Ubuntu in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Educational, Cultural and Philosophical Considerations
Ubuntu has been defined as a moral quality of human beings, as a philosophy or an ethic, as African humanism, and as a worldview. This paper explores these definitions as conceptual tools for understanding the cultural, educational, and philosophical landscape of post-apartheid South Africa. Key to...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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Series: | Philosophies |
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9287/9/1/21 |
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author | Mahmoud Patel Tawffeek A. S. Mohammed Raymond Koen |
author_facet | Mahmoud Patel Tawffeek A. S. Mohammed Raymond Koen |
author_sort | Mahmoud Patel |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Ubuntu has been defined as a moral quality of human beings, as a philosophy or an ethic, as African humanism, and as a worldview. This paper explores these definitions as conceptual tools for understanding the cultural, educational, and philosophical landscape of post-apartheid South Africa. Key to this understanding is the Althusserian concept of state apparatus. Louis Althusser divides the state apparatus into two forces: the repressive state apparatus (RSA); and the ideological state apparatus (ISA). RSAs curtail the working classes, predominately through direct violence or the threat of violence, whereas ISAs function primarily by ideology, including forms of organised religion, the education system, family units, legal systems, trade unions, political parties, and media. This paper discusses the link between increasing inequality in post-apartheid South Africa and education, with specific reference to Althusser’s ISAs and the abuse of Ubuntu as a subterfuge for socio-economic inequality. |
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format | Article |
id | doaj.art-0c1d15073bfa458fa05fe1892ffb69c3 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2409-9287 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:16:32Z |
publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
record_format | Article |
series | Philosophies |
spelling | doaj.art-0c1d15073bfa458fa05fe1892ffb69c32024-02-23T15:31:31ZengMDPI AGPhilosophies2409-92872024-01-01912110.3390/philosophies9010021Ubuntu in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Educational, Cultural and Philosophical ConsiderationsMahmoud Patel0Tawffeek A. S. Mohammed1Raymond Koen2English for Educational Development (EED), University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, South AfricaDepartment of Foreign Languages, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, South AfricaDepartment of Criminal Justice and Procedure, Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, South AfricaUbuntu has been defined as a moral quality of human beings, as a philosophy or an ethic, as African humanism, and as a worldview. This paper explores these definitions as conceptual tools for understanding the cultural, educational, and philosophical landscape of post-apartheid South Africa. Key to this understanding is the Althusserian concept of state apparatus. Louis Althusser divides the state apparatus into two forces: the repressive state apparatus (RSA); and the ideological state apparatus (ISA). RSAs curtail the working classes, predominately through direct violence or the threat of violence, whereas ISAs function primarily by ideology, including forms of organised religion, the education system, family units, legal systems, trade unions, political parties, and media. This paper discusses the link between increasing inequality in post-apartheid South Africa and education, with specific reference to Althusser’s ISAs and the abuse of Ubuntu as a subterfuge for socio-economic inequality.https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9287/9/1/21UbuntueducationalculturalphilosophicalSouth Africapost-apartheid |
spellingShingle | Mahmoud Patel Tawffeek A. S. Mohammed Raymond Koen Ubuntu in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Educational, Cultural and Philosophical Considerations Philosophies Ubuntu educational cultural philosophical South Africa post-apartheid |
title | Ubuntu in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Educational, Cultural and Philosophical Considerations |
title_full | Ubuntu in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Educational, Cultural and Philosophical Considerations |
title_fullStr | Ubuntu in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Educational, Cultural and Philosophical Considerations |
title_full_unstemmed | Ubuntu in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Educational, Cultural and Philosophical Considerations |
title_short | Ubuntu in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Educational, Cultural and Philosophical Considerations |
title_sort | ubuntu in post apartheid south africa educational cultural and philosophical considerations |
topic | Ubuntu educational cultural philosophical South Africa post-apartheid |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9287/9/1/21 |
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