What Can Ubuntu Do? A Reflection on African Moral Theory in Light of Post-Colonial Challenges
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6213629 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Motsamai Molefe (0000-0002-5030-6222, University of Fort Hare), Nolubabalo Magam (International and Public Affairs, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban, South Africa), Nolubabalo Lulu Magam (0000-0001-6833-606X, University of KwaZulu-Natal) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 311-325 |
| Publication date | 2019-07-03 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Politikon (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0258-9346 • E-ISSN: 1470-1014 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02589346.2019.1642669 |
| OpenAlex | W2962845432 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 24 |
There are competing interpretations of ubuntu as a moral theory, and these various understandings of it entail diverging moral-political responses to real problems in the world. The Marikana massacre is one such moral-political problem, and the various interpretations of ubuntu might recommend various responses to it. This article, in some sense, critiques, and, simultaneously, supplements Thad Metz's relational interpretation of ubuntu that recommends reconciliation as the best response the government could offer to the Marikana massacre. Unlike Metz, I adopt a self-realisation approach to ubuntu, and argue that Marikana must be understood within the broad narrative of historical injustices with cheap black labour as the core of the issues. I proceed to argue that the government needs to address some of the vestiges of cheap labour that is part of the core causes of protests before we can talk meaningfully about reconciliation. Ubuntu should demand, in part, that inter alia economic historical injustices be addressed for the sake of making humanity possible for all, particularly victims of oppression
Colonialism · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Government (linguistics · Humanity · Interpretation (philosophy · Narrative · Oppression · Political science · Politics · Realisation · Sociology · African cultural and philosophical studies · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Law · Philosophy · Political Philosophy and Ethics
African philosophy
African religions & philosophy
Tradition and Modernity
No Future Without Forgiveness
Two Kinds of Respect
Thomas Nagel, Mortal Questions
The Idea of Personhood in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart
An Oral Philosophy of Personhood
Solving the Conundrum of African Philosophy Through Personhood
Human Dignity, Capital Punishment, and an African Moral Theory
Afro-communitarian forgiveness and the concept of reconciliation
In Defence of an Autocentric Account of Ubuntu
Ubuntu as a Moral Theory
The Postcolonial Heart of African Philosophy
I doubt, therefore African philosophy exists
Relational Ethics and Partiality
An Ubuntu -based Evaluation of the South African State's Responses to Marikana
Personhood and Rights in an African Tradition
Personhood and partialism in African philosophy
| Citations per year | 0.14 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2019 - 2019 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |