The end of ubuntu

Since the advent of democracy in South Africa, there has been a concerted effort at reviving the notion of ubuntu. Variously conceived, it is seen as the authentic African ethical concept, a way of life, an authentic mode of being African, an individual ideal, the appropriate public spirit, a definition of life itself and the preferred manner of conducting public and private business. Thus, among other public displays of the spirit of ubuntu, the government of the day has deliberately chosen its service delivery mantra and its public slogan as Batho Pele (people first) to animate, or perhaps pay obeisance to, ubuntu. In this paper we seek to advance arguments that question such a public, widespread, and concerted ‘ubuntu-isation’ of the intellectual, business, public and private lives. Our project follows two main lines of reasoning. (1) We seek to show that the aggressive promotion of ubuntu in post-apartheid South Africa is an elitist project so conceived by the new black elite. It is conceived both as a restorative move that is aimed at securing the dignity of the black masses as well as an attempt at forging a so-called black identity. This line of reasoning will rely on similar historical cases on the continent that sought to aggressively promote an African mode of being, which coincided with both the end of colonialism and the rise of black elitism. We note that such attempts always ended in very public social and political failure. (2) We seek to question the desirability of ubuntu as a mark/guide of the spirit of the nation. Here our critique shall be concentrated on the disjunct that exists between the metaphysical conditions necessary for the attainment of ubuntu and the stark ontological and ethical crisis facing the new elite and ‘our people’.     

The role of philosophy in the contemporary abortion debate.

Inspired by Patrick Lee's "A Christian Philosopher's View of Recent Directions in the Abortion Debate," this essay raises the question of how effective philosophical arguments can be in determining the moral status of legalized abortion. On one hand, Christian philosophers have been successful in explaining both the humanity and the personhood of the unborn child, as well as exposing the incoherence of those who would deny the unborn child's humanity or personhood. Nevertheless, in order to confront the pro-abortion position in its most radical form, a much more complex philosophical argument must be given. Following thinkers such as Alasdaire MacIntyre, Christian philosophers must articulate and promote a philosophical position according to which morality is conceived in richer terms than the mere respecting of individual rights. The social dimension of human nature must be rediscovered in order that the happiness and welfare of others becomes a desirable goal in and of itself. According to a morality where individual rights is the bottom line (for example, that of Judith Jarvis Thompson), women very well may have the right to "extricate" themselves from their pregnancy even when doing so will result in the death of their child. What must be explained, therefore, is the more profound insight that social morality is equally concerned with obligations to others, including those who are most helpless and unable to speak for themselves.     

The debate on the yan-yi relation in Chinese philosophy: Reconstruction and comments

The debate on the yan-yi relation was carried out by Chinese philosophers collectively, and the principles and methods in the debate still belong to a living tradition of Chinese philosophy. From Yijing (Book of Changes), Lunyu (Analects), Laozi and Zhuangzi to Wang Bi, “yi” which cannot be expressed fully by yan (language), is not only “idea” or “meaning” in the human mind, but is also some kind of ontological existence, which is beyond yan and emblematic symbols, and unspeakable. Thus, the debate on the yan-yi relation refers firstly to metaphysics, secondly to moral philosophy, and then to epistemology and philosophy of language. Guided by this view, this paper recalls the source of the debate on the yan-yi relation to Yijing and Lunyu, distinguishes four meanings of “yi” in Chinese philosophy, and reconstructs three arguments. These arguments are the “yan cannot express yi fully” argument, “forget yan once you get yi” argument, and “yan can express yi fully” argument. Finally, this paper exposes and comments on those principles, methods and the general tendency shown in the debate from the following five aspects: starting point, value-preference, methodology, texts (papers and books), and influences. __________ Translated from Jianghai Xuekan 江海学刊 (Jianghai Academic Studies), 2005 (3)     

Towards a new philosophy of education: Extending the conversational metaphor for thinking

Recently, feminists like Jane Roland-Martin, Elizabeth Young-Bruehl, and others have advocated a conversational metaphor for thinking and rationality, and our image of the rational person. Elizabeth Young-Bruehl refers to thinking as a constant interconnecting of representations of experiences and an extension of how we hear ourselves and others. There are numerous disadvantages to thinking about thinking as a conversation.We think there are difficulties in accepting the current formulation of the conversational metaphor without question. First, there is danger that we will lose important dialectical connections like that between the self and society. Second, the conversational metaphor alone cannot fully express the way conversations are constructed. We will want to take up the notion of narrative as a metaphor for thinking advocated by Susan Bordo, Alasdair MacIntyre, Jerome Bruner, and others, including Mary Belenky and her colleagues.Eventually, we want to champion narrative and the dramatic narrative of culture as a metaphor for thinking that involves such expressions as sights, insights, silences, as well as sounds, moments of mood and poetic moments. The dramatic narrative provides the structural possibilities needed to criticize certain kinds of conversations, in order to talk about the relations of public and private, self and society and most importantly, about the drama of our lives within and without.The dramatic narrative for thinking helps dispel the dangerous dualisms of mind and body that not even conversation or narration alone can banish, and allows us to frame questions about education that do not require us to separate mind from body. The dramatic narrative metaphor for thinking lets us show who we are, act out what we think, and reconstruct rationality to reflect what many women, and some men, do.     

Towards a new philosophy of education: Extending the conversational metaphor for thinking

Recently, feminists like Jane Roland-Martin, Elizabeth Young-Bruehl, and others have advocated a conversational metaphor for thinking and rationality, and our image of the rational person. Elizabeth Young-Bruehl refers to thinking as a “constant interconnecting of representations of experiences and an extension of how we hear ourselves and others. There are numerous disadvantages to thinking about thinking as a conversation.We think there are difficulties in accepting the current formulation of the conversational metaphor without question. First, there is danger that we will lose important dialectical connections like that between the self and society. Second, the conversational metaphor alone cannot fully express the way conversations are constructed. We will want to take up the notion of narrative as a metaphor for thinking advocated by Susan Bordo, Alasdair MacIntyre, Jerome Bruner, and others, including Mary Belenky and her colleagues.Eventually, we want to champion narrative and the dramatic narrative of culture as a metaphor for thinking that involves such expressions as sights, insights, silences, as well as sounds, moments of mood and poetic moments. The dramatic narrative provides the structural possibilities needed to criticize certain kinds of conversations, in order to talk about the relations of public and private, self and society and most importantly, about the drama of our lives within and without.The dramatic narrative for thinking helps dispel the dangerous dualisms of mind and body that not even conversation or narration alone can banish, and allows us to frame questions about education that do not require us to separate mind from body. The dramatic narrative metaphor for thinking lets us show who we are, act out what we think, and reconstruct rationality to reflect what many women, and some men, do.     

宗教的起源:适应或偶然?

如果把宗教视作一种和生物进化类似的自然现象,那么它就应该有起源和发展的过程。近年来,探索这个意义上的宗教起源已经成为了进化心理学等认知科学领域的一个研究方向。一部分科学家认为,宗教可能是作为促进了人的生存和繁殖机会的一种适应,在自然选择的过程中进化了出来。另一部分科学家则认为宗教是意识进化的一个副产品。或者,宗教的起源是适应和副产品的综合产物。     

An African perspective on the partiality and impartiality debate: Insights from Kwasi Wiredu's moral philosophy

In this article, I attempt to bridge the gap between partiality and impartiality in moral philosophy from an oft-neglected African perspective. I draw a solution for this moral-theoretical impasse between partialists and impartialists from Kwasi Wiredu's, one of the most influential African philosophers, distinction between an ethic and ethics. I show how an ethic accommodates partiality and ethics impartiality. Wiredu's insight is that partialism is not concerned with strict moral issues.     

"白黑之争"及其对"缘起性空"说的误解

"白黑之争"是南朝刘宋时代儒家与佛教在哲学领域中的一次重要争论,其代表作是慧琳的<白黑论>.从有关争论来看,无论是反对佛教因果报应说的一方还是支持佛教的一方,对于佛教般若学中的"有谛"和"无谛"的本意都未能透彻地了解,这说明了印度大乘空宗哲学这种异质文化因子在当时还处在"格义"的阶段,多有误解.虽然在东晋十六国时代的僧肇已经比较准确地把握和阐释了般若"空"的本义,但佛教般若学那种"非有非无,非非有非非无"的思辩逻辑对于中土来说毕竟是陌生的,也是难以接受的.     

The history of philosophy in contemporary philosophy: The view from Germany

Conclusion I have frequently mentioned objective problems and topics in the preceding sections. But what exactly is the force of objective here? As my remarks should have made clear I have been using objective to contrast with purely historical. A purely historical approach never gets beyond reproduction, commentary, and interpretation. I call an approach objective when it involves a philosopher who advances his own theses and claims.This minimal understanding of objectivity (in the context of my remarks in this paper) by no means implies that there are problems and topics, systems of concepts, methods, and similar factors that are eternal, completely independent of the contingencies of history (of philosophy, of the sciences), that are not relative to a language, to a logic, to a model, etc. Indeed whether there are problems, etc., in just this absolute, atemporal sense is itself a question for systematic philosophy. It seems clear that the formulation of a problem can only take place against a cognitive background of some sort and within some conceptual scheme.³⁴ Such an assumption is made by most if not all analytic philosophers. But the fact that a philosophical tradition recognizes conceptual schemes does not make it a purely historical, non-objective philosophy, in the sense already introduced and described. A philosopher who explicitly accepts a certain conceptual scheme proceeds in an entirely objective and systematic (and not purely historical) manner when, within this framework, he formulates his own theses.This paper is the text of a talk. the title is due to Barry Smith.     

The relevance of specific conversational behaviors to ratings of social skill: An experimental analysis

Research on the social effectiveness of specific conversational behaviors is reviewed and a new study is presented. Eight versions of the same tape-recorded conversation between a man and a woman were prepared in a 2×2×2 design, where the woman systematically varied her conversation either high or low on questions, compliments, and 4-sec latencies. Subjects listened to one of these tapes and rated the female's social skill. Results of the major social skill variable showed that high questions and high compliments elicited higher skill ratings. The effect of low latencies was only marginally significant. While other factors such as personal appearance or self-evaluation differences may also be important, this study suggests that it may be valuable to include assessment and training relevant to compliments and questions (and possibly latencies) in programs for women who are socially anxious.     

Language,philosophy and the risk of failure: rereading the debate between Searle and Derrida

Continental Philosophy Review - In this paper I return to one of the central points of contention in the renowned debate between John Searle and Jacques Derrida with the aim of rethinking the role...     

The debate between Anna Freud and Melanie Klein: An historical survey

In this paper I attempt to provide an overview of the professional dialogue between Anna Freud and Melanie Klein. I examine relevant theoretical and biographical issues, and reflect on divergencies. My conclusion is that each of them highlighted a different but valuable aspect of children's mental life, and that together their theories laid the foundation for a comprehensive mental health service for children.     

Unpacking the debate: A qualitative investigation of first-time experiences with interval exercise

ObjectiveThere has been compelling debate about whether interval exercise should be promoted in public health strategies as a means of eliciting the health and fitness adaptations associated with physical activity behavior, particularly among individuals who are inactive. Despite a rapidly growing body of quantitative research, there is a notable absence of qualitative research on the topic. This study used a series of interviews conducted over time to develop a richer understanding of inactive adults’ experiences and perceptions of moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT), high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and sprint interval training (SIT) over time and factors that may influence their participation in these types of exercise.MethodsThirty inactive young adults (18 women, 12 men) completed three lab-based trials of cycling exercise in a random order on separate days: MICT, HIIT, and SIT, and subsequently logged their free-living exercise over four weeks. Interviews were conducted at five timepoints and subjected to a reflexive thematic analysis.ResultsThree overarching themes were constructed: (1) interval exercise sounds appealing, but is it for me? (2) exercise trade-offs – the value of interval vs. traditional exercise, and (3) real-world exercise adaptations to make it on your own.ConclusionsThe findings emphasize that people respond differently to different forms of exercise and the factors that influence participation in interval or continuous exercise are far more complex than can be captured by quantitative methodologies alone. Results suggest there is indeed a place for interval exercise in exercise plans and programs for the general population and interval exercise can be used concurrently with continuous exercise.     

The politics of situating knowledge: An exercise in social epistemology

This essay forges links between Popperians and feminists by considering the connections between Donna Haraway's situated knowledge and Karl R. Popper's situational logic. It is concerned with the political commitments behind methodological issues, with the degree to which there can be a Popperian contribution to the feminist vision of a successor science, and with ways of dealing with, while not resolving, the political differences between socialist feminists and libertarian Popperians.