Cultural Philosophy: The Ideological Praxis of Development

Abstract

The paper underscores the relevance of a philosophy founded on the cultural heritage and identities of a people as a sine qua non for an all-round development in society. It illustrates that even the exploration of available material resources does not bring about development except there is in place an intellectual and philosophical structure of thought that put in proper perspective the relationship between the individual and society in various contexts of experience (including the availability of resources and how they are managed in relation to the needs of society). Also illustrated is how the availability of state-of-the-art technology could be antithetical to development in the absence of a well-articulated and human-centred system of thought in society. And such a system, for it to achieve the greatest desired effects, must take the spectrum of a people's cultural history into full cognizance. (J Cultural Studies: 2002 4(1): 56-78)