| dc.description.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. | en_US |
