Download or read book Meaning of Justice in African Philosophy written by Grivas Muchineripi Kayange and published by Springer. This book was released on 2024-01-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book examines the meaning of justice in African political philosophy, building on the use-theoretical approach. Currently, most of the philosophical works in this context advocate for a communal interpretation of the meaning of justice, such as the 'relational theory of justice' and 'Ubuntu justice as fairness.' The author argues that this foundation of justice in the community undermines the self, which is a major problem with these theories. As an attempt to go beyond communitarianism in African thought, the book recognizes other philosophical frameworks for elaborating the meaning of justice in ordinary people's experience, such as vitalism, theism, ubuntuism, and semantic framework. The author opts for a reconstructed ubuntu-based theory of the meaning of justice that reflects the traditional African experience and recuperates 'valuing self-existence' and 'valuing other-existence' as its foundations. The book further identifies the centrality of rights in defining justice in traditional African communities.
Download or read book Justice in Communalism written by J. Chukwuemeka Ekei and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Meaning of Justice in African Philosophy written by Grivas Muchineripi Kayange and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-11-27 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book examines the meaning of justice in African political philosophy, building on the use-theoretical approach. Currently, most of the philosophical works in this context advocate for a communal interpretation of the meaning of justice, such as the 'relational theory of justice' and 'Ubuntu justice as fairness.' The author argues that this foundation of justice in the community undermines the self, which is a major problem with these theories. As an attempt to go beyond communitarianism in African thought, the book recognizes other philosophical frameworks for elaborating the meaning of justice in ordinary people's experience, such as vitalism, theism, ubuntuism, and semantic framework. The author opts for a reconstructed ubuntu-based theory of the meaning of justice that reflects the traditional African experience and recuperates 'valuing self-existence' and 'valuing other-existence' as its foundations. The book further identifies the centrality of rights in defining justice in traditional African communities.
Download or read book African Philosophy and Global Justice written by Uchenna Okeja and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-05-21 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In contemporary political philosophy, the subject of global justice has received sustained interest. This is unsurprising, given the nexus between inequality and many of the pressing global problems today, such as immigration, global public health, poverty and violence. Theorists of global justice ask why inequality is morally wrong, what we owe to the global poor, what the implications of global inequality for people in affluent countries are, and the power of agencies or institutions necessary for the realization of a fairer world. Although political philosophers have offered different conceptions of these problems and narratives of the ideal of justice, a major shortcoming of the current discussion are the limits of the concepts and idioms employed. Assumptions are made about the experience of poverty, but little is done to understand the way people in underdeveloped countries experience and understand their predicament. This has resulted in the entrenchment of cognitive inequality in the global justice debate. This book attempts to correct the inaccuracies engendered by the one-sided theorising of global justice. By employing metaphors, concepts and philosophical ideas to reflect on global justice, the book provides an account of global justice that goes beyond current parochial perspective. This book was originally published as a Special Issue of Philosophical Papers.
Download or read book An African Path to Disability Justice written by Oche Onazi and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-11-25 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How should disability justice be conceptualised, not by orthodox human rights or capabilities approaches, but by a legal philosophy that mirrors an African relational community ideal? This book develops the first comprehensive answer to this question through the contemporary literature on African philosophy, which is relied upon to construct a legal philosophy of disability justice comprising of ethical ideals of community, human relationships and obligations. From these ideals, an African legal philosophy of disability justice is offered as a criterion for critically evaluating existing laws, legal and political institutions, as well as providing an ethical basis for creating new ones to ensure that they are inclusive to people with disabilities. In taking an alternative perspective on the subject, the book outlines and emphasises the need for a new public culture of obligations owed to people with disabilities, highlighting both the prospects and difficulties of achieving the ideal of disability justice that continues to elude the lived experiences of millions of Africans today. Oche Onazi's An African Path to Disability Justice is the first book-length exploration of disability in the light of African ethics, as contrasted with the human rights and capabilities frameworks. Of particular interest are Onazi's thoughtful reflections on how various conceptions of community salient in African moral philosophy––including group-based, reciprocal and relational––bear on what we owe to the disabled. --Thaddeus Metz, Distinguished Professor, University of Johannesburg
Download or read book The African Other written by Abraham Olivier and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-06-29 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a much-needed philosophical response to the recurrent postcolonial call to uproot the prevalent workings of the colonial regime, with a close focus on the African context. The work addresses a range of questions concerning the othering of Africans in the postcolonial context, specifically by focusing on the philosophical analysis of problems of justice, the effect of injustice on the formation of the self, and strategies of resistance against the injustice of othering. Questions raised in this collection include: who or what is "the other"? Who is the "African other"? In what ways are Africans othered? What is the effect of unjust conditions on the formation of the self? In what sense is othering an injustice? How can justice concern itself with the problem of othering? What are the strategies to resist the injustice of othering? Can one ever do justice to the experience of the subaltern other in abstract terms of philosophical analysis? In considering these questions, this book will be of interest to all those studying the intersectional ways in which colonial injustice is manifested in the postcolony, as well as those seeking greater philosophical reflection on postcolonial justice. This book was originally published as a special issue of Angelaki.
Download or read book The Life and Thought of H Odera Oruka written by Gail M. Presbey and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-05-18 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Henry Odera Oruka was one of the most influential figures in 20th-century African philosophy. During the early years of the decolonization of African countries, as universities worked to redefine themselves, Odera drove changes to curricula and research. A tireless advocate for democracy and human rights in Africa, he repeatedly intervened in the political debates of his time. This is the first critical biography of both the man himself and African philosophy in the context of changing times, taking us through his early life, scholarly training, and Oruka's way of transforming the field of philosophy as it was taught in Kenya. The narrative unfolds from the personal to the global, from Africa to the world, and from African philosophy to the wider field of philosophy. Biographical material is woven with narratives of the social conditions and live questions as they arise in Oruka's life in Kenya, Sweden, and the United States. We are introduced to his understanding of philosophy as a critique of society. Exposing prison practices in Africa and targeting capitalists, Oruka sought to remedy social problems on a global scale, from institutional racism and ethnic division to the wealth gap between rich and poor nations. Through archival material, personal interviews and primary texts, this book shines a light on Oruka's monumental contribution to African philosophy and global justice. Finally we can see how Oruka's insights are still relevant to how we think about poverty, philosophy and human rights today.
Download or read book Political Philosophy A Very Short Introduction written by David Miller and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2003-06-26 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces readers to the concepts of political philosophy. It starts by explaining why the subject is important and how it tackles basic ethical questions such as 'how should we live together in society?' It looks at political authority, the reasons why we need politics at all, the limitations of politics, and whether there are areas of life that shouldn't be governed by politics. It explores the connections between political authority and justice, a constant theme in political philosophy, and the ways in which social justice can be used to regulate rather than destroy a market economy. David Miller discusses why nations are the natural units of government and whether the rise of multiculturalism and transnational co-operation will change this: will we ever see the formation of a world government? ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Download or read book Environmental Justice in African Philosophy written by Munamato Chemhuru and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2022-04-07 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on environmental justice in African philosophy, highlighting important new perspectives which will be of significance to researchers with an interest in environmental ethics both within Africa and beyond. Drawing on African social and ethical conceptions of existence, the book makes suggestions for how to derive environmental justice from African philosophies such as communitarian ethics, relational ethics, unhu/ubuntu ethics, ecofeminist ethics and intergenerational ethics. Specifically, the book emphasises the ways in which African philosophies of existence seek to involve everyone in environmental policy and planning and to equitably distribute both environmental benefits (such as natural resources) and environmental burdens (such as pollution and the location of mining, industrial or dumping sites). This extends to fair distribution between global South and global North, rich and poor, urban and rural populations, men and women and adults and children. These principles of humaneness, relationships, equality, interconnectedness and teleologically oriented existence among all beings are important not only to African environmental justice but also to the environmental justice movement globally. The book will interest researchers and students working in the fields of environmental ethics, African philosophy and political philosophy in general.
Download or read book Towards an African Political Philosophy of Needs written by Motsamai Molefe and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-02-16 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on the domains of moral philosophy, political philosophy, and political theory within African philosophy. At the heart of the volume is a call to imagine African political philosophy as embodying a needs-based political vision. While discourses in African political philosophy have fixated on the normative framework of human rights law to articulate demands for social and global justice, this book charts a new frontier in African political thought by turning from ‘rights’ to ‘needs.’ The authors aim to re-orient discourses in African philosophy beyond the impasse of rights-based confrontations to shift the conversation toward needs as a cornerstone of African political theory.
Download or read book African Religions Philosophy written by John S. Mbiti and published by Heinemann. This book was released on 1990 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "African Religions and Philosophy" is a systematic study of the attitudes of mind and belief that have evolved in the many societies of Africa. In this second edition, Dr Mbiti has updated his material to include the involvement of women in religion, and the potential unity to be found in what was once thought to be a mass of quite separate religions. Mbiti adds a new dimension to the understanding of the history, thinking, and life throughout the African continent. Religion is approached from an African point of view but is as accessible to readers who belong to non-African societies as it is to those who have grown up in African nations. Since its first publication, this book has become acknowledged as the standard work in the field of study, and it is essential reading for anyone concerned with African religion, history, philosophy, anthropology or general African studies.
Download or read book African Philosophy and the Quest for Autonomy written by Leonhard Praeg and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2022-06-08 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As academic subject African philosophy is predominantly concerned with epistemology. It aims at re-presenting a lost body of authentic African thought. This apparently austere a-historical concern is framed by a grand narrative of liberation that cannot but politicise the quest for epistemological autonomy. By “politicise” I mean that the desire to re-cover an authentic African epistemology in order to establish African philosophy as autonomous subject, ironically re-iterates Western, enlightenment notions of the autonomous subject. Here, in the pursuit of an autonomous subject the terms of historical oppression are necessarily duplicated in the terms of liberation. In this study I use the term disfigurement to refer to the double-bind - peculiar to post-coloniality - in which the African subject finds itself when it has to establish and affirm a sense of apartheid (in order to confirm the assumption of difference) by inventing its own autonomy in a way that ironically conflicts with an African conception of the autonomous subject. The transcendental concern with epistemological authenticity and autonomy - indicative of an oppressive desire for Western style autonomy - necessary as it may be in a post-colonial context, is placed in an ethical framework that seeks to remain faithful to the African dictum of identity and autonomy “I am because we are”. Whereas the first three chapters are concerned with the transcendental question ‘what is African philosophy?’, the fourth and last chapter situates the ethical framework within which this question arises in the context of the recently “completed” South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Download or read book An Introduction to African Legal Philosophy written by John Murungi and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2013-04-11 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A book on legal philosophy, necessarily, focuses attention on law. In addition to this focus, An Introduction to an African Legal Philosophy focuses attention on philosophy. The link between law and philosophy is brought into relief, which is done through an African context. An attempt is made to spell out what is African about legal philosophy without being cut off of African legal philosophy from non-African legal philosophy. The book draws attention to the view that a basic component of African legal philosophy consists of an investigation of what it is to be an African, and because an African is a human being among other human beings, the investigation is about what it is to be a human being. Ubuntuism is an African-derived word that captures this mode of being human. Moreover, because human beings are cultural beings, African cultural context guides the investigation. Inescapably, it is claimed that, every legal philosophy is embedded in a culture. African legal philosophy is not an exception. It is deeply rooted in African culture –a culture that is today shaped, in part, by a European colonialist culture. One feature that will strike one as one reads the book is that the book approaches African legal philosophy as a means of decolonization of African culture. African legal philosophy can accomplish this intelligently and effectively if it is itself decolonized. In doing this it contrasts sharply with mainstream Western legal philosophy.
Download or read book Paulin Hountondji written by Franziska Dübgen and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-12-18 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paulin J. Hountondji is one of the most important and controversial figures in contemporary African philosophy. His critique of ethnophilosophy as a colonial, exoticising and racialized undertaking provoked contentious debates among African intellectuals on the proper methods and scope of philosophy and science in an African and global context since the 1970s. His radical pledge for scientific autonomy from the global system of knowledge production made him turn to endogenous forms of practising science in academia. The horizon of his philosophy is the quest for critical universality from a historical, and situated perspective. Finally, his call for a notion of culture that is antithetical to political movements focused on a single identitarian doctrine or exclusionary norms shows how timely his political thought remains to this day. This book gives a comprehensive overview of Hountondji’s philosophical arguments and provides detailed information on the historical and political background of his intellectual oeuvre. It situates Hountondji in the dialogue with his African colleagues and explores links to current debates in philosophy, cultural studies, postcolonialism and the social sciences.
Download or read book Odera Oruka and the Right to a Human Minimum written by Michael Kamau Mburu and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-06-21 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Odera Oruka and the Human Minimum: An African Philosopher's Defence of Human Dignity and Environment considers the work of Odera Oruka (1944–1995)—arguably one of the finest philosophers in Africa—by analyzing his major practical contribution to philosophy from the practical point of view. Odera Oruka is well known for his sage philosophy, but his "practical philosophy" has received less attention. This book situates Oruka within philosophical discourses around issues of justice, human rights, ethical duty, ecology, humanism, and politics. A thread that ties these questions together is Oruka's argument for the right to a human minimum, defined by three basic human needs: physical security, subsistence, and health care. Michael Kamau Mburu explores how these three taken together constitute the most basic and necessary (though not sufficient) right, and establishing this right is a means to ensuring human dignity, a condition for global justice. The book also expounds and applies some ethical values and philosophies from Africa—such as "ubuntu" or humanness—to clarify, defend, and promote human dignity without jeopardizing the environment.
Download or read book Themes Issues and Problems in African Philosophy written by Isaac E. Ukpokolo and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-01-31 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides the key to a deepened discourse on philosophy in Africa. Available literature and academic practice in African philosophy since the 1960s have largely featured discourses in the areas of origin, general meaning and nature of the discipline, with little attention given to specialized areas. By contrast, this book examines a noticeable shifting focus from such general concerns to more specific subject-matter, in such areas as epistemology, moral philosophy, metaphysics, aesthetics, and social and political philosophy in the light of the African experience. The volume includes specific discourses from expert contributors on the nature, history and scope of African ethics and metaphysics, while also discussing particular themes in African epistemology, philosophy of education, existentialism and political philosophy. Researchers seeking for new perspective on African philosophy will find this work thought-provoking, instructive and informative.
Download or read book African Philosophy Through Ubuntu written by Mogobe B. Ramose and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In spite of decolonisation, the philosophical character of European standpoint on colonisation together with its corresponding practices remains unchanged in its relations with the erstwhile colonies. It is precisely this condition which calls for the need for the authentic liberation of Africa. This speaks of a two-fold exigency. One is that the colonised people's conceptions of reality, knowledge and truth should be released from slavery and dominance under the European epistemological paradigm. Without this essential first step there cannot evolve a common authentic and liberating universe of discourse. The second exigency is that the evolving common universe of discourse must take into account the rational demands of justice to the colonised arising from the unjust wars of conquest that resulted in colonial disseizing of territory as well as the enslavement of the colonised. These rational demands of justice are specifically the restoration of territory to its indigenous rightful owners and reparations to them. This two fold exigency is the indisplensable neccessity for the authentic liberation of Africa, and indeed, all the colonised people of the world.
