In this article, I attempt once more to revisit the subject of logic in African philosophy or as some would have it, African logic. I discuss the views of those I call jingoists and irredentists and distance myself from them. I argue that there is logic in every human culture and language. I argue also that even the ancient Africans had logic in their languages. My goal is to show that logic as the tool of thought is universal and not (...) culture-bound. To do this, I will investigate the nature of logic and then examine again the notion of African logic before showing the relevance of logic to life. My method will be descriptive, prescriptive and analytical. Keywords : Logic, African logic, Irredentism, Afrocentrism, jingoism, African philosophy. (shrink)

This book addresses the effects of corruption in Nigeria and provides a concise overview for a lasting solution. Offering insight from the authors' original thinking and experiences, the book traces corruption from colonial rule through nearly fifty years of successive civilian and military government, counter coupes, and ethical reform programs.

Literary works across cultures are never written in a vacuum. They depict the reality of the society where they are set. With the societal obligation of the writers to serve as righters, especially in Africa, this study attempts a pragmatic inquiry of the state of the Nigerian society as implicitly and artistically painted in Remi Raji’s poetry collection, A Harvest of Laughters. The known literature on Remi Raji’s A Harvest of Laughters have analysed the collection mainly from literary and ideological (...) perspectives. Attention has not been given to the collection from a pragmatic perspective, hence the intervention of this study. Drawing insights from Jacob Mey’s Pragmatic Acts Theory, the study analyses the pragmatic imports in the collection with fourteen randomly selected excerpts across different segments of the collection constituting the data. Data was purposively selected from different poems in the collection. The findings show that the two major discursive issues in the text are the depiction of the government as cruel and the portrayal of the citizenry as victims. The former was conveyed through the practs of oppressing, embezzling and deceiving, while the latter was revealed through the practs of suffering and hoping. The study concludes that pragmatics is a valuable tool in the demystification of texts. (shrink)

We would like to thank an anonymous referee for his helpful comments on a previous version of this paper.

Lectures on the life and philosophy of Yaśovijaya, 1624-1680, Jaina monk and philosopher.

Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita on the Gajasūtra. By S. L. P. Anjaneya Sarma and François Grimal with the collaboration of Luther Obrock. Regards sur l’Asie du Sud / South Asian Perspectives, vol. 1. Vyākhyānamālā, vol. 1. Pondicherry: Institut Français de Pondichéry, 2013. Pp. iii + 136. Rs 450, €21.

Viṣamapadavyākhyā: A Commentary on Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita’s Śabdakaustubha Attributed to Nāgeśabhaṭṭa. Edited by James W. Benson. American Oriental Series, vol. 97. New Haven: American Oriental Society, 2015. Pp. xl + 233.

In this essay, I argue that though symbolism performs many roles in different cultures, it has a uniquely moral one in Igbo land. That unique role which symbolism performs in the pristine communalistic Igbo society concerns the regulation of human freedoms and actions in order to maintain social order. But is this something that can be sustained in a modern Igbo society that is more individualistic than communalistic? This paper is of the view that through the proper maintenance of such (...) symbolism: social control between individuals and groups shall be more coordinated in the contemporary Igbo world; regulate and checkmate the Igbo moral consciousness of oneness; control some cultural maladjustment and bring more about social unity in Igbo land. Keywords: Symbol, Symbolism, Social Order, Igbo, Oji. (shrink)

The class condition of women in contemporary Igbo society in particular and Africa in general, which is characterized by her peripherialization in the scheme of state building and knowledge production, has led to the need for the re-examination of her representation in specific cultural contexts in Africa prior to the major historical events (partition and colonization) in the continent. There is no doubt that the partition and colonization of Africa led to a pragmatic shift in local paradigms, and the significance (...) placed on the agencies of cultural transmission. This need to re-examine women s representation in cultures and societies in Africa has become imperative in order to make, where possible, a factual representation of women s place in specific cultural realities. This realization gives impetus for this paper. This article re-examines the perception that women have nothing to do with two key peace symbols—oji (kolanut) and ofo (staff of authority and justice)—in Igbo culture as has been presented in the literature on Igbo culture. Using a case study typology, the study uses Nanka in Anambra State, south-eastern Nigeria as the study area. It identifies the place of the Earth goddess in oji and ofo ritual performances and concludes that, as a key participant in these rituals, gender is mainstreamed in the usages of oji and ofo. (shrink)

Study on the commentary of neo-Nyaya school in Indic philosophy; portion of Tattvacintāmaṇi dealing with the definition of fallacious middle term (hetvābhāsa) and Siddhāntakaumudī by Bhaṭṭojī Dīkṣita, classical commentary on Aṣṭādhyāyī, basic work of Sanskrit grammar by Pāṇinī.

The article deals with the legal acts which were adopted by the Supreme Council Reconstituting the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania on 11 March 1990, and which are related to the restoration of the independent State of Lithuania. The author discloses the chronology of the legal acts adopted on that day and investigates why some particular act was adopted first, and only later another act was passed; he investigates the circumstances which determined the content of the legal acts and (...) shows the interconnection between these acts. The sequence and content of the legal acts of restoration of independence were determined by the fact that the independent State of Lithuania could not arise from the so-called “Lithuanian SSR” which had never been a form of Lithuanian statehood. The restoration of independence could and had to be grounded only upon the continuation of the pre-war Republic of Lithuania. One had to draw a boundary line between the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR, which was elected in democratic and free elections on 24 February 1990, and which was a genuine representation of the Nation, from the former Supreme Soviets of the Lithuanian SSR—the essence and formation procedure of which was completely different. This was done by adopting the Declaration “On the Powers of the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR” in which it was held that in the 24 February 1990 elections the Nation vested to the deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR the mandate and the duty to restore the State of Lithuania and express the sovereign will of the Nation through this body, which, from 11 March 1990, 6 p.m., would be referred to as the Supreme Council of Lithuania. (shrink)