TEACHING PHILOSOPHY OF THE GOOD LIFE WITH REFLECTIONS IN VIEWS OF AL-GHAZALI AND MACINTYRE ON VIRTUE AND ESSENCE FOR NIGERIA

Abstract

This research is borne out of the realization that corruption in public offices and in general life situations starts from examination malpractices. It was identified that examination malpractice is the root of all evils troubling Nigeria and so many other African nations; leading to indiscipline, moral decadence and failure of so many social institutions of the concerned nations. However, this itself, was traced to be an offshoot of putting much emphasis on paper qualification rather than what one can do with his/her talent in practical terms. This necessitated the idea of identifying with philosophy of the good life and how it could be taught, with reflections in views of Al-Ghazali and MacIntyre on the concepts of virtue and essence in Nigeria. The research argues that when reason and religious ethics as found to be complementary in this research are combined together the issue of weakness of the will to do the right thing (i.e. akrasia) will be reduced, and that people are more likely to move towards attaining the ultimate status of the good life.The research methodology is normative in design and employed the use of descriptive analyses of normative concepts with some prescriptions where necessary, using the reductionist style of logical atomism.The findings of the research showed that philosophy of the good life is a lifelong process that has to do with nurturing some qualities or virtues that lead their possessor to a life of sustainable happiness. Because not all forms of happiness are sustainable, some are momentary and wither away in the nick of time. To attain this disposition of sustainable happiness, this research from its findings, argues that the moral agent must complete a matrix of some virtues called the Good Life Matrix (GLM). The GLM entails the possession of and sustaining rationality, friendships, freedom, legitimate income, contentment and piety. The possession of some without the others will not yield a sustainable happiness. Virtue in the aretaic sense is not knowledge that can be stored or recalled whenever the need arises. However, what is undeniable is that virtue is a disposition that is nurtured, not given by nature. That is, it neither grows spontaneously in the individual nor is it inborn, but must be nursed and guided, either in a conditioned environment or in a company of the virtuous. Again, it was found that the good life matrix is an all-round phenomenon that affects all the social institutions of the society i.e. family, educational, religious, legal, political and economic social institutions of the society. However, the program designed for the GLM was only limited within the four walls of the school using the hidden curriculum. This is because the research is on education as a formal institution. The recommendations made include; formal institutions of primary, secondary, and tertiary together with national examination bodies should deploy effective strategies to manage all forms of examination misconduct. Stringent policies should be made and executed without fear of whoever is caught in the act of malpractices. Finally, parents should be enlightened by the school authorities through print and social media on the dangers of making their children to be desperate making them promises on coming first in their terminal examinations.