UNFOLDING THE POTENTIALITY OF VIOLENCE: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL ENQUIRY

Agama Christian Sunday

Directorate of General Studies

Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria

Email: christianagama@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The constitutive ambiguities and paradoxical consequences that violent experiences impose on our attempt to understand violence and cope with violence proclaim that it has not been a bed of roses for man. His rare moments of peace and tranquillity have often been shattered by deadly strokes of violence. In order to approach an integrative potentiality of violence, this paper deems it necessary to first investigate phenomenologically the meaning and conceptions of violence as a point of departure. It will concentrate on recovering the subjective motives for violent actions and on understanding the perpetrator’s deviant point of view. It seeks further to investigate and question the justification therein the potentiality or rather the psychological insight into the causes of violence. The possibility of capturing other’s experience to oneself via phenomenological context shall be critically verified. Finally, the conclusion will be drawn by proffering some solutions to the problem in question.

Keywords:  Violence, Phenomenology, Rationality, Understanding, Potentiality