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Can virtue be unified? An Aristotelian justification on “unity of virtue” South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2024-02-29 Manik Konch
This article explores two contrasting theories of virtue ethics, namely the unity theory of virtue and the disunity theory of virtue. The unity thesis asserts that virtues are unified in some sense...
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Authentic freedom as participation in being in the philosophy of Gabriel Marcel South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2024-02-07 Cyril Emeka Ejike
The aim of this article is to argue that Marcel’s idea of freedom as participation in being is what constitutes authentic freedom and existence. A “pessimistic” existentialist, Sartre conceives of ...
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‘Blessed are the breadmakers … ’: Sociophobia, digital society and the enduring relevance of technological determinism South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2024-02-05 Gregory Morgan Swer
Technological determinism, as a position on the nature and effects of technology/ technologies can be divided into optimistic and critical forms. The optimistic variety, of which contemporary cyber...
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Can gangs be a source of ubuntu in prison? South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2024-02-05 S. A. Shabangu
This paper considers the African communal ethic of Ubuntu as it is understood in the South African context. Its background and context and the various interpretations of this lived ethic in society...
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Knowledge work compulsion: The neoliberal mediation of working existence in the network society South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2024-02-05 A. B. Hofmeyr
This contribution seeks to understand the pervasive phenomenon of work compulsion among knowledge workers in our present network society. Knowledge workers not only have to work all the time from a...
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The fourth ecology: Hikikomori, depressive hedonia and algorithmic ubiquity South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2024-02-05 Chantelle Gray, Aragorn Eloff
In this article we expand upon the conceptual framework of Félix Guattari’s 1989 essay, The Three Ecologies. Here Guattari examines changes in subjectivity that have come about due to scientific an...
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Existence as first philosophy South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2024-02-05 Darryl Wardle
The philosophical contemplation of “first philosophy” is as old as Western philosophy itself, and yet “first philosophy” is often eschewed in contemporary philosophical thought. This is because att...
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God and suffering in Africa: An exploration in natural theology and philosophy of religion South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2024-02-05 Patrick O. Aleke
Published in South African Journal of Philosophy (Vol. 42, No. 4, 2023)
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On the fundamental incompatibility between wildlife conservation and animal ethics South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2024-02-05 Carla Turner
Wildlife conservation aims to protect the natural world, plant and animal species, and the habitats they form part of and rely on for survival. More particularly, it focuses on species that are con...
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The relevance of first-generation Critical Theory in the digital era of new social media South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2024-02-05 Mark Jacob Amiradakis
Is the first generation of Critical Theory still relevant to an analysis of the technocentric nature of contemporary society – particularly its digitally based mediums of interaction and communicat...
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Would a transhuman be free, determined or both? The metaphysical aspect of the Botho perspective South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2024-02-05 Doreen Sesiro
This paper explores the consequences of transhumanism on free will based on the metaphysical aspect of the Botho perspective. Botho is an indigenous philosophy, prominent in Botswana, that expresse...
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Feminism and women in African philosophy South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-12-16 Edwin Etieyibo, Pedro Tabensky
In this preamble, we highlight some of the more recent work on gender and sexuality in African philosophy. We do this as a way of introducing the special issue on “African Philosophy, Women, and Fe...
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Indigenous culture and the decolonisation of feminist thought in Africa South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-12-16 Aderonke Ajiboro, Edwin Etieyibo
The existence of current feminist thought in Africa is tainted by colonialism. Colonial and postcolonial anthropological thought and Eurocentric scholarship have misrepresented Africa as a society ...
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Understanding gender identities in an African communitarian world view South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-12-16 Vitumbiko Nyirenda, Simphiwe Sesanti
In African philosophical literature, and especially in Afro-communitarianism, there are discussions about the value of the relationship an individual has with her respective community. By community...
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The cultural distortion of the African world view and the subordination of women in ‘postcolonial’ African societies South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-12-16 Ebbah Dube
The purpose of this article is to bring to light a critical question which borders around the decolonial feminism discourse, and in so doing I unveil some salient insights which add valuable contri...
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Igbo values and women South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-12-16 Onyinye Patricia Emua, Edwin Etieyibo
This article discusses some of the core values among the Igbos. This is done partly as a way of showing the way in which these values play out both in gender relations in and highlighting the way w...
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bell hooks’ feminist, and ancient Egypt’s philosophy of education for an enabling Afrocentric education South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-12-16 Simphiwe Sesanti
In 2021, bell hooks, an African-American anti-colonial education and feminist educator, passed on. hooks’ passing coincided with the 40th publication anniversary of her book, Ain’t I a woman: Black...
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Gender relations and social justice in Africa: Toward a duty-based approach to gender-based violence South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-12-16 Abiodun Paul Afolabi, Edwin Etieyibo
A large and important part of social relations is gender relations between men and women. Over time, the manifestation of such relations has often been one of violence, particularly violence agains...
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Non-binary gender in African personhood? South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-12-16 Julia Huysamer, Louise du Toit
A case has been made by various authors that the normative and processual notion of personhood found in African philosophy is discriminatory: it has been labelled as sexist, ableist and anti-queer....
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Decolonising philosophical analysis: In defence of “ethnolysis” South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-11-13 Babalola Joseph Balogun
Analysis has always been a core part of humanistic studies. In the domain of philosophical research, where it has assumed a larger-than-life status in the analytic tradition, analysis is a methodol...
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Knowledge and society: A comprehensive approach to social epistemology South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-11-13 Chrysogonus M. Okwenna
This article proposes an alternative approach to social epistemology – a comprehensive approach. It argues that the dominant approaches to social epistemology, which it identifies as communitarian ...
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Folk psychology without metaphysics: An expressivist approach South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-11-13 Víctor Fernández Castro
In recent years, there has been a renewed concern about the dangers of eliminative materialism, as well as several attempts to discuss alternative positions such as new versions of interpretivism o...
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Astral legal justice: Between law’s poetry and justice’s dance South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-09-19 Joshua M. Hall
In this article, I build on my recent conceptions of law as poetry and of justice as dance by articulating three new conceptions of the relationship between law and justice. In the first, “poetry-b...
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Scepticism in African philosophy: A conversation with Jonathan Chimakonam on the notion of “arumaristics” South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-09-19 Maduka Enyimba
The significance of scepticism for philosophical inquiry appears to have been well articulated by epistemologists in diverse forms, but none to the best of my knowledge has shown its place and sign...
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The post-death question in African metaphysics: Engaging Attoe on death and life’s meaning South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-09-19 Tosin Adeate
Aribiah Attoe took issue with the materialist and the non-materialist African conceptions of death by arguing that the reality of death puts pressure on the human conception of life’s meaning. He a...
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Regrettable experiences and the affirmation of life South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-09-19 Roger G. López
My theme in this essay is the relation of misfortune – and other occasions for regret – to the affirmation of life. R. Jay Wallace believes there is an antagonistic relation that produces a schism ...
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On thinking about interpersonal violence and the impotence of force South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-08-24 Charla Smith, Louise du Toit
We argue that the problem of violence persists, to a certain degree, because of our refusal or inability to think about traumatic, difficult or “senseless” material systematically. We explore the connection between thinking and violence, and specifically Arendt’s question whether thinking can make men abstain from violence. We are interested in the relationship and tension between knowing and not knowing
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Divine violence as non-violent violence: A critique of Judith Butler South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-08-11 Hayden Weaver
The question of violence and how society can emancipate oneself from it has occupied many philosophers. Walter Benjamin attempted to answer this question in 1920 through the notion of divine violence. This idea has recently been resurrected by philosophers such as Jacques Derrida, Jürgen Habermas, Slavoj Žižek and Judith Butler. Divine violence is turned to as a means of emancipating society from systemic
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Privilege: A critical inquiry South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-08-11 Chaitanya Joshi, Sushruth Ravish
The word “privilege” has become a part of our everyday conversations. However, it is not evident whether the various interlocutors in discussions on privilege are using it in the same sense. While different instances of privilege like white, male, or caste privilege have been discussed in contemporary academic discourses, we believe there is a lack of clarity regarding the notion of privilege. We critically
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Life, death and commodification: Fear of death in the work of Adam Smith South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-08-11 Mark Rathbone
The purpose of this article is to analyse Adam Smith’s view of death in The Theory of Moral Sentiments for commercial society to determine whether the current commodification of goods (e.g. pharmaceuticals) and services (e.g. cryogenics) to assist people to deal with the fear of death was what Smith envisioned for meaningful existence and to find out what he proposed as a means to manage the fear of
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Predeterminism as a category error: Why Aribiah Attoe got it wrong South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-08-11 Patrick Effiong Ben
I aim to establish in this article why Aribiah Attoe, like other determinists before him, got it wrong in arguing for the possibility of predeterminism in a materially evolving universe. I will do this by proving two things: I will first establish the inconsistency of the idea of predeterminism in an evolving universe. Then, I argue that the adirectionality presupposed by an evolutionary universe gives
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Editor’s introduction South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-07-21 Motsamai Molefe
Published in South African Journal of Philosophy (Vol. 41, No. 4, 2022)
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Are Igbo (African) thoughts on death Heideggerian? Some critical insights South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-07-03 Donald Mark C. Ude
This article primarily sets out to investigate whether Igbo (African) thoughts on death might be considered Heideggerian or not. It does so by analysing and juxtaposing five key elements of Heidegger’s existentialist analysis of Dasein’s death with some important features of Igbo (African) thoughts on death. This is aimed at challenging an identifiable attempt by scholars like Chukwuelobe and Onwuanibe
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Measuring context-specific collectivism: The Metzian Ubuntu Inventory South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-07-03 Aïda C. Terblanché-Greeff, Petrus Nel
Cultural values are often used to categorise groups, e.g. individualism versus collectivism. Often when cultural values are measured, etic scales are used without giving attention to cultural value nuances, e.g. different types of collectivism. An example of a nuanced cultural value is found in the interpretation of ubuntu as a context-specific presentation of collectivism in South Africa. In this
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In defence of Churchland-style eliminative materialism: Objections and replies South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-07-03 Serdal Tümkaya
The Churchlands are notorious for their theory of eliminative materialism (EM). This theory has become associated with scientism and a possible death of philosophy. In this article, I will closely examine the most common accusations made against EM and try to give an overall assessment of them. The conclusion is that EM survives most of the criticisms levelled against it. For sure, there are many things
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Contracts and computers South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-07-03 Damon Mackett
This article explores a new form of epistemic injustice related to computers and data mining in our interconnected world. I argue that data mining, as it is currently practiced, not only perpetuates but also contributes to a moral injustice primarily driven by economic factors. By employing Gaile Pohlhaus’s theoretical framework, the paper establishes criteria that classify data mining as a form of
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Abolish legal marriage: An anti-vulnerability approach to relationship regulation South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-07-03 Kayleigh Timmer
The institution of marriage makes women vulnerable, as does being unmarried in a society that idealises marriage as the norm. It is argued that the use of civil unions as an alternative to legal marriage does not protect women from this vulnerability, and nor do proposed reforms to the institution. The institution of legal marriage therefore must be abolished. A hybrid of Clare Chambers’ piecemeal
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Can impatience be virtuous? South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-07-03 Yotam Benziman
Suppose that Linda, Brian’s partner, is on a business trip. Brian cannot wait for her to come home. It would be plausible to construe his attitude as impatience, and claim that it is called for in this type of situation. But if this is indeed the case, then patience is uncalled for. However, it seems that patience cannot be uncalled for, as it is considered a virtue. So goes the common expression,
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Epistemic injustice and colonisation South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-07-03 Abraham Tobi
As a site of colonial conquest, sub-Saharan Africa has experienced colonialism’s historic and continuing harms. One of the aspects of this harm is epistemic. In the analytic philosophical tradition, this harm can partly be theorised in line with the literature on epistemic injustice, although it does not fit squarely. I show this by arguing for what can be understood as a colonial state’s specific
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“The end of ubuntu”: An extension of Matolino's scepticism South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-02-28 Tosin Adeate
In a joint article1 with Wenceslaus Kwindingwi, Bernard Matolino declared an end to ubuntu. The declaration, they argue, is a result of the failure of ubuntu in practice and theory in modern African societies. This declaration triggered strong reactions, and an analysis of these responses suggests the need for continuous interrogations of African ideals and beliefs and their relevance to modern African
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“The end of ubuntu”: An extension of Matolino’s scepticism South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2023-02-28 Tosin Adeate
In a joint article1 with Wenceslaus Kwindingwi, Bernard Matolino declared an end to ubuntu. The declaration, they argue, is a result of the failure of ubuntu in practice and theory in modern African societies. This declaration triggered strong reactions, and an analysis of these responses suggests the need for continuous interrogations of African ideals and beliefs and their relevance to modern African
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Afropolitanism and the search for identity in Africa South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-12-19 Emmanuel Odenigbo
The search for identity is at the core of African political philosophy. This has moved from its essentialist enclave to recent calls for cosmopolitanism or Afropolitanism in the African context. This article takes a critical look at Afropolitanism. While it accepts that Afropolitanism is important because of the nature of modern society, it queries Afropolitanism in the context of the peculiar nature
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Gaia and ontotheology – Latour, Heidegger and the debate with phenomenology South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-12-19 Joeri Schrijvers
This essay joins the ongoing conversation comparing the thought of Bruno Latour to Martin Heidegger’s philosophy of technology in particular and the phenomenological tradition in general. The article queries whether or not there is a metaphysics at work in Latour’s philosophy and, if so, whether this metaphysics would be at a sufficient distance from what Heidegger labelled as ontotheology, “grasping”
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Self model and selflessness South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-12-19 Hari Narayanan V
This article argues that there is no performative self-contradiction involved in reports of selfless consciousness, at least in the non-pathological sense of the term. This is because what is central to the experience of selfless consciousness is a different kind of relation of the self with the rest of the world and, therefore, it is not a case of dissolution or decimation of the self. Such an understanding
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The paradox of denial and mystification of machine intelligence in the Chinese room South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-09-29 Fatai Asodun
Two critical questions spun the web of the Turing test debate. First, can an appropriately programmed machine pass the Turing test? Second, is passing the test by such a machine, ipso facto, considered proof that it is intelligent and hence “minded”? While the first question is technological, the second is purely philosophical. Focusing on the second question, this article interrogates the implication
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Decoloniality and the (im)possibility of an African feminist philosophy South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-09-29 Dominic Griffiths
This article offers a prolegomenon for an African feminist philosophy. The prompt for this as an interrogation of Oluwele’s claim that an African feminist philosophy cannot develop until identifiable African worldviews that guide the relationship between men and women have been established. She argues that until there is general agreement about the nature of African philosophy itself, African feminist
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African relational ontology, personhood and immutability South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-09-29 Luis Cordeiro-Rodrigues
In the Western theist tradition, the conception of a person tends to be understood as an intrinsic property. Hence, the classification of someone as a person does not depend on relational aspects of that person. From this, Western theists often understand that their conception of God as a person does not clash with the idea of immutability. In this article, I challenge the idea that being a person
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The fusion of horizons: The possibility of a genuine ethical dialogue South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-09-29 Erdal Yılmaz
This article seeks the possibility of a genuine ethical dialogue based on Gadamer’s notion of a “fusion of horizons”. For Gadamer, the human being is blessed with the unique ability to understand, and understanding is modelled on the act of conversation in which we engage with others. The fact that different points of view of dialogue partners merge in the process of understanding leads them to a better
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Introduction: Themes and discourses in African philosophy South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-07-15 John Sodiq Sanni, Mary Carman, Edwin Etieyibo
More recent discussions in African philosophy have focused on substantive issues than the largely meta-philosophical discussions that African philosophers engaged in between the 1960s and 1990s. This makes this special issue very important. Collectively the articles in the issue, among others, explore contemporary topics in African philosophy and studies in the area of the political philosophy of need
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The biomedical and the relational model of the body, the meaning of illness and quality of care: A comparative analysis South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-07-15 Mbih Jerome Tosam
In this article, I argue that every medical tradition is anchored in a certain anthropological understanding of the body, how that body can be afflicted by disease, and how best it can be treated. Also, each model of the body has implications for the nature of the patient-physician relationship and for quality of care. I compare two leading models of the body: the biomedical model, the predominant
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African metaphysics and disabilities South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-07-15 Edwin Etieyibo
In the last decade or so, some substantive work on disability in Africa has been done. Nonetheless, and this is so for different reasons, the nature and substance of disability in intellectual discourses in Africa still largely remain undefined and uncategorised. In this article, I aim to contribute to the scholarship on disability by examining if and whether one can talk meaningfully of metaphysical
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No justice, no progress: Contemporary African leadership and society in Plato’s crucible South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-07-15 Enoch Joseph Aboi
Virtue and vice, courage and cowardice, wisdom and folly are tendencies common to all humans without historical, geographical, colour, or gender exceptions. Granting that the aforesaid statement is tenable, this article engages Plato’s idea of a just city and a just soul in the Republic and considers how these might speak to contemporary African leadership deficits and societal ills. This appraisal
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The status of oral traditions in the history of philosophy: Methodological considerations South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-07-15 Anke Graness
Today, there is a growing consensus among philosophers in Africa, Latin America and other regions of the world that the history of philosophy has to consider both written and oral sources in the reconstruction of the history of philosophy. Even though it is usually not denied that philosophy also expresses itself in oral practices, such as conversation or instruction, the question remains as to how
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Decolonising power: A critique of majoritarian democracy in Africa South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-07-15 Oladele Abiodun Balogun
In recent times, African countries like Nigeria have witnessed a lot of internal problems and challenges associated with their democratic system of governance. These problems have produced ethnic conflicts, security challenges, corruption, poor leadership, betrayal of trust and low quality of life. This article argues that a major cause of these problems is the uncritical adoption of a Western system
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Migration narrative: Towards a possible alternative for Africa in the 21st century South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-07-15 Martin F. Asiegbu
In her relations with Africa, Europe advances a major migration claim about a “migration crisis” or “refugee crisis” in the era of globalisation. Although human mobility is a fact of human history, the search for greener pastures is ever expanding in a globalising world. Europe has insisted on the view that Africa-to-Europe migration attained a “crisis” point in 2015. Rather than this prevalent migration
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Developmental consequences of identity-driven African studies South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-07-15 Anthony Chinaemerem Ajah, Josephine Ngozi Akah
In this article, we show how scholarly insistence on the preservation of a certain African tradition, heritage, or identity, inhibits agentic reflections and actions in response to contemporary developmental needs of African societies. This article attempts to answer this question: Of what use are the traditions, heritages and identities if they only enhance a sense of continental and cultural pride
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Africa, the global order and the politics of aid South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-04-06 Chika C. Mba
A strong, but underexplored linkage exists between the current global order, world poverty and the politics of aid. Exploring this linkage, which is the key concern of this article, is crucial for a fuller understanding of the symbiotic injustice of the global order and the politics of aid. Using a conceptual thought experiment that portrays the framework of post-war global order as an intrinsically
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Philosophy for Children (PFC) as an educational practice to promote peace and non-violent coexistence South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-03-30 Mahdi Ganjvar
The purpose of this article is to show the efficiency of “Philosophy for Children” (PFC) in their spiritual development and its impact on promoting peace and coexistence with others, both coreligionists and non-coreligionists. While analysing the concept of spirituality, the article also explores the basics, and the goals and methods of the PFC programme. It then examines the influence of this educational
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Strange ethics, stranger politics: Levinas and Vice on escaping the passivity of shame South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-03-30 Julio Anthony Andrade
In this article, I put Emmanuel Levinas and Samantha Vice into conversation on the topics of shame and politics to demonstrate how each’s understanding on these can help attenuate shortcomings in the other’s position. Vice’s ethical inquiry into how white South Africans can be and live well, is I argue, problematically conceptualised. This tracks a problematic distinction between shame and guilt respectively
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Procreation is intrinsically valuable because it is person producing South African Journal of Philosophy Pub Date : 2022-03-30 Marcus William Hunt
The article argues that procreation is intrinsically valuable because it produces persons. The essential thought of the argument is that among the valuable things in the world are not only products, but the actions by which they are produced. The first premise is that persons have great value, for which a common consent argument is offered. The second premise is that, as an action type, procreation