Ideas, they say, rule the world. It is therefore vital that we examine and evaluate the ideas we live by. It is in line with this that the Philosophy Department of Saints Peter and Paul Major Seminary, Bodija, Ibadan, organises lectures on various philosophical issues. The event which is a statutory intellectual activity in the life of our Seminary was organized under the auspices of the Nigerian Major Seminary Association of Philosophy Students (NIMSAPS). The Inaugural departmental lecture, which was held on the 12^th of November, 2021, had Dr. Philip Edema, a lecturer in the philosophy department of the Seminary, as the speaker, and the event was moderated by Mr. Peter Ikhane, who is also a lecturer in the philosophy department of the Seminary. The topic for discussion was: Rethinking the Ideas of Individualism, Collective Responsibility and Unjust Indictment.”

In addressing the topic, the speaker, Dr. Edema, clarified the key concepts: Individualism, Collective Responsibility and Unjust Indictment, in the topic and highlighted the interplay between them. According to him, an individual is a being distinct from every other being, and it is the association of individuals that forms the collective. He further stated that the individual and the collective are philosophically argued to be agents capable of bearing responsibility. For instance, the individual is praise or blameworthy for his actions just as the collective (government) is also praise or blameworthy. This raises some questions like: who is to blame when something goes wrong? Is it the individual, who is part of the collective or is it the collective, which is made up of individuals?  What will be the just thing to do? On this subject, scholars differ in their perspective. For some, the individual is morally responsible and should be held responsible for his actions while others hold that it will be unfair to indict some specific people because all make up the collective. The speaker opined that both the individual and the collective must be responsible to each other in order to preserve fairness. The collective should form the individual and the individual should be responsible and be conscious that his actions have implications for the collective.

            After the talk was delivered, there was a session for contributions and questions to which the speaker provided answers. Gifts were presented to the speaker and the moderator. The closing remark was given by Rev. Fr. Stephen Ogbeiye, who pointed out that the essence of the lecture, which is to propagate knowledge and to stir up curiosity for further research, has been achieved. He remarked that individualism, which is the prevalent philosophy of the contemporary world, has implications for the social life. One cannot speak of collective responsibility without the individual, but the truth remains that if individuals are responsible, invariably, the community will be better. The president of the NIMSAPS body, Mr. Anyanwu Augustine, gave the vote of thanks, and the closing prayer was led by Mr. Iheanacho Vincent while the benediction was given by the Head of the Philosophy Department, Very Rev. Fr. Anselm Jimoh. It was indeed a memorable and enriching intellectual engagement.