Group Mind in Anyiam-Osigwe’s Development Philosophy

Abstract

This work deals with the philosophical reflections of Emmanuel Onyechere Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe (1921-1988). He was a sage philosopher (a concept employed here in contradistinction to the term ‘professional philosopher’), whose philosophical reflections, apart from having metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical dimensions, address certain socio-political issues. An important idea in his corpus is subjected to critical interrogation in this paper. This is the idea of the group mind, a concept which is an embodiment of his reflections on how a group of people can develop institutions that can foster cooperative living. The idea further addresses how the individual can position himself for reorganisation of society by keying into social aspirations through adherence to norms, values and development of spirituality. The individual is to de-emphasise the self in relation to the others, and live the group’s vision. To achieve this, the individual is to through introspection, self-searching, self-analysis, self-awareness, and self-knowledge, gain access to their innate endowments and bring these to bear on group cohesion. In Nigeria’s case, lack of a sense of nationhood militates against patriotism and, in a democracy, denies the group a collective basis for holding politicians accountable for actions. There is, thus, the issue of distrust which makes consensus tough or nearly impossible. Anyiam-Osigwe’s notion of the group mind addresses this problem in Nigeria, if understood and applied.