Doctrine of materialism, with reference to selected African conceptions of reality

Abstract

Materialism greatly influences paradigms of development in the world today. Yet, as an answer to the question of whether or not reality is a single substance or force, is less understood. Consequently, there is a need to examine and analyse this subject with the view of making it understandable. Materialism raises many questions, for example, who is a materialist? Why do materialist philosophers seem to differ in their teachings? What are the implications of materialism to human society? Why do materialists disregard incorporeal things? And, should human beings concentrate on matter and stop paying attention to incorporeal things? This study addresses these questions and issues by analysing materialist teachings in various epochs of Western philosophy, the views of scholars that defend incorporeal things, and lastly, the ideas of traditional Africans regarding what is ultimately real. After the examination and analysis, it is found out that materialism is basically a doctrine that takes reality to be made up of only one thing, matter. But because materialism attempts to answer a question of passionate interest that has no solid evidence, scholars subscribing to it tend to emphasise things characteristic of their times, societies, and civilizations. x Materialism shuts out incorporeal substances and because of this it is found out that it disregards explanations of phenomena founded on transcendental ideas. However, by disregarding spiritual things, the doctrine is found to be inadequate in answering certain key questions about nature, for example, how and where matter originated. Generally, the study answers many questions and makes several clarifications about materialism. This is done in six chapters. Chapter one is the introduction of the study. Hence the problem at hand, objectives, justification, methodology, conceptual framework, and hypotheses are given in this chapter. Chapter two focuses on materialism. Materialist teachings in three epochs of the history of Western Philosophy, namely, ancient, modern, and contemporary, are examined. This paves way for a definition of materialism, and the analysis of the implications of materialism to human society. What emerges in chapter two is that matter is central to the doctrine of materialism. A question that could not be ignored is what the concept, matter, is. This question is discussed in chapter three by looking at the conceptions of matter. In doing so, focus is, put on matter as taught and seen in the fields of philosophy and science. Xl Chapter four deals with incorporeal things, things that :are dismissed by materialism as either not existing. Reasons why beliefs in incorporeal things are widespread and why materialists dismiss them (incorporeal things) are examined. Specifically, three examples of incorporeal things, namely, God, mind, and soul, are singled out for examination. The biggest issue and question is, "Under what grounds can one say that these incorporeal things are real and do exist?" Several efforts by scholars to show that beliefs in these things are not in vain are examined. The theme in chapter five is African conceptions of reality. Five African thought systems, namely, Luba, Akan, Mende, Ashanti, and Banyarwanda are examined to give a picture of whether or not materialism is relevant to African worldview. The thought systems of the above mentioned communities as researched by various scholars are described and then compared and contrasted with materialism. Chapter six is the conclusion of the work. In this chapter, the findings are stated and an attempt is made to show that the aims of this study were achieved.