John S. Mbiti vehemently submits that “Africans are notoriously religious…. Religion permeates into all the department of [their] life so fully that it is not possible to isolate it.” In furtherance of this view, Mbiti still aptly adds further that “wherever the African is, there is his religion: he carries it to the fields where he is sowing seeds or harvesting a new crop.” However, the truth of these statements can sufficiently be expressed in the ever increasing number of religious grounds in our time. In fact, multiplicity of churches is a fact, a truth! This diversity is pioneered by different reasons which may range from supernatural, financial, economic, or socio-political reasons. Moreover, man has sought for avenues to express his worship of God. Unfortunately, this has been done in questionable places. This has left man with a horrible phenomenon which may be termed ‘irreligious religiosity.’ Irreligious religiosity is a phenomenon exhibited by faithless, lazy and hollow spiritually-minded individuals who are externally looked upon as holy people by others whereas inside them is full of contradictory qualities. Consequent upon this, this work will expose the concept of irreligious religiosity under the factors that encourage the multiplicity of churches, causes and consequences, together with some possible remedy.