Showing papers in "South African Journal of Philosophy in 2018"
TL;DR: The field of epistemology is concerned with the nature, generation and justification of knowledge as well as the rationality of belief; addressing what makes beliefs justified, what it means to say... as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The field of epistemology is concerned with the nature, generation and justification of knowledge as well as the rationality of belief; addressing what makes beliefs justified, what it means to say...
21 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that Menkiti's given account of personhood can be considered as gendered, ableist and anti-queer, and argue that it can be seen as a form of anti-homophily.
Abstract: This paper aims to indicate the sense in which Menkiti’s normative conception of personhood can be considered as gendered, ableist and anti-queer. I argue that Menkiti’s given account of personhood...
16 citations
TL;DR: The incompatibility school of thought maintains that ubuntu is incompatible with modern society's politico-juridical order and neoliberal economic system that promotes individualism and unequal dis...
Abstract: The incompatibility school of thought maintains that ubuntu is incompatible with modern society’s politico-juridical order and neoliberal economic system that promotes individualism and unequal dis...
14 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that the normative character of unreflective situated behaviour is not factual, and highlight a problematic assumption shared by the two most influential trends in contemporary culture, such as self-reflection and self-identity.
Abstract: This paper argues that the normative character of our unreflective situated behaviour is not factual. We highlight a problematic assumption shared by the two most influential trends in contemporary...
12 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the association between sounding out and voice is discussed, with a tacit question of what musical metaphors might offer for thought concerning identity, and in particular, in particula...
Abstract: Beginning with the association between “sounding out” and “voicing” this article begins with a tacit question of what musical metaphors might offer for thought concerning identity, and in particula...
8 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the upshot of the analysis of the logical method of Peter Ramus, on whose system Milton based his Art of Logic, is that it is a logical method that can be viewed as a form of logic.
Abstract: My first section considers Walter J. Ong's influential analyses of the logical method of Peter Ramus, on whose system Milton based his Art of Logic. The upshot of Ong's work is that philosophical l...
8 citations
TL;DR: The idea of personhood in Africa has generated several debates among African philosophers about how it is conceived and perceived as mentioned in this paper, while scholars like Wiredu and Gyekye have argued that it is a subjective concept.
Abstract: Discussions on the African communitarian idea of personhood have generated several debates among African philosophers about how it is conceived and perceived. While scholars like Wiredu and Gyekye ...
7 citations
TL;DR: The authors deploys Sartre's phenomenology of the gaze as the foil to demonstrate the cultural and philosophical movement from ethnology to ethnophilosophy that produces a specific conception of gaze.
Abstract: In this essay I deploy Sartre's phenomenology of the gaze as the foil to demonstrate the cultural and philosophical movement from ethnology to ethnophilosophy that produces a specific conception of...
6 citations
TL;DR: Many defenders of contemporary virtue ethics contend that it directly competes with modern ethical theories such as consequentialism and deontology as mentioned in this paper, and one of the most common responses is that contemp...
Abstract: Many defenders of contemporary virtue ethics contend that it directly competes with modern ethical theories such as consequentialism and deontology. One of the most common responses is that contemp...
6 citations
TL;DR: The African Renaissance is an African revolutionary project aimed at reclaiming and reviving African heritage that was destroyed by European slavery and colonialism as discussed by the authors, which is one of the manifes...
Abstract: The African Renaissance is historically an African revolutionary project aimed at reclaiming and reviving African heritage that was destroyed by European slavery and colonialism. One of the manifes...
6 citations
TL;DR: Benatar as mentioned in this paper argues that affirmative action in South Africa is a form of racism and that it discriminates against black people in the South African legal system, in a 2008 article "Justice, Diversity and Racial Preference: a Critique of Affirmative Action".
Abstract: In a 2008 article “Justice, Diversity and Racial Preference: a Critique of Affirmative Action”, published in the South African Law Journal, David Benatar argues that affirmative action in South Afr
TL;DR: The authors reconstructs the ontological status of virtue within Duns Scotus's overall metaphysical framework and attend to the ways in which this metaphysic of virtue places constraints on how one is to understand the conformity relation that, according to Scotus, must exist between an agent's will and right reason whenever a m m
Abstract: For Duns Scotus, facts about moral psychology are ultimately reducible to facts about ontology The created agent has a soul which includes as formal “parts” the intellect and will; the intellect and will, of course, are the seat of qualities (eg thoughts and volitions, respectively) and habits (eg virtues) that are related to one another in various ways One of these ways is the conformity relation From a metaphysical base of categorical being – whether Substance, Quality/Habit, or Relation – Scotus constructs an ethical theory which complements, though in some interesting ways departs from, the Aristotelian tradition of which he is a part In this essay, our aim is twofold: first, to reconstruct the ontological status of virtue within Scotus's overall metaphysical framework Second, we attend to the ways in which this metaphysic of virtue places constraints on how one is to understand the conformity relation that, according to Scotus, must exist between an agent's will and right reason whenever a m
TL;DR: In this paper, we set out to better specify what neo-republicani... as mentioned in this paper, a branch of Neo-Republicanism holds that freedom as non-domination is the supreme ideal that should be pursued in a polity.
Abstract: An important branch of neo-republicanism holds that freedom as non-domination is the supreme ideal that should be pursued in a polity. In this paper I set out to better specify what neo-republicani...
TL;DR: In this paper, a baseline and guideline for addressing the problem of heterosexism in Zambia is provided, by deconstructing the popular views and systematising the debate.
Abstract: On 24 February 2012, then United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Zambia for three days. His call to respect human rights and give protection to all people regardless of sexual orientation was received mostly with hostility by the Zambian public. The media was inundated with opposing press statements from both government and civil society persons and entities. Politicians, church leaders, and the public widely condemned Ban's advocacy for “gay rights”. Although the debate on homosexuality is not new in Zambia, there is a dearth of research on the subject. This paper seeks, modestly, to re-examine popular rationale for heterosexism to contribute to the resolution of one of the perennial problems colouring African political, social, and cultural discourse. By deconstructing the popular views and systematising the debate, the paper aims at providing a baseline and guideline for addressing the problem of heterosexism in Zambia. Without suggesting that Africa is homogenous, what happened in Zambia...
TL;DR: This article explored the concept of the "scholar as activist" in the context of post-colonial feminist film practice, and the successes and shortcomings of a research design conceptualised to exploit women.
Abstract: This article explores the concept of the “scholar as activist” in the context of postcolonial feminist film practice, and the successes and shortcomings of a research design conceptualised to explo...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors give a critical discussion of Sartre's concept of sexual desire and its relation to self-identity and freedom, and present a critical analysis of the relationship between self-interest and freedom.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to give a critical discussion of Sartre’s concept of sexual desire and its relation to self-identity and freedom. Why Sartre? Sartre is one of very few philosophers who off...
TL;DR: The concept of "harm" is ubiquitous in moral theorising, and yet remains poorly defined as mentioned in this paper, and Bradley suggests that the counterfactual comparative account of harm is the most plausible account currently.
Abstract: The concept of “harm” is ubiquitous in moral theorising, and yet remains poorly defined. Bradley suggests that the counterfactual comparative account of harm is the most plausible account currently...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present Reasoning From Faith: Fundamental Theology in Merold Westphal's Philosophy of Religion, which is based on the notion of Reasoning from Faith.
Abstract: (2018). Reasoning From Faith: Fundamental Theology in Merold Westphal’s Philosophy of Religion. South African Journal of Philosophy: Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 243-244.
TL;DR: In South Africa social cohesion has been tied to the question of nation building, with the arts, culture and heritage as discussed by the authors, and social cohesion is a complex concept characterised by a "prism of meanings".
Abstract: “Social cohesion” is a complex concept, characterised by a “prism of meanings”. In South Africa social cohesion has been tied to the question of nation building, with the arts, culture and heritage...
TL;DR: The authors view the recent science fiction films Gravity, Interstellar, and The Martian as a three-part dialogue concerning the existential relationship between humanity, technology, and the science e ciency.
Abstract: One can view the recent science fiction films Gravity, Interstellar, and The Martian as a three-part dialogue concerning the existential relationship between humanity, technology, and the science e...
TL;DR: As sympathetic outsiders trying to understand and explain the field of philosophical counselling to other (perhaps not so sympathetic) outsiders, we find ourselves repeatedly asking and being asked... as mentioned in this paper, "Why?"
Abstract: As sympathetic outsiders trying to understand and explain the field of philosophical counselling to other (perhaps not so sympathetic) outsiders, we find ourselves repeatedly asking and being asked...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest integrating traditional health practices into national public health systems, but cooperation between both systems of healing seldom works and traditional healing practices often fail to meet the needs of patients.
Abstract: The WHO suggests integrating traditional health practices into national public health systems. However, cooperation between both systems of healing seldom works. Traditional healing practices often...
TL;DR: In open-future Humeanism, truth supervenes on a mosaic of local particular matters of fact, and there are no necessary connections between di... as mentioned in this paper Theorem 1.
Abstract: Take open-future Humeanism to comprise the following four tenets: (T1) that truth supervenes on a mosaic of local particular matters of fact; (T2) that there are no necessary connections between di...
TL;DR: Transparency International has consistently maintained two prominent assertions: that corruption remains a global threat because no human society in the world has a clean record, and that Africa is not a clean country.
Abstract: Transparency International has consistently maintained two prominent assertions: that corruption remains a global threat because no human society in the world has a clean record, and that Africa is...
TL;DR: Hacking loosely defines a "style of scientific thinking" as a "way to find things out about the world" characterised by five hallmark features of a number of scientific template styles as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Ian Hacking loosely defines a “style of scientific thinking” as a “way to find things out about the world” characterised by five hallmark features of a number of scientific template styles. Most pr...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the benefits of psychedelic use in an "orchestrated guided experience" are consonant with the nature of philosophical learning, and cite research into the use of psychedelics and the Eleusinian Mysteries at the origin of Western philosophy.
Abstract: “Philosophical learning” may be summarised in Sobiecki’s fitting catchphrase “to learn healing knowledge”. This catchphrase is taken from an article on the use of psychoactive plants among southern African diviners. In the spirit of this link, I aim to challenge contemporary negative attitudes to the topic of psychedelics, and argue that there are good reasons for philosophers to pay attention to the role that the psychedelic experience can play in promoting philosophical perception. I argue first that the results of some contemporary studies affirm the benefits of psychedelic use in an “orchestrated guided experience”. Secondly, I argue that the aims of such “orchestrated guided experiences” are consonant with the nature of philosophical learning. Philosophy, understood as a learning practice, has a strong historical precedent and ties to contemporary indigenous cultural practices. Here I cite research into the use of psychedelics and the Eleusinian Mysteries at the origin of Western philosophy. Numerous...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce the concept of identity in question in the context of South African Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 37, No. 7, 2019, Identities in question, pp 379-392.
Abstract: (2018). Guest editor’s introduction: Identities in question. South African Journal of Philosophy: Vol. 37, Identities in question, pp. 379-392.
TL;DR: This theory is able to deal with a number of challenges for other prominent views of the conditional, such as counter-intuitive truth-value ascriptions provided by notions of similarity or closeness, and difficulties adequately accounting for phenomena such as reverse Sobel sequences.
Abstract: Ordinary speakers intuitively assign truth-values to conditional utterances in everyday conversation, but, despite the general ease with which this occurs, it is notoriously difficult to give an ac
TL;DR: In an interview published in Esprit, Achille Mbembe asks "what is "today" and what are "we" today?" as mentioned in this paper The lines of fragility, the lines of precariousness, the fissures in contemporary African...
Abstract: In an interview published in Esprit, Achille Mbembe asks “what is ‘today’, and what are we today? What are the lines of fragility, the lines of precariousness, the fissures in contemporary African ...
TL;DR: The authors argued that white South Africans ought to feel shame for their unjustly acquired privilege and their morally compromised selves, and recomended that they should be ashamed of their privilege and morally compromised self.
Abstract: In “How do I live in this strange place?”, Samantha Vice contends that white South Africans ought to feel shame for their unjustly acquired privilege and their morally compromised selves, and recom...