African philosophical values and constitutionalism: a feminist perspective on Ubuntu as a constitutional value
| dc.contributor.advisor | Raath, A. W. G. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Keevy, Ilze | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2015-08-27T10:13:22Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2015-08-27T10:13:22Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2008 | |
| dc.description.abstract | English: Since 1995 the South African Constitutional Court has contended that it would no longer entertain only Western thought and legal thinking but also African law and legal thinking as the values of all sections of society must be taken into account in South Africa’s open and democratic society. The Court acknowledged ubuntu as part of South Africa’s jurisprudence and fused Western and African jurisprudence into a new South African “rainbow” jurisprudence. But beneath this miraculous fusion lies a volatile philosophical relationship of two ancient patriarchal philosophies which resulted in the erosion of African values and innumerable injustices against the African Other. Like Greek philosophy, Western philosophy has always been plagued by philosophical prejudice towards women, slaves and barbarians. Racism, however, only entered the equation of Western philosophy when the West had to justify their trade in twenty million African men, women and children as African chattel slaves in the seventeenth century. This crime against humanity was justified in the name of Christianity by philosophers and clergy alike. Whilst the Enlightenment philosophers proclaimed human equality and individual liberties in the eighteenth century they also fuelled a “new racism” which stereotyped Africans as inferior and subhuman. Not only did the Otherness of Africans result in racial segregation in the United States of America in 1883, it also legitimised Western colonisation of the “Dark Continent”. Under the banner of the cross, Western colonial powers embarked on their Christian civilising mission of the African continent: destroying African trade patterns, ancestral lands, self government, tribal systems, African law, cultures, belief systems and values. It was, however, not these factors, the colonial genocides in Congo Free State and German South-West Africa or Apartheid South Africa’s crime against humanity which resulted in the lingering inferiority complex Africans experience on the African continent, but the most destructive weapon wielded by the West: the “cultural bomb”, which eroded African values. The publication of Temple’s Bantu Philosophy in 1945 did not only bring proof that traditional Africans have a collective philosophy but also sparked a heated international and national philosophical debate. In an attempt to structure the discourse on African philosophy Oruka introduced his six trends in African philosophy. According to Oruka, ethnophilosophy (or ubuntu) represents the collective philosophy, or ubuntu, of either an African community or Africa as a whole; sage philosophy illustrates that rational thought prevails in philosophical sages; political philosophy contains the liberation philosophies of African leaders who envisaged the rekindling of eroded traditional African values; Negritude is described as the “sum total of African values”; professional African philosophy is African philosophy in the strict sense produced by African philosophers; the hermeneutical approach attempts to reconstruct African reality in post-colonial Africa; and the literary trend illustrates the devastating effect of Western subjugation of the African Other. The debate on African philosophy illustrates that there is no homogenous way of African thinking and that professional African philosophers, modern Africans, African theologians and African feminists reject traditional African modes of thought. The Constitutional Court claims ubuntu values are in line with the Constitution in general and the Bill of Rights in particular but this study brings evidence to the contrary. Not only are ubuntu values represented in traditional Africa’s closed, strong communitarian societies unique and not universal, but ubuntu “moral philosophy” proves to be a religious philosophy. Whilst sec. 15(1) of the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion one has to question why the Court entertains a religious philosophy such as ubuntu in its deliberations and not other religious philosophies. The Constitutional Court, African Renaissance, the Moral Regeneration Movement, the Ubuntu Pledge, the Heartlines Project and other programmes throughout South Africa aspire to revive ubuntu’s eroded traditional African values. African feminists, African theologians and modern Africans reveal that ubuntu fuels inequalities, sexism and xenophobia and that ubuntu does not comply with sec. 39(1) of the Constitution. Ubuntu is neither in line with international or regional human rights and gender mechanisms nor “the Constitution in general and the Bill of Rights in particular”. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | Afrikaans: Die Konstitutionele Hof het in 1995 besluit om die waardes van alle sektore van Suid-Afrika se oop en demokratiese samelewing in ag te neem; nie slegs Westerse denke en regsfilosofie nie maar ook Afrika reg en regsfilosofie. Met die erkenning van ubuntu as deel van Suid-Afrika se regsfilisofie, het die Hof Westerse en ubuntu versmelt in ‘n nuwe Suid-Afrikaanse “reënboog” regsfilosofie. Maar onder hierdie oënskynlike samesmelting word ‘n plofbare filosofiese verhouding tussen twee oeroue patriargale filosofieë verskans wat die erodering van Afrika waardes en ontelbare ongeregtighede teenoor die Afrika Ander tot gevolg gehad het. Soos Griekse filosofie, het Westerse filosofie vooroordele teenoor vroue, slawe en barbare gehandhaaf. Rassisme het egter eers in die sewentiende eeu deel van Westerse filosofie geword toe dit die handel in twintig miljoen Afrika slawe moes wettig. Hierdie misdaad teen die mensdom was gewettig in die naam van Christus deur filosowe en die Christen kerk. Terwyl die filosowe van die Verligting gelykheid en vryheid verkondig het in die agtiende eeu, het hulle ‘n “nuwe rassisme” aangevuur wat Afrikane as minderwaardig voorgestel het. Nie alleen het hul andersheid aanleiding gegee tot ‘n beleid van rasse segregasie in die Verenigde State van Amerika in 1883 nie, maar dit het ook gelei tot die wettiging van kolonialisasie van die Afrika vasteland. Onder die vaandel van die kruis het Westerlinge hul kerstening en beskawing van die Afrika vasteland onderneem en gevestigde Afrika handelsnetwerke, die gronde van die voorvaders, selfregering, stamstelsels, Afrika reg, kulture, geloofstelstels en tradisionele waardes erodeer. Dit was egter nie bogenoemde faktore, die volksmoorde in die Kongo Vrystaat en Duits Suidwes-Afrika, of apartheid Suid-Afrika se misdaad teen die mensdom wat Afrikane se voortslepende minderwaardigheidgevoel tot gevolg gehad het nie, maar die mees verwoestende wapen wat die Weste op Afrika gewerp het: die “kultuur bom”, wat Afrika waardes erodeer het. Met die publikasie van sy Bantu Philosophy het Tempels nie alleen bewys dat Afrika oor ’n kollektiewe filosofie beskik nie, maar ook ‘n hewige filosofiese debat internasionaal en nasionaal ontketen. In ‘n poging om die debat oor Afrika filosofie te struktureer het Oruka sy ses indelings van Afrika filosofie bekendgestel. Sy indeling is as volg: etnofilosofie stel die kollektiewe filosofie, of ubuntu, van die hele Afrika of ’n tradisionele Afrika gemeenskap voor; “sage philosophy”, of die filosofie van tradisionele wyses, bewys dat rasionele denke tog in Afrika bestaan; politieke filosofie verkondig die bevrydingsfilosofieë van Afrika leiers wat Afrika sosialisme, -humanisme en -waardes bevorder; Negritude beskryf die totaal van Afrika waardes en verdedig die feit dat Afrika wel n geskiedenis en unieke filosofie beskik; die hermeunitiese benadering rekonstrueer Afrika realiteit na die koloniale era; en letterkundige filosofie illustreer die verwoestende effek wat Westerse liberalisme op Afrika en sy wardes gehad het. Die debat oor Afrika filosofie bewys dat Afrikane nie eensgesind is in hul denkwyse nie. Professionele Afrika filosowe, Afrika teoloë, moderne Afrikane en Afrika feministe verwerp die tradisionele denkwyse wat kenmerkend is van tradisionele gemeenskappe in Afrika. Die Konstitusionele Hof beweer dat ubuntu waardes die Grondwet in die algemeen en die Handves van Menseregte in die besonder onderskryf. Hierdie studie bring egter bewyse tot die teendeel. Nie alleen is ubuntu waardes in sterk kommunitariese gemeenskappe uniek en nie universeel nie, maar ubuntu “morele” filosofie blyk in werklikheid n godsdienstige filosofie te wees. Die vraag word gereg gevra waarom die Grondwet slegs godsdienstige waardes van ubuntu in ag neem tydens beredenerings maar nie ander godsdienstige waardes nie. Dit is in stryd met art 15(1) van die Handves van Menseregte. Terwyl die Afrika Rennaissance, die Morele Heropbou Beweging, Ubuntu Belofte, die Heartlines Projek en talle programme oor Suid-Afrika heen poog om ubuntu waardes te laat herleef, beweer Afrika feministe, Afrika teoloeë en moderne Afrikane dat ubuntu ongelykheid, seksisme en vreemdelingehaat aanvuur en nie voldoen aan art. 39(1) van die Grondwet nie. Ubuntu is nie alleen nie in lyn met internasionale en regionale menseregte instrumente nie maar ook nie met “die grondwet in die algemeen en die handves van menseregte in die besonder” nie. | af |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11660/1066 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Thesis (LL.D. (Philosophy of Law))--University of the Free State, 2008 | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Ubuntu (Philosophy) | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Law -- Philosophy | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Constitutional law -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Sociological jurisprudence | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | African Feminism | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | African Philosophy | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Deconstruction | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Postmodernism | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | S v Makwanyane | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Ubuntu | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Values | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Western Feminism | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Western Philosophy | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | African Jurisprudence | en_ZA |
| dc.title | African philosophical values and constitutionalism: a feminist perspective on Ubuntu as a constitutional value | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |