SOURCE:

Faculty: Arts
Department: Department Of Philosophy

CONTRIBUTORS:

Agama, C. S.
Ogugua, P;

ABSTRACT:

Maurice Merleau-Ponty has argued that society is created by violence and exists continually through violence. The basis of society is in other words terror. As such, society can only be changed by violence – a revolutionary violence. The task of this dissertation is to make a critical study of Merleau-Ponty’s political thought and investigate its praxis within the Nigerian body-politic as it exists today. The tenets of his political philosophy however, will be exposed by making an assessment of his early and late political thought as it affects his conceptualizations of violence and liberalism. His theory on violence and the place of violence in Nigeria will be juxtaposed and examined. The argument of this essay is that: his first and later ideas reveal a certain lack of consistency and dishonesty as his later work on politics contradicts his earlier thought; his socio-political materialist critique though embraces progressive (revolutionary) violence and liberalism, the problem of violence cannot be solved as our society today does not need violence of any kind; his political thought on violence in concert with the on going violence in Nigeria will not only affect the victims but also become an endemic illness of civilization which has the effect of shattering the social network that makes us human; and above all, “humane-democracy” should be practicalized. The kind that will go a long way to avoid any political violence bu willt embrace mutual cooperation, peace and life-fulfillment for individuals.

















Maurice Merleau-Ponty has argued that society is created by violence and exists continually through violence. The basis of society is in other words terror. As such, society can only be changed by violence – a revolutionary violence. The task of this dissertation is to make a critical study of Merleau-Ponty’s political thought and investigate its praxis within the Nigerian body-politic as it exists today. The tenets of his political philosophy however, will be exposed by making an assessment of his early and late political thought as it affects his conceptualizations of violence and liberalism. His theory on violence and the place of violence in Nigeria will be juxtaposed and examined. The argument of this essay is that: his first and later ideas reveal a certain lack of consistency and dishonesty as his later work on politics contradicts his earlier thought; his socio-political materialist critique though embraces progressive (revolutionary) violence and liberalism, the problem of violence cannot be solved as our society today does not need violence of any kind; his political thought on violence in concert with the on going violence in Nigeria will not only affect the victims but also become an endemic illness of civilization which has the effect of shattering the social network that makes us human; and above all, “humane-democracy” should be practicalized. The kind that will go a long way to avoid any political violence bu willt embrace mutual cooperation, peace and life-fulfillment for individuals.



















Maurice Merleau-Ponty has argued that society is created by violence and exists continually through violence. The basis of society is in other words terror. As such, society can only be changed by violence – a revolutionary violence. The task of this dissertation is to make a critical study of Merleau-Ponty’s political thought and investigate its praxis within the Nigerian body-politic as it exists today. The tenets of his political philosophy however, will be exposed by making an assessment of his early and late political thought as it affects his conceptualizations of violence and liberalism. His theory on violence and the place of violence in Nigeria will be juxtaposed and examined. The argument of this essay is that: his first and later ideas reveal a certain lack of consistency and dishonesty as his later work on politics contradicts his earlier thought; his socio-political materialist critique though embraces progressive (revolutionary) violence and liberalism, the problem of violence cannot be solved as our society today does not need violence of any kind; his political thought on violence in concert with the on going violence in Nigeria will not only affect the victims but also become an endemic illness of civilization which has the effect of shattering the social network that makes us human; and above all, “humane-democracy” should be practicalized. The kind that will go a long way to avoid any political violence bu willt embrace mutual cooperation, peace and life-fulfillment for individuals.






















Maurice Merleau-Ponty has argued that society is created by violence and exists continually through violence. The basis of society is in other words terror. As such, society can only be changed by violence – a revolutionary violence. The task of this dissertation is to make a critical study of Merleau-Ponty’s political thought and investigate its praxis within the Nigerian body-politic as it exists today. The tenets of his political philosophy however, will be exposed by making an assessment of his early and late political thought as it affects his conceptualizations of violence and liberalism. His theory on violence and the place of violence in Nigeria will be juxtaposed and examined. The argument of this essay is that: his first and later ideas reveal a certain lack of consistency and dishonesty as his later work on politics contradicts his earlier thought; his socio-political materialist critique though embraces progressive (revolutionary) violence and liberalism, the problem of violence cannot be solved as our society today does not need violence of any kind; his political thought on violence in concert with the on going violence in Nigeria will not only affect the victims but also become an endemic illness of civilization which has the effect of shattering the social network that makes us human; and above all, “humane-democracy” should be practicalized. The kind that will go a long way to avoid any political violence bu willt embrace mutual cooperation, peace and life-fulfillment for individuals.


















Maurice Merleau-Ponty has argued that society is created by violence and exists continually through violence. The basis of society is in other words terror. As such, society can only be changed by violence – a revolutionary violence. The task of this dissertation is to make a critical study of Merleau-Ponty’s political thought and investigate its praxis within the Nigerian body-politic as it exists today. The tenets of his political philosophy however, will be exposed by making an assessment of his early and late political thought as it affects his conceptualizations of violence and liberalism. His theory on violence and the place of violence in Nigeria will be juxtaposed and examined. The argument of this essay is that: his first and later ideas reveal a certain lack of consistency and dishonesty as his later work on politics contradicts his earlier thought; his socio-political materialist critique though embraces progressive (revolutionary) violence and liberalism, the problem of violence cannot be solved as our society today does not need violence of any kind; his political thought on violence in concert with the on going violence in Nigeria will not only affect the victims but also become an endemic illness of civilization which has the effect of shattering the social network that makes us human; and above all, “humane-democracy” should be practicalized. The kind that will go a long way to avoid any political violence bu willt embrace mutual cooperation, peace and life-fulfillment for individuals.