This article represents a response to ‘the problem of women and African philosophy', which refers mainly to the absence of strong women's and feminist voices within the discipline of African philosophy. I investigate the possibility that African women are not so much excluded from the institutionalized discipline of philosophy, as preferring fiction as a genre for intellectual expression. This hypothesis can be supported by some feminists who read the absolute prioritisation of abstraction and generalization over the concrete and the particular (...) as a masculine and western oppressive strategy. Attention to the concrete and the unique which is made possible by literature more readily than by philosophy, could thus operate as a form of political resistance in certain contexts. If fiction is currently the preferred form of intellectual expression of African women, it is crucial that the community of professional philosophers in a context like South Africa should come to terms with the relevance of such a preference for philosophy's self-conception, and it should work to make these intellectual contributions philosophically fruitful. In the process, we may entertain the hope that philosophy itself will move closer to its root or source as ‘love of wisdom'. South African Journal of Philosophy Vol. 27 (4) 2008: pp. 413-429. (shrink)

This book offers a critical feminist perspective on the widely debated topic of transitional justice and forgiveness. Louise Du Toit examines the phenomenon of rape with a feminist philosophical discourse concerning women’s or ‘feminine’ subjectivity and selfhood. She demonstrates how the hierarchical dichotomy of male active versus female passive sexuality – which obscures the true nature of rape – is embedded in the dominant western symbolic frame. Through a Hegelian and phenomenological reading of first-person accounts by rape victims, she (...) excavates an understanding of rape that also starts to open up a way out of the denial and destruction of female sexual subjectivity. (shrink)

Philosophical Papers, Volume 41, Issue 1, Page 167-175, March 2012.

One of the most pressing issues in the urban ghettos of the Cape Flats is that of gangsterism and the discourse of power and powerlessness that is its lifeblood. Media coverage over the past two years was littered with news on gangsterism as the City of Cape Town struggles to contain what some labelled a pandemic. It is a pandemic that is closely tied to a deprivation trap of poverty, marginalisation, isolation, unemployment and, ultimately, powerlessness. The latter concept of powerlessness (...) and its interplay with these factors constituted the main thrust of this article as it explores the concept of power as deeply relational with the economic, psycho-social and spiritual dimensions. It is proposed that Kingdom power challenges the status quo within such contexts and offers the church an alternative framework within which to engage prophetically. (shrink)

Résumé Cet article offre une nouvelle lecture et interprétation des premières lignes préservées du décret issu par la cité éolique d’Aigai en l’honneur du roi Séleucos I et de son fils Antiochos, à la suite de la bataille de Kouroupédion. Le commentaire se focalise sur le rapport entre la syntaxe et le message du texte, sur l’utilisation de la dénomination sôteres, entre nom commun et épiclèse cultuelle, ainsi que sur la manière de laquelle les citoyens d’Aigai ont justifié l’octroi des (...) plus grands honneurs cultuels, par lesquels leurs bienfaiteurs sont adressés en qualité de divinités qui se sont manifestées. (shrink)

The need to decolonise the academy and academic writing requires that methodology for research be chosen carefully. The methodology of a study reflects the researcher's point of departure or worldview, as well as their belief system. The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has drastically influenced the functioning of higher education institutes, as well as how scholars plan and execute their research. This includes investigation into the global environmental crisis that is widely researched from various disciplines. These disciplines tend to (...) develop and favour different methodologies. The purpose of this presentation was to report on the inquiry into a suitable methodology to study social discourses about the environmental crisis. The methodologies investigated were an eco-linguistic approach to Critical Discourse Analysis, combined with eco-criticism, which was linked to the concept of an eco-sophy, using the framework of Dark Green Religion. The umbrella-concept of Dark Green Religion as a theoretical framework allows the comparison and incorporation of disparate methodologies as well as discourses. This framework also gives prominence to the role of religion in societal response to the environmental crisis. Due to the study being situated in an African context and striving to implement a decolonising discourse, some suggestions were made on decolonising research methodology in higher education. CONTRIBUTION: This article's contribution to new knowledge centred around situating current and new research in Africa in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and deliberating on the impact for future studies. The conclusion was drawn that the COVID-19 pandemic can be a catalyst for re-interpreting research methodology from a decolonised perspective. (shrink)

Philosophy of technology was not initially considered a consolidated field of inquiry. However, under the influence of sociology and pragmatist philosophy, something resembling a consensus has emerged in a field previously marked by a lack of agreement amongst its practitioners. This has given the field a greater sense of structure and yielded interesting research. However, the loss of the earlier “messy” state has resulted in a limitation of the field’s scope and methodology that precludes an encompassing view of the problematic (...) issues inherent in the question of technology. It is argued that the heterodox disunity and diversity of earlier philosophy of technology was not a mark of theoretical immaturity but was necessitated by the field’s complex subject matter. It is further argued that philosophy of technology should return to its pluralistic role as a meta-analytical structure linking insights from different fields of research. (shrink)

In the context of pluralization, sophistication, and combination of formal models, it is becoming difficult to propose uniform – or even comparable – model comparison practices. This paper outlines a broad and classificatory comparative epistemology of models. The aim of this epistemology is to propose applicable, and if necessary rectifiable, conceptual tools that can be useful to modellers as well as to historians and epistemologists. The notion of model characteristic vector – incorporating concepts of function, nature, principle and use of (...) the model – is introduced for this end. This proposal has been developed to serve a better-equipped writing of a comparative and interdisciplinary history of models and simulations. (shrink)

A l'aube du droit pénal utilitaire, les statistiques supplantent l'idée même de justice au profit d'une véritable économie politique du pouvoir de punir.

South Africa remains one of the most unequal societies in the world and any discussion around poverty and the church's response cannot exclude this reality. This article attempts to analyse the response of wealthy, 'majority white' suburban congregations in the southern suburbs of Cape Town to issues of poverty and inequality. This is attempted through the lense of restorative justice, which is broadly explored and defined through a threefold perspective of reconciliation, reparations and restitution. The first part explores a description (...) of the basic features of poverty and inequality in South Africa today, followed by a discussion on restorative justice. This is followed by the case study, which gives the views of clergy and lay leaders with regard to their congregations' perspectives and responses to poverty and inequality within the context of restorative justice. Findings from the case study begin to plot a tentative 'way forward' as to how our reality can more constructively be engaged from the perspective of congregational involvement in reconstruction of our society. (shrink)

The findings of an empirical study entitled ‘Meeting the challenge of poverty and inequality in the Cape Metropole: Factors impacting the mobilisation of congregations in their response to poverty and injustice’ reaffirm that the majority of congregations are still largely operating within a ‘relief and welfare’ paradigm with regard to poverty. In attempting to analyse the hindrances to churches’ mobilisation in addressing poverty from a holistic perspective, it became clear that, while there were common challenges, several other intersectional issues also (...) play a role with regard to engagement. This article, therefore, analyses and discusses how these factors have an impact on the mobilisation of local congregations in their response to the twin challenge of poverty and inequality. (shrink)

Health policy is only one part of social policy. Although spending administered by the health sector constitutes a sizeable fraction of total state spending in most countries, other sectors such as education and transportation also represent major portions of national budgets. Additionally, though health is one important aspect of economic and social activity, people pursue many other goals in their social and economic lives. Similarly, direct benefits—those that are immediate results of health policy choices—are only a small portion of the (...) overall impact of health policy. This chapter considers what weight health policy should give to its “spill-over effects,” namely non-health and indirect benefits. (shrink)

English summary: This text presents a collection of papers, drawn from a colloquium held in Aix-en-Provence, that question the revival of interest in practical philosophy and strive to appreciate its meaning and ambition, based off the exemplary figure of Socrates. This text hopes to present a better understanding of both the Socratic dialogues and our present day and age. French description: Les annees 80 ont vu emerger un art de philosopher, plus soucieux de pratique de vie que de construction speculative. (...) Ce regain d'interet pour la philosophie pratique, et notamment pour la discussion et la deliberation philosophiques, renouant avec le dialegesthai socratique, conduit a une reflexion fondamentale sur la fonction de la parole philosophique, une parole qui est aujourd'hui amenee a se produire en des lieux nouveaux et sur des questions qui sont d'abord de nature ethique et politique. Le present collectif, issu d'un colloque qui s'est tenu a Aix-en-Provence, recueille diverses contributions qui toutes s'interrogent sur ce renouveau et s'efforcent d'en apprecier le sens et l'ambition, en le rapportant a la figure exemplaire de Socrate philosophant sur l'agora. Cette rencontre d'une philosophie de nature academique et d'une pratique philosophique ouverte a chacun contribue a une meilleure comprehension des dialogues socratiques et a une meilleure intelligence du temps present. (shrink)

L'Europe a traversé au XXe siècle une suite de bouleversements terribles--révolutions, guerres, génocides, totalitarismes--ayant fait vaciller les principes moraux les plus élémentaires. Malgré le tragique et l'absurde apparents, de tels phénomènes prennent toutefois tout leur sens si on les examine à l'aune de ce que Nietzsche a qualifié de nihilisme, compris comme dépréciation des suprêmes valeurs, et révélé à travers un évènement fondamental dont les conséquences n'ont pas été pleinement saisies à son époque: la mort de Dieu. Cet essai, composé (...) de deux tomes, se propose de montrer en quoi une telle mort de Dieu, perte du suprême fondement, a conduit à une crise de légitimité de l'ordre politique, donnant lieu à une lutte entre conceptions du monde antagonistes, rythmant de manière souterraine l'histoire politique depuis deux siècles. C'est dans le cadre d'une telle 'guerre des dieux' que pourra être éclairée l'émergence d'une forme de domination inédite, le totalitarisme, qui, en entendant fonder un nouvel ordre à partir d'idoles de remplacement, va chercher à surmonter le nihilisme par des moyens eux-mêmes nihilistes, conduisant au final à une négation effrénée de tout ce qui pourrait lui faire obstacle. Par-delà cette séquence historique aujourd'hui révolue--qui ne signifie pas pour autant la disparition du nihilisme en tant que tel, mais sa mutation sous une autre forme plus douce--c'est au final le processus d'autonomisation qui se voit interrogé à nouveaux frais, et plus largement le devenir de la culture européenne, en un âge qualifié de post-métaphysique."--Back cover, volume 1. (shrink)

Comment défendre les Lumières aujourd'hui? Leur idéal d'émancipation a-t-il encore un sens? On ne saurait se borner à invoquer un esprit des Lumières immuable dans un contexte marqué par le réveil du nationalisme, les crises environnementales et sanitaires et l'augmentation des inégalités. Faire face au danger d'effondrement de notre civilisation sans renoncer à la rationalité philosophico-scientifique, mais en tenant compte de notre dépendance à l'égard de la nature et des autres vivants: telle est la démarche qui fonde ce livre. Pour (...) combattre les anti-Lumières qui souhaitent rétablir une société hiérarchique ou théocratique et répondre aux accusations des postmodernes qui suspectent tout universalisme d'être hégémonique, il faut donc proposer de nouvelles Lumières. Celles-ci supposent de revisiter l'histoire des Lumières, mais aussi de lutter contre l'amputation de la raison qui a été réduite à un instrument de calcul et d'exploitation. L'objectif des Lumières à l'âge du vivant et de leur projet d'une société démocratique et écologique est bien de destituer le principe de la domination--une domination des autres et de la nature à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur de soi qui traduit un mépris du corps et de la vulnérabilité."--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

Cet ouvrage d'histoire des idées et de philosophie des sciences rassemble plusieurs études dont le point commun est d'analyser les conséquences majeures de la découverte scientifique de l'infini. Ainsi, Alexandre Koyré montre comment la révolution galiléenne ou la découverte du calcul infinitésimal par Leibniz et Newton ont profondément modifié la conscience qu'a l'homme de lui-même et de sa place dans l'univers.

South Africa remains a divided community on many levels: socially, racially and socioeconomically. This is no more evident than in the recent protests - most notably waged on university campuses and on the streets in the past year. This, the article argues, is closely related to the need to reclaim the notion of power by those who feel they remain relegated to the social and economic peripheries after over 20 years of democracy. While 'theology and development' praxis has been most (...) closely associated in a post-apartheid era with welfare and charity approaches or pragmatic interaction with state and civil society, what has not been sufficiently addressed is the notion of power which once dominated ecclesiastical discourses. This is the proverbial 'elephant in the room', which the article argues must once again be revisited and re-engaged - both within scholarly reflection and within church practice - in order to address these divides. (shrink)

Jannie Pretorius and Michael Von Maltitz have identified some of the most pressing problems in South African education.1 They have argued that the education system is still suffering from the fragmented effects of apartheid and that the postapartheid government is struggling to set schools in motion to provide learners with authentic perspectives on the realities of their existence in a postapartheid South Africa. Naledi Pandor, the country's previous minister of education, painted a rather somber picture of the situation in the (...) Eastern Cape, one of South Africa's nine provinces:In a context in which there is ineffective system response on core obligations, it is very important to isolate those attributes that are .. (shrink)

This paper explores how we could approach the decolonising of the debate on sexual violence within the South African post-colony. For this purpose, a historical event is analysed: two presbytery hearings of 1843 and 1845, both involving Xhosa convert John Beck Balfour, at the Scottish mission station of Burnshill based in Xhosaland (later called British Caffraria). The hearings involve (extra-)marital and sexual behaviour. Walter Mignolo’s notions of border thinking and colonial difference, further complicated with the idea of colonial-sexual differentiation, are (...) employed to show aspects of what is at stake in a decolonising reading of Xhosa convert sexual behaviour. (shrink)

The authors identify a pervasive tendency, especially in the world of development and humanitarian response, to hierarchize or prioritize certain types of victims of sexual violence in armed conflict over others. Within this broader context, they focus on what a considered feminist acknowledgement of male victims of conflict-related sexual violence should look like. On the one hand, they emphasize that one and the same patriarchal template is used to humiliate and shame male and female victims of sexual violence alike. On (...) the other, they urge that in light of the pervasiveness of patriarchal ideology and its harmful and wide-reaching social effects, the time is not yet ripe to endorse a gender-blind approach to CRSV. (shrink)