Rudolf Steiner’s Philosophy of Freedom as A Panacea to the Nigerian Social and Political Settings: An Analytic Approach (Published)
The question of human freedom is a perennial one that has occupied the philosophical enterprise. Many questions have been asked: can humans think freely? Can they act freely? Are there circumstances that limit human beings? Can one control his/her thoughts and actions? Many philosophers have engaged these questions from varieties of perspectives through different approaches and methods. This work, “An Appraisal of Rudolf Steiner’s Concept of Freedom,” provides the pivot for our philosophical inquiry. It seeks to interpret the epistemological and ethical significances of freedom. Freedom is not only theoretical but it is also practical. To thoroughly tackle the question of freedom, it is also important to incorporate the views of some other philosophers in this area of specialization. This work finds that human beings can achieve freedom through pure individualized thinking by transcending the compulsive impulses of nature and culture. It makes use of hermeneutical and analytical methods, to interpret and analyse critically the philosophical positions of Steiner, its significance, potentials and shortcomings.
Keywords: Freedom, Knowledge, Political, Social, thinking
Logic and Critical Thinking: The Missing Link in Higher Education in Nigeria (Published)
Sustainable development and good living condition in the modern world are determined by people who possess more than normal reasoning abilities. The present Nigerian socio-political, economic and technological dilemma therefore results from the redundancy of mind paved by gross deficiency in logic and critical thinking competencies. This deficiency broadly stems from Nigerian poor educational system which has neglected acquisition of reflective and critical reasoning skills in theoretical and practical terms. This hampers critical competence, and results to irrational judgments, biased policies and dishonest governance. Consequently, problem solving and critical competence in various sectors of Nigerian existence have remained a mirage resulting to unsustainable development. This paper analytically investigates the meaning, cradle, essence, relevance and state of logic and critical thinking in Nigerian higher education and existence. The research finds that logic and critical thinking has been negligently relegated to one of those optional General Studies’ courses rarely needed to make up the required credit load. As such, not every department of education in Nigeria offers logic and critical thinking. This is coupled with the fact that in some Nigerian Higher Institutions, logic and critical thinking is managed by unqualified staff. The paper as well finds that knowledge of logic and critical thinking is indispensable in the daily human expressions, decisions, right choices and actions. For deficiency in reasoning skills paves way for errors, deceptions, violence and false democracy. The paper concludes that for Nigeria to initiate and sustain true democracy and development, logic and critical thinking should be centrally paramount in her education system because of its quality of impacting critical reasoning skills and competency in the students and citizenry.
Keywords: Critical, Development, Education, Logic, Study, thinking