Philomena Aku Ojomo

Much of the contemporary discussion on Artificial Intelligence (AI)assumes that AI systems are ethically neutral tools whose moral significance depends largely on how human beings choose to design, deploy, regulate, or use them. This article challenges that assumption by arguing that AI should be understood not merely as a technological instrument but as a moral phenomenon. The central claim is that AI is already morally constituted before it is put to use because human values, assumptions, priorities, and judgments are embedded in its design, training data, algorithms, and modes of deployment. At the same time, AI increasingly shapes the environments within which human moral decisions are made, thereby influencing social practices, institutional processes, and patterns of human interaction. The study adopts a conceptual and philosophical approach, drawing particularly on Jean Jacques Rousseau's account of moral formation. Rousseau's insight that moral order emerges within humanly created social structures provides a useful framework for understanding AI as a system that is itself a product of collective human values and choices. Through a critical engagement with arguments for technological neutrality, alongside perspectives from philosophy of technology, information ethics, and algorithmic governance, the article demonstrates that AI cannot be separated from questions of morality. AI systems classify, predict, recommend, and make decisions in ways that embody normative assumptions and shape human understanding of the world. The article concludes that AI should be regarded as a morally saturated socio-technical infrastructure rather than a neutral computational tool. Recognising this shifts ethical inquiry beyond questions of external regulation toward a deeper examination of the moral constitution of AI itself. In doing so, the study contributes to ongoing debates in AI ethics and offers a framework for understanding the increasingly pervasive role of AI in contemporary society.

Cryonics is a controversial practice that involves preserving the body of a person who has been legally declared dead, with the hope that future medical science may be able to restore them to life. This raises important ethical questions about autonomy and human dignity, especially given the uncertainty surrounding its scientific practicability. This paper examines whether common ethical objections to cryonics, particularly those based on autonomy and dignity, are justified or not. The study adopts a qualitative philosophical approach based on conceptual analysis and normative ethical reasoning. It evaluates cryonics through established principles in bioethics, including informed consent, respect for persons, and human dignity. The analysis show that autonomy is not necessarily undermined in cryonics, since individuals may still make voluntary and informed decisions under conditions of uncertainty. It also shows that dignity is not automatically violated, as dignity can be understood not only in terms of bodily finality, but also as respect for individual values and choices. When cryonics is freely chosen and properly understood as speculative, the main ethical objections lose much of their force. The paper concludes that the autonomy and dignity problem in cryonics is largely self-resolved within a framework condition of informed voluntary choice and respect for persons. While cryonics remains scientifically uncertain, its ethical status depends more on the quality of decision-making than on guaranteed outcomes. This suggests that future ethical discussions should focus on refining consent and understanding long-term implications, rather than rejecting the practice outright.

Generally, insecurity in Nigeria is no longer news. This insecurity finds expression socially, politically, economically and physically. This paper, however, focuses on the threat to life and property that has become recurrent in recent times; especially earmarked by the recent cases of kidnapping, robbery, terrorism and genocide. Using the analytic and expository methods, findings show that an economic distributive injustice is a major factor contributing to the high rate of poverty and insecurity in the country today. The consciousness that everyone ought to fend for himself has left the vulnerable, the weak and the natural environment abandoned for decades. The result is what we are witnessing today– banditry, kidnapping for ransom, etc. However, the situation inadvertently reveals our interconnectedness in the society. The paper argues that the existential ethics of acknowledging and appreciating our interconnectedness with the ‘other is a moral sensitivity that can engender care for others, and reduce security challenges in Nigeria.

Tracing the historical roots of ecological crisis in the world, Lynn White claimed that much of the techno-scientific culture that ravenously exploits and depletes the environment was influenced by Judeo-Christian tradition. He specifically recalls the mandate by God in the book of Genesis that man should dominate and subdue the earth as the take-off point. Labelling Christianity as the most anthropocentric religion, he surmises that through ideological influence, Judeo-Christian tradition is a culprit in the environmental degradation that we witness today. However, further musings on the said Genesis account, in the light of other clarifying body of revelation,evinces that the idea of domination that connotes exploitation is an honest misinterpretation of the text. When God made everything, He commented that all He had created was good. Also, man was made in the image and likeness of God. Hence, it is expected that man ought to look at creation with the eyes of God and treat it with awe, reverence, and respect since it is all good. More so, God's chief attribute is love and this love is also extended to all living and non-living things; so it is hardly justifiable to say that God meant man to treat the environment without consideration for the intrinsic value of the environment. As we shall see, the idea of domination mentioned in Genesis is relatable to man's kingly role as a rational creature in the earth. But what is God's perspective of kingship? Two concepts suffice- stewardship and service. This paper therefore intends to reflect on the debate engendered by Lynn White, with the intention of giving an alternative interpretation to the subject matter and showing that if anything, the Judeo-Christian tradition rather contributes positively to environmental sustainability

In the wake of the current environmental crisis and its effect on life, there is a need for ideologies that can foster a reorientation that will possibly give the care for life and environment an obligatory status. One of such ideologies that seek to wake the consciousness of humans to this plight is Albert Schweitzer’s “reverence for life.” Schweitzer developed the groundwork for an environmental ethics encompassing several interloping themes such as the intrinsic value of all life, the unity of life, individual responsibility, and contextual moral decision-making. Schweitzer considers all life (human and non-human) to be equal and should not be destroyed. He further inferred that since the environment is the natural home for all life, it ought to be cared for so that it can fulfill its function of playing a good host to all life forms. Thus, he encourages a holistic interdependence between all life and nature. In spite of the several urgent sensitizations regarding environmental issues in recent times, we still witness severe challenges in these areas due to ignorance, greed, and selfishness. This is why Schweitzer’s theory becomes unique in its ability to draw our attention to how much we can either harm or do ourselves good, to the degree that will either manage or mismanage the environment. While his inability to satisfactorily justify the equality of all life forms makes his theory run into difficult challenges, this paper seeks to evince the relevance of Schweitzer’s reverence for life towards environmental sustainability.

Safeguarding our environment, which is home to both humans and nonhumans, is imperative to prevent widespread negative impact. The urgency for collaborative efforts to maintain the earth’s well-being is underscored by the escalating environmental crises worldwide. This paper posits that the environmental degradation we witness is significantly occasioned by capitalist practices that exploit both human and nonhuman entities. It critiques the classical free-market approach as insufficient for fostering environmental sustainability. In contrast, the paper advocates for “Earth-eco-socialism, a model it champions as conducive to harmonizing human-nature relations. This model diverges from the capitalist fixation on perpetual material growth and environmental exploitation, which undermines the potential for meaningful existence for many. Earth-eco-socialism is grounded in the conviction that development and social progress must address social issues and environmental challenges simultaneously, through legislation and democratic processes, without compromising human needs. This approach merges ethical considerations with ecological stewardship, promoting cooperative environmental management, flexible environmental legislation, and its rigorous enforcement. The conclusion underscores the imperative of embracing the Earth-eco-socialist framework for our interactions with nature and one another, as a pathway to achieving environmental sustainability.

Global concerns about the current environmental crisis have culminated in some controversial environmental ethical theories, among which are normative environmental ethics, sentientist ethics, biocentric ethics, ecocentric ethics and eco-feminist ethics. One of the underlying features connecting these environmental ethical theories is their grounding in Western perspectives and cultural experiences. Given that environmental concerns are global, and that the goal of environmental ethics is to address those concerns, critical explorations of environmental ethics need to go beyond the Western horizon. Nevertheless, very few African scholars have investigated the African people’s understanding of the current environmental crisis, and the African perspective on environmental ethics. However, Segun Ogungbemi and Godfrey Tangwa have pioneered philosophical discussions on environmental ethics from an African point of view. Ogungbemi defends what he calls “ethics of nature-relatedness”, while Tangwa proposes “eco-bio-communitarianism”. This paper is a contribution to the consolidation of an African orientation in environmental ethics through a critique and reconstruction of the African perspective on the environment as presented, separately, by Ogungbemi and Tangwa.

Global concerns about the current environmental crisis have culminated into some controversial environmental ethical theories, that is, normative environmental ethics, sentientist ethics, biocentric ethics, ecocentric ethics and eco-feminist ethics. One of the fundamental underlying features connecting these environmental ethical theories is their grounding in Western perspectives and cultural experiences. Given that environmental concerns are global concerns, and that the imperative of environmental ethics is challenging those life-threatening concerns, critical explorations of environmental ethics need to go beyond the Western horizon. But with respect to the African perspective to environmental ethics and the people’s cultural understanding of the environmental crisis, little has been done in this penultimate area. However, Segun Ogungbemi and Godfrey Tangwa have pioneered philosophical discussions on environmental ethics from an African vantage point. Hence, Ogungbemi defends what he calls “ethics of nature-relatedness,” while Tangwa proposes “ecobio-communitarianism” as a definitive theory of an African orientation to environmental ethics. This paper is therefore a contribution to the consolidation of an African orientation to environmental ethics through a critique and reconstruction of some of the misrepresentations of the African perspective to the environment, implicit in the arguments of Ogungbemi and Tangwa.

In a bid to address the pit falls of earlier ethical traditions and to their extremes of absolutism and legalism, Joseph Fletcher advances what he claims to be a balanced position known as situation ethics. Fletcher's situation ethics is claims to be a unique type of ethical tradition known as situationism, based on love. According to Fletcher, every moral circumstance is peculiar and requires flexibility of moral judgement according to the ultimate principle of love. To clarify his position, he presents the example of one Mrs. Bergmeier, who out of love and a desire to be reunited with her family, convinced a prison guard to commit sexual immorality with her which resulted in pregnancy, since being pregnant was the considerable option for leaving prison. The moral, issue is whether Mrs. Bergmeier is guilty of immoral act. Fletcher holds the position that since the act was out love, she should not be adjudged immoral. Fletcher's theory has been criticized over time. Firstly, critics often point out apparent contradictions between Fletcher's situation ethics and Christian morality which Fletcher claims to profess and practice. Secondly, Fletcher fails to fulfill his primary goal of justifying situation ethics as the balance between legalism and antinomianism. By making love the ultimate principle and being unable to properly define what love is, his ethics tends to be more legalistic and antinomian than situational. Thirdly, following the principle of love in all moral contexts as proposed by Fletcher could lead to certain complications and absurdities. Despite these seemingly valid criticisms, this research aims to reveal how Fletcher's situation ethics, hinged on a sacrificial understanding of love, can be applied in a world that is fast becoming oppressive. Situationism can be likened to healing balm for a world characterized by poverty, oppression, domination, and disregard for the rights of man.

Electronic waste (e-waste) poses an escalating threat to both human and environmental health in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos State, which has become a major hub for the accumulation and informal processing of used electronics. This paper investigates the structural drivers, health risks, and governance failures surrounding e-waste in Lagos and proposes an ethical alternative grounded in Earth-Eco-Socialism. Using a critical, qualitative literature review approach, the study synthesizes findings across environmental science, public health, and political economy. It reveals how poverty, global trade imbalances, and inadequate regulation perpetuate a cycle of pollution and inequality. The analysis shows that Lagos’s e-waste crisis disproportionately harms marginalized communities and ecosystems. By applying an Earth-Eco-Socialist framework that blends eco-socialist critique with communal ethics and recognition of nature’s intrinsic value, the paper outlines justice-centered strategies such as cooperative waste management, global corporate accountability, and participatory environmental governance. The study concludes that Earth-Eco-Socialism offers a holistic, morally grounded approach to sustainable e-waste solutions in the Global South.

This chapter argues that while Aldo Leopold’s land ethic opens a new vista for understanding the complexities of human-nature interrelatedness, his view has not satisfactorily dealt with some germane aspects of environmental problems in Africa. The chapter considers some important problems in environmental degradation in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria, West Africa, which cannot be adequately addressed using Leopold’s land ethic as a theoretical foil or normative principle of action. Although Leopold correctly identifies ignorance as one of the problems of land-use, this chapter argues that the economic structure of society is a key determinant to how humans treat the natural environment. Against the view that Africanizing Leopoldian land ethic wholesomely is viable, this chapter proposes earth-eco-socialist theory as a way of improving the land ethic for contextual relevance in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. Earth-eco-socialism is defended as a more robust and serviceable ethical paradigm for confronting environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, and the world by extension.