MACHAKOS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
CONQUERER GROUP
CRITICAL THINKING (UCU103)
PRESENTED TO: Dr. A.J.W MBITHI
MEMBERS

NAME | ADM NO | SIGN | ONDITIE JOSHUA EVANS | K99/1327/2014 | | BRENDER GECHEMBA ONGECHI | K99/3430/2014 | | PHILIP THUKU MWAURA | K46/1747/2014 | | MARTIN MAINA | K99/1731/2014 | | ELISHA KIMUTAI MURKOMEN | K99/2741/2014 | | JOSEPH NJUGUNA MACHARIA | K99/1302/2014 | | PETER NJOROGE NGUCHIE | K99/1746/2014 | | YEGO SANCTA KANGONGO | K99/1726/2014 | | NDIRANGU SIMON MWANGI | K99/1590/2014 | |

1. Focus on one philosopher discussed in class and their racial attitude towards Africa showing whether it is true or false * It is false; this is brought about by the German philosopher Wilhen Fredrick Hegel where he said that Africa is divided into THREE different parts namely; Egyptian Africa where there is philosophy and civilization, European Africa where there is philosophy, civilization and critical thinking and finally the is Africa proper where there is no philosophy, no critical thinking and no civilization. * Basing on Africa proper, just as viewed they is no philosophy, no critical thinking and no civilization, this is because geographical does not allow this. Not all Africa countries have acquired civilization and are critical and creative thinkers, thus Fredrick Hegel was correct regarding his views. * Being more precise, some Eastern African countries have been viewed to lack knowledge and critical thinking. This is categorized as follows; * Firstly, most Africa countries involves themselves in violence, the rebelling parties has taken advantages to make their fellow suffer by burning, raping, killing and kidnapping the old aged and young ones. If there was some kind of civilization, they would have solved their differences and engage in more productive activities rather than immorality as most of Europeans countries are involved. * Secondly, most Africa believes in myths which do not have any sense in philosophy. One need not believe in witchcraft and the religious practices which contribute no development at all. This is clearly seen in Tanzania where albinos are killed and their skins are taken for ritual purposes for one to acquire wealth which should not be practiced because it threatens lives of other people thus hindering development in Africa which is truth according to Hegel. * more so related to that, Africans have still put into consideration outdated customary practices which show no sense of knowledge in them; these practices includes; female circumcision which endangers their lives, traditional male circumcision by using tradition means. they use same knife to all males in the event which endangers their life due to spread of hiv/aids and also can cause death due to its painfulness yet there is advanced medical male circumcision. Africans still believe in polygamous marriage leading to unplanned births that makes them unable to sustain their children therefore leading to street children, dropping out of school and also engaging in early marriages due to unplanned future. this bring a bit of truth in Hegel findings * Corruption and other evil practices i.e. tribalism, nepotism have laid strong foundation within Africa countries. If there were civilized society these practices would have been discarded long time ago since they have made the country lose a lot of money that would have been used for development rather than sharing among leaders in spite of helping the need ones. * Moreover, African countries are still under colonalization by western countries. citing Kenya as an example, there is no civilization, no critical and creative thinking and philosophy. This is because they are lured by little money and they are ready to sell almost all the television frequencies to foreign countries. The leaders do not bear in mind the citizens’ should be given first priority. This has led to closure of the major television studios. If we were civilized, this would not have happened. * Lastly, African are normally concerned with what they can consume, wear and how to have copulation. This is captured so to say during election period. Most of Africans are easily given some amount of money which makes them not to elect able leader who can serve them effectively. This is seen when, after election, the elected leader have no ability to serve their subjects and thus citizens start asking for re-elections. This shows that Hegel findings were of truth. * Some of the Africa countries are not asleep as Hegel suggests thus he had false remarks. South Africa is leading in terms of development in Africa continent. In South Africa we have less conflict, corruption, outdated customary practices and spiritual myths that may hinder development hence we can conclude that there is philosophy, civilization and critical thinking in South Africa compared to other African countries.
2. Analyze the concept of how to know in the book THE APOLOGY and outline its relevance to religion * Apology is a document that was written by Socrates student called Plato and Xenophon about the so crate’s defense and later translated by Benjamin Jowett. Socrates lived between 469 and 399bc.he was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher who has been credited as one of the founder of western philosophy; despite being a philosopher he did not wrote anything possibly. Plato’s dialogues are the most comprehensive account of him that has survived from antiquity. Through his portrayal in Plato’s dialogue. Socrates has become renowned for his contribution the field of ethics and to the concept of Socratic irony and Socratic Method. It remains a commonly used tool in a wide range of discussion and it is a type of pedagogy in which questions are asked not only to draw individual answers, but also to encourage fundamental insight into the issue at hand. It informed the rise of critical and creative thinking as a subject or field of study. * First the novel begins by the claims from the accused where he says he cannot tell but he says he cannot tell but he know that their persuasive words almost made he forget who he was. Socrates was taken to the court and accused of committing evil but he defended himself that he was not guilty and he believed that the judges were deceived by the force of his eloquence and claims that he was saying the truth there for the court should set him free and said that he had never appeared before the court hence he should he regarded like a stranger but his request was not listened to Socrates had been accused of searching into things under the earth and heaven and making the worse appear the better cause; and he teaches the a foresaid doctrines to others; some of the accusation are; Socrates was going about saying that he can walk on the air and talking a deal nonsense concerning matters which he denied before the court calling proof the witches who finally burned against him. * On page six the writer gives out the explanation that the Socrates gave out so that he should be spared, he says all these accusation came a s a result of certain sort of wisdom which he possessed and does not know how they came to him. He believed that he was wisest and the therefore he was worthy of credit. He went on by giving some of the witness the god Delphi and Chaereph.He said that Chaereph went and asked Pythian he there was a wiser man than him and the answer was no.socrates made a step and went to one who had the reputation of wisdom and observed him, he was a politician who he selected for examination; he began to test him but he found that he really knew nothing as a result the politician hated him .he wandered all over and found higher philosophical pretensions, poets and all sort and found that they were not really wiser and better as they were bragging ,they were ignorant than even the inferior people whom they despite .he says that poets can talk more about their poem but not by wisdom do poets write their poem, but by a sort of genius and inspiration .they are like diviners or soothsayers who also say many fine things but do not understand the meaning of them .he further observed that upon the strength of the poetry they believed in themselves to be the wisest of men in other things in which they were not wise so this conceived him to be superior to them for the same reason that he was superior to the politician. * Another thing he went to the artisans where he thought they were wise than him but he found that they all fall in error the poets because they were good workmen they thought they knew all sort of high matters. This effects on them overshadows their wisdom and hence Socrates asked himself on behalf of oracle, whether he would like to be as he was neither having knowledge nor ignorance or like them in both. He then made answer for himself that he was better off as he was. Therefore Socrates found that these investigations led him having many enemies of the west and most dangerous kind, and has given occasion also to many calumnies and he is called wise and his hearers always imagine that he posses the wisdom which he find wanting in others but the truth is that god only is wise and in this oracle he means to say that the wisdom of men is little or nothing he is not speaking to Socrates and he is only using his name as an illustration as if he said. * Another thing is young men of richer classes, who have not much to do they come about him of their own accord. They like to hear the pretenders examined and they often imitate him others themselves .there are plenty of persons, as they soon enough discover ,who they think that they know little or nothing and then those who are examined by them instead of being angry with themselves are angry with him. Therefore they said he was misleaders of youths and if somebody asked them, why, what evil does he practice or teach?they do not know and cannot tell but in order that they may not appear to be at loss, they repeat the ready-made charges which are used against all philosophers about teaching things up in the cloud and under the earth, and having no gods, and making the worse appear the better case; for they do not like to confess that their pretence of knowledge has been detected which is the truth. * Socrates believed that an unexamined life is not living. He emphasized the need for the people to think through what they hold to be true and to lives informed by decisions clearly interrogated and known to be binding. He discovered that by a method of systematic probing questionings, people could not rationally, justify their confident claims to knowledge. Confused meanings, inadequate evidence, or self-contradictory beliefs often lurked beneath smooth but largely empty rhetoric .Socrates established the fact that one cannot depend upon those in authority to have sound knowledge and insight .he demonstrated that persons may have the power and high position and yet be deeply confused and irrational. He established the importance of asking deep questions that probe profoundly into thinking before we accept ideas as worthy of assumptions, analyzing basic concepts, and tracing out implications not only of what is said but of what is done as well. His method of questioning is now known as Socratic questing and is the best known to critical and creative thinking teaching strategy. In this mode of questioning Socrates highlighted the need in thinking for clarity, precision and logical consistency. * Socrates set the agenda for tradition of critical and creative thinking .to reflectively question common beliefs and explanations, carefully distinguishing those beliefs that are reasonable and logical from those which –however appealing they may be to our native egocentrism, however much they serve our vested interests, however comfortable or comforting they may be-lack adequate evidence or rational foundation to warrant our beliefs. * He clarifies matters Meletus: the name of those very god they were discussing;’ is it that I am teaching people to acknowledge some god-in which case it follows that I do acknowledge their existence myself as well, and am not complete atheist, hence am not guilty on the court- and yet that those gods are not guilty on that count and yet that those gods are not the ones acknowledged by the city, but different ones is that your charge against me-namely, that they are different? Or are you saying that I acknowledge no gods at all myself, and teach the same to others.’ he said that he acknowledge no god at all. * He also in his days, he went out seeking and searching into anyone believed to be wise, citizens or foreigner. In obedience to the god if he realized that someone was not wise, he assisted the god by proving that he is not. Because of the occupation, he had no time at all for any activities to speak of either in public affairs or his family life: indeed because of services to the god, he lived extreme poverty. * In his findings towards poets, he found that everyone present could speak better than poets themselves about their own composition. He realized the truth about them too; it was not from the wisdom they composed their works but from certain natural aptitude and inspiration, like that of seers and soothsayers.