The Western Concept of Individualism and Society Encounters Ghana: A Social Philosophical Perspective

A SOCIAL PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE

Copyright © 2018 Rev. Dr. John Doe Dormah.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-5857-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-5858-5 (e)

iUniverse rev. date: 10/09/2018

CONTENTS

Preface

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Introduction

CHAPTER ONE

THE EMPOWERMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL BY WESTERN PHILOSOPHY FROM LATE ANTIQUITY TILL DATE

1.0. Introduction

1.1. Late Antiquity

1.2. Medieval Period

1.3. The Renaissance

1.4. The Reformation

1.5. The ¹⁶th And ¹⁷th Centuries

1.6. The ¹⁸th-Century Enlightenment

1.7. The Period after Enlightenment

Conclusion

CHAPTER TWO

THE CONCEPT OF INDIVIDUALISM IN SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY

2.0. Introduction

2.1. Conceptual Definition of Individualism

2.1.1. Emergence of Individualism

2.1.2. What Individualism Is Not

2.1.3. Features of Individualism

2.2. Individual and Civic Society

2.2.1. The Social Contract Theory

2.2.1.1. Thomas Hobbes

2.2.1.2. John Locke

2.2.1.3. Rousseau

2.3. The Individual and Economy

2.4. Individual and Morality

2.5. Observation

Conclusion

CHAPTER THREE

THE TRIBAL SYSTEM IN GHANA AND THE INDIVIDUAL

3.0. Introduction

3.1. Ghanaian Traditional Concept of the Individual

3.2. Community and the individual

3.2.1. Clan

3.2.2. The family

3.2.3. Religion

3.2.3.1. The Supreme Being

3.2.3.2. Lesser gods

3.2.3.3. Ancestors

3.2.3.4. Charms and Amulets

3.2.4. Features of the Tribal system

3.3.1 The Community and the Individual

3.3.2. Political status of the Individual

3.3.3. Economic Status

3.4. Morality and the Individual

3.5. Short Comings

Conclusion

CHAPTER FOUR

THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE WEST

4.0 Introduction

4.1. Trade

4.1.1. Trade in Slave

4.1.2. Abolition of the Slave Trade

4.1.3. Legitimate Commerce

4.2. The Process of Colonization

4.2.1. Administration

4.2.2. Socio-Economic Policies

4.2.3. Educational Policies

4.3. Missionary Activities

4.4. Globalization

4.5. Effects of the Encounter in General

4.5.1. Positive Effects

4.5.2. Negative Effects

4.6. Impact of the encounter on the individual

4.6.1 Political sphere

4.6.2. Socio-economic Sphere

4.6.3. Religious Sphere

4.6.4. Intellectual sphere

Conclusion

CHAPTER FIVE

THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE GHANAIAN SOCIETY TODAY

5.0. Introduction

5.1. Crises Identity

5.2. Reactions

5.3. Defining the Individual in Ghana today

5.3.1. A Wink at Ghana

5.3.2. The Economy

5.3.3. Education

5.3.4. Health

5.3.5. Religions

5.4. The individual in Ghana today

Conclusion

General Conclusion

References

PREFACE

This work centres on how the western concept of individualism as a social philosophical thought system has, and continues to influence the individual in the Ghanaian society today. The work concentrates on the impact of this concept of the individual in his society in so far as social, political, economic, religious life are concerned. The ‘individual’ as it is conceived here is defined according to the definition of the new oxford dictionary, referring to the single human being distinct from a group, a class or family. This work brings into consideration the welfare of the individual which is being neglected in Ghana today. This is a piece which is recommended for all because it encompasses all there is to know about the individual and it brings out the real meaning of an individual.

DEDICATION

Dedicated to all who work hard for the individual to be valued and accepted in every society as a person.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him and he will act. (Ps. 37: 5)

I wish to express my largess of heart to Professor Dr. Erwin Bader of the department of Social Philosophy of the Faculty of Philosophy in the University of Vienna for his concern, support, understanding and inspiration. I am also grateful to Professor Franz Wimmer who inspired me a great deal with his articles on Africa. I am grateful to Dr Markus Riedenauer for his help. I am also grateful to Professor Dr. I. Gabriel and Dr. B. Taubald of the Social Ethic Department of the Faculty of Catholic Theology for their inspirations. My heartfelt gratitude goes to Bishop Francis A.K Lodonu for giving me the chance to further my studies. I wish to thank the Augustinian Chorherrenstift Klosterneurburg for their brotherly love and care. I am equally grateful to the Archdiocese of Vienna for giving me the chance to continue with my pastoral work alongside my studies. My appreciation also goes to the Austrian government for her scholarship for my studies. My special thanks also go to my mothers, Felicia and Susana, and Sr. Eugenia for their love and their moral support. I thank Dr. Streit, Madam Elisabeth Markus, Franz Nowak, Dr. Michael Okyerefo, Fr E. Mawusi, Fr Paul Agbodza and all those who in one way or other helped me in the course of my studies and have made this book a possibility. God bless you all.

INTRODUCTION

A quick look at the political, economic and social situation in our world today can easily show that Ideologies, theories, concepts, principles and so on, have not solved the world’s problems as expected. One gets the impression that these theories, concepts and principles meant to make life easy for the ordinary individual tend to benefit a cross section of the society at the expense of the other. What this work has set out to do is to look at how the western concept of individualism as a social philosophical thought system has, and continues to influence the individual in the Ghanaian society today. The work will concentrate on the impact of this concept of the individual in his society in so far as social, political, economic, religious life are concerned. Hence the thesis statement of this work is: The western social philosophical concept of individualism and society has and continues to influence the individual in the Ghanaian society today. How far is this statement tenable?

The ‘individual’ as it is conceived here is defined according to the definition of the new oxford dictionary¹, referring to the single human being distinct from a group, a class or family. That man, who, according to the etymology of the Latin word individuum is broken up as –in- not and dividuus –divisible, that is, cannot be divided. For Aristotle, the ordinary individual is ontologically basic, thus a rational animal, a substance differentiated from another only by accident. Alfred Adler in his individual psychology³ found the individual to be a self-consistent unity understood as a unity that brings together the various aspects of the individual - his thinking, feeling, acting in his conscious and unconscious, and in every expression of his personality. For him, we can understand the parts only through the total.

Looking at Ghana today, one can observe that the people are struggling day in day out in order to make ends meet. Even the seemingly rich are under pressure of some kind. The politicians are at their wits’ end. The traditional system of maintaining harmony is only struggling to survive. Society and its structures do not seem to take the welfare of the individual into consideration. Economic progress seems to be at the expense of the environment. Many people continue to experience in a rather extreme manner, economic hardships. Political power is no more at the service of the community. Money and wealth seem to be the only means by which one’s status in society is measured. The just watch in dismay how justice and fame are being commercialised. Moral values are at the verge of collapse. As social vice continues to rise, the people are becoming day in day out aggressive; many of them look frustrated and some have even resigned to fate.

Over the years, attempts have been made to rescue this deteriorating situation. Governments have been changed; programs have been drawn and redrawn to recover the economy and to rescue traditional values in order to give some hope and security to the individual. But the majority of Ghanaians live and continue to live in misery. They are without social security, good health services, hope for a good education and economic prosperity. As the former family security becomes threatened there is fear for the future, a kind of confusion; what happens to the aged migrate to the cities in search of white colour job. In the face of these situations, some scholars are calling for a return to the old system of simplicity. Others think development can only be effective from the western civilisation point of view. Where lies the remedy? Has individualism as a concept anything to offer or has it confused the individual Ghanaian as long as his membership of the society is concerned?

To reach a conclusion, the work will start with a dialectical development of the concept of the individual from late antiquity through the medieval period to the renaissance. It will continue with the 16th and 17th century’s developments to the 18th-century enlightenment and the period after enlightenment. The purpose of this chapter is to see the philosophy behind the individual as the most important object of nature. Chapter two will look at individualism as a philosophical concept and how the individual’s social, political, economic, religious life are affected. We shall then divert our attention to Ghana to see the concept of the individual, and its relationship to family life, society, economic prosperity, the transcendental, morality and life after death.

The next chapter will show how Ghana came into contact with the west, ending up in colonialism. Here, the impact of this encounter on the individual and his society will be discussed. The fifth chapters will look at the situation as it is today and what schools of thought or camps exist and the ideas that are being proposed to give value to the individual as a citizen of Ghana.

CHAPTER ONE

THE EMPOWERMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL BY WESTERN PHILOSOPHY FROM LATE ANTIQUITY TILL DATE

1.0. Introduction

It is clear that the desire of many scholars to understand human nature and make life better for the individual cannot be overemphasised. This has moved many scholars to devote their time in studying the individual. Among others one feels that he comes to know human nature through the character and conduct of other individuals he meets. Behind what they do one recognizes qualities that often are not surprising. Human beings are proud, sensitive, eager for recognition or admiration, often ambitious, hopeful or despondent, and selfish or capable of self-sacrifice. They take satisfaction in their achievements, feel guilty and are loyal or disloyal to mention but a few. Experience in dealing with and observing people gives rise to a conception of a predictable range of conduct. Conduct falling outside the range that is considered not to be worthy of an individual is frequently regarded as inhuman or bestial whereas that which is exceptional in that it lives up to standards, which most people recognize, but few achieve is regarded as superhuman or saintly. The common conception of human nature thus implicitly locates man on a scale of perfection, placing him somewhere above most animals but below angels.

Among others two sayings that have been adopted as mottoes by those who see themselves as engaged in philosophical study of the individual date from the 5th century BC. These are: Man is the measure of all things (Protagoras) and Know thyself (a saying from the Delphic oracle, echoed by Heraclitus and Socrates, among others). Both reflect a specific orientation of philosophical anthropology as humanism, which takes man as its starting point and treats man as the centre, or origin, on which all other disciplines ultimately depend. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1994-21)

What this chapter is out to consider is the dialectical empowerment of the individual by western philosophy over the centuries. We shall start by looking at how some of the classical Greek philosophers looked at how the individual emancipates from attributing everyday happing to the forces of nature to the use of reason. We shall then look at how the individual is seen in the medieval period, the renaissance, the reformation, the 16th and 17th centuries, the 18th-century Enlightenment and the period after enlightenment. The aim of this is to bring out in clear terms the efforts made over the years in stressing the individual as over and above every other thing, and also as the most important being without which nothing has worth.

1.1. Late Antiquity

Western philosophy is considered generally to have begun in ancient Greece. Philosophy among the Greeks slowly emerged out of religious awe into wonder about the principles and elements of the natural world. Eventually, cosmological speculation partly gave way to moral and political theorizing. As the Greek populations left the land to become concentrated in their cities, interest shifted from nature to social living and so questions of law and convention and civic values became paramount. Among other things, it is believed that the Ionian school made the initial radical step from mythological to scientific explanation of natural phenomena. Mythology is here understood to be a symbolic narrative usually of unknown origin and at least partly traditional, that apparently relates actual events associated with religious belief. It is distinguished from symbolic behaviour (cult, ritual) and symbolic places or objects (temples, icons). They are simply specific accounts of gods or superhuman beings involved in extraordinary events or circumstances in a time that is unspecified but which is understood as existing apart from ordinary human experience.

Ross Kelley L in his History of Philosophy under the topic The Origin of Philosophy: The Attributes of Mythic/Mythopoeic Thought (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1994-2001), explains that the way the Pre-philosophical individual thought could be characterized as mythopoeic, mythopoetic, or mythic thought. He went on to explain Mythopoeic to mean making and myth (mûthos) that is, stories about persons, where persons may be gods, heroes, or ordinary people. Differentiating myth from philosophy he identified that myths by their nature are conservative, not argumentative, allows for a multiplicity of explanations which are not logically exclusive. In other words they can contradict each other, and are often humorous. We identify the pre-philosophic individual as one that looked up almost solely to supernatural powers for solution to problems. He did that by means of stories; in other words myths, not founded on any scientific proof, but all the same important for his survival, because they gave him answers to questions he could not answer; they gave him security and maintained order and stability in the community. (Kelley L. Rose, 1946)

Rudolf Steiner, in his Individualism in Philosophy (Ruano Susana, n.d), thinks that the individual even at this pre-philosophic level wishes to stand at the topmost place in the world, however he does not dare to pronounce himself the pinnacle of creation. Therefore he invents gods in his own image and lets the world be ruled by them. He thinks that the religious person cannot set himself up as the lord of the world, but he does indeed determine, out of his own absolute power, the likes and dislikes of the ruler of the world. This explains why even though there are countless people who believe themselves governed by gods, there are none who do not independently, over the heads of the gods, judge what pleases or displeases these gods. Thus we can conclude that no matter how unclear the individual was at this time about his relationship to the world, he nevertheless seeks within himself the yardstick by which to measure all things. Out of a kind of unconscious feeling of sovereignty he decides on the absolute value of all happenings. It is worth mentioning that philosophy or reason did not set in to take the place of mythological thought. All it did was to find a reasonable or logical meaning to what the individual could not explain unless with the help of supernatural powers and myths. What we realise is that with philosophy the individual decided not to live in the chance proximity into which nature has placed him, hence he seeks to regulate the way he lives with others in accordance with his reason.

The transition from the mythological thinking into philosophical thinking is particularly interesting.