Moral Chains and Animal Agents: A Database-Driven Study of African Folktales
Augustine Farinola
Routledge Handbook of African Storytelling — Routledge
Abstract
This chapter employs corpus-driven computational methods to examine the moral architecture of African folktales, demonstrating that animal agents systematically encode normative frameworks around reciprocity, collective obligation, and transgression. Using a purpose-built database of folktale texts, the analysis reveals cross-regional patterns that challenge individualist moral theories derived from Western analytic ethics.
ONLINE RESOURCE
2026
Exploring Voyant Tools for Interdisciplinary Research in Africa
Augustine Farinola
Online Monograph
Abstract
An open-access practical monograph demonstrating how Voyant Tools can be adapted for interdisciplinary humanities and social science research across African language corpora, with worked examples from Yoruba, Hausa, and Swahili textual datasets.
Bridging Divides: Building an Open-Source RAG Chatbot for Canadian Immigration Data
Augustine Farinola
Bridging Divides Spring Research Retreat, Toronto Metropolitan University
Abstract
This poster presents IMRAG, an open-source retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) chatbot designed to make Canadian immigration policy documentation accessible to newcomers and researchers. The system indexes IRCC policy documents, parliamentary records, and community guidelines, enabling natural-language querying with cited government sources.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
2025
AI-Driven Textual Analysis to Decode Canadian Immigration Social Media Discourse
Farinola, A., Abu-Laban, Y., & Rockwell, G.
Digital Studies / Le champ numérique
Abstract
This paper applies large language model–assisted corpus analysis to a large-scale dataset of YouTube comments and Reddit threads concerning Canadian immigration policy (2019–2024). Combining topic modelling, sentiment classification, and close reading of high-frequency lexical patterns, we identify dominant discourse frames—including securitisation, economic utility, and humanitarian obligation—and track their temporal evolution relative to major policy announcements.
CONFERENCE PAPER
2025
The Voyant Consortium: Fostering Community, Engagement, and Collective Growth
Farinola, A., et al.
MSU Global Digital Humanities Symposium 2025, Michigan State University
Abstract
This paper introduces the Voyant Consortium as an international community of practice built around Voyant Tools, reporting on governance structure, multilingual translation initiatives, train-the-trainer hackathons, and early findings on adoption patterns across Global South institutions.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
2023
Hermeneutical Postphenomenology: Computational Tools and the Lure of Objectivity
Augustine Akintunde Farinola
Digital Scholarship in the Humanities, 38, Issue 3, pp. 1078–1087 — Oxford University Press / ADHO
Abstract
Argues that computational tools embed developer subjectivity and cannot guarantee objective literary interpretation. Proposes 'Hermeneutical Postphenomenology' — drawing on Don Ihde — as the appropriate critical framework for digital humanities methodologies.
Towards a Yoruba Indigenous Model of Communication for Software Development in Digital Humanities
Augustine Akintunde Farinola; Paul Akinmayowa Akin-Otiko
International Journal of Humanities and Arts Computing, Vol. 16, Issue 2, pp. 153–165 — Edinburgh University Press
Abstract
Argues that DH tools for African language studies must be redesigned to properly process African language data, and proposes a Yoruba-derived indigenous communication model for software development.
Facts Against Speculations: Understanding Patricia Churchland's Neurophilosophy
Augustine Akintunde Farinola
Humanities Commons
Abstract
A critical examination of Patricia Churchland's neurophilosophy, evaluating her eliminativist materialism and the claim that folk psychological concepts should be replaced by neuroscientific accounts.
Human and Virtual Reality Technology Relation: A Postphenomenological Analysis
Augustine Akintunde Farinola
Humanities Commons / Academia.edu
Abstract
Applies Ihde and Verbeek's postphenomenological framework to analyze the human–VR technology relation, examining how virtual reality mediates embodied experience and perception.
ONLINE RESOURCE
2020
Philip Kitcher's Pragmatic Naturalism: Human Conversation as the Only Ethical Authority
Augustine Akintunde Farinola
Humanities Commons / Academia.edu
Abstract
Analyses Kitcher's pragmatic naturalism and his view that ethical authority ultimately derives from democratic, inclusive human conversation rather than objective moral facts.
ONLINE RESOURCE
2020
Towards Scientific and Technological Consciousness: A Panacea for African Development
Augustine Akintunde Farinola
Humanities Commons — Network for Digital Humanities in Africa
Abstract
Argues that cultivating scientific and technological consciousness is essential for Africa's development, drawing on philosophy of science and technology studies.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
2017
Advances and Anomalies of Virtual Reality Technologies in Medicine
Augustine Akintunde Farinola; J.J. Unah
African Journal of Philosophy
Abstract
A philosophical analysis of the promises and limitations of virtual reality technologies in medical practice, examining epistemic and ethical dimensions of VR-assisted surgery, therapy, and training.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
2017
Proposing 'Anima Factoris' Criterion: A Critique of Pulmonary and Brain Death Criteria
Augustine Akintunde Farinola; J.J. Unah
Abstract
Introduces the 'Anima Factoris' criterion as an alternative philosophical framework for determining death, critiquing the prevailing pulmonary and brain death criteria in bioethics.
THESIS / DISSERTATION
2016
Subjectivity, Ontology, and the Problem of Time: A Philosophical Investigation
Augustine Farinola
MA Thesis, Obafemi Awolowo University — Obafemi Awolowo University
Abstract
Master's thesis examining the intersection of phenomenological subjectivity, ontological categories, and the problem of time across Husserl, Heidegger, and selected African philosophical traditions.
BOOK CHAPTER
2015
Human Conversation and the Evolution of Ethics in Kitcher's Pragmatic Naturalism
Augustine Farinola
The Ethics of Subjectivity: Perspectives since the Dawn of Modernity: 310-325 — Palgrave Macmillan
Abstract
This chapter situates Philip Kitcher's pragmatic naturalism within the broader debate on the evolution of morality, arguing that the capacity for human conversation—understood as normatively structured dialogue—is the primary mechanism through which ethical norms emerge, stabilize, and transform across generations. Drawing on Kitcher's account in The Ethical Project, the chapter challenges non-naturalist and divine-command alternatives while extending Kitcher's framework to address its reception in African philosophical traditions.
The Concept of Personhood in Yoruba Ontology: A Critical Analysis
Augustine Farinola
BA Thesis, Obafemi Awolowo University — Obafemi Awolowo University
Abstract
Undergraduate dissertation offering a critical reconstruction of Yoruba personhood (ènìyàn) in dialogue with Western analytic philosophy of mind, arguing for an irreducibly communitarian account of personal identity.