Title:   INTERROGATING HEGEL’S LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS AS FACTORS OF CHANGE INFEMI OSOFISAN’S NO MORE THE WASTED BREED

Abstract
Change as used in this paper is the reformulation and realignment of social
structures to achieve a new order. Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel was a German
philosopher and theorist whose idea of change is encapsulated in the dialectic.
Femi Osofisan is a Nigerian playwright whose idea of change is sustained by the
dialectic. However, while Hegel’s view of change through the dialectic is
idealistic, Osofisan’s conception of change through the dialectic is practical.
There are divergent views among scholars and critics regarding a more potent,
viable process of change, whether idealistic according to Hegel or practical
according to Osofisan. This paper establishes that both processes of change are
intricately interwoven, therefore can be reconciled. It also demonstrates that
both processes of change can be understood in their reciprocal alignment. The
change which takes place in Osofisan’s No More the Wasted Breed is
subliminally embedded in the three stages of Hegel’s Consciousness, Sense-
Certainty, Perception and Force & Understanding. In utilizing the rich potential
of Hegel’s dialectic, the paper portrays that all the characters in the play
embody the attributes of Hegel’s Consciousness in accordance with the roles
assigned to them by the playwright. Given that the characters’ experiences are
mediated by the three stages of Hegel’s Consciousness as mentioned above,
they become agents of change to a degree which informs their social and
economic awareness. In this way, this paper proves that both Hegel and
Osofisan’s methods of change provide a unified paradigm for the
understanding and appreciation of change.
Key words: Change, Dialectic, Sense-Certainty, Perception, Force &
Understanding

Citations:

Publication Date: 2022-08-06