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Deep Thinking the Human Condition, Vol. 1, Chaps 1-4: New Ideas We Can't Do Without

S.A. Odunsi
Human Rethink (2008)
ISBN 9780615221731
Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (8/08)

When I first received “Deep Thinking the Human Condition:  New Ideas We Can’t Do Without - Vol.1, Chapters 1-4,” I must admit that I did not find the cover very appealing.  However, the old adage to not judge a book by its cover holds true in this case and I found Odunsi’s writing to be very thought provoking and informative.  As you can probably garner from the title, this book is not a light read but it is definitely an interesting one.

The four chapters contained in this Volume are “Changing the Level of Discourse,” The Power of Western Academia,” “The Failure of Social Science,” and “The Politics of Western Social Science, How Functionality Became a Taboo Subject in Academia.”  As stated in Chapter One, the “goal in this book is to take a fresh look at the problems of persistent economic development in the so-called Third World and pockets of persistent poverty on the developed countries.  Because these problems have always been with us, they are considered endemic and perceived in some quarters as either unsolvable or requiring an undetermined amount of time in order to successfully address.” (p.1) 

Odunsi claims that while the problems have been looked at, they have only been looked at superficially and that a closer look into these issues is necessary if any true change is going to come.  Contrary to what one might believe, all options have not been exhausted, the issue just needs to be looked at differently.  In order for these Persistently Underdeveloped Countries (PUCs) to succeed, we need to crack the surface and delve deeper for a solution. 

I found Odunsi to be extremely knowledgeable in the subject of which he writes and he presents very good arguments to support his beliefs.  I think that “Deep Thinking the Human Condition:  New Ideas We Can’t Do Without - Vol.1, Chapters 1-4” would make excellent required reading for any university level Social Science class as it breaks out of the traditional thought process of this field and encourages that more thought be put into why underdeveloped countries are the way they are and why traditional methods are not working to solve the problem.   

  

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