Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2008. / Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 117 p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MA (Philosophy))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / The Philosophy of Poverty and the Ethics of Ubuntu The question posed in this article is if and how the ethics of ubuntu could play a role in poverty eradication in a capitalist economic system. I address this question by investigating a specific poverty eradication project proposal called Pela Nambu, aimed at utilising the principle of participation that exists in the “second economy”, combined with the instruments of wealth creation of the “first economy”. After describing and expanding the Pela Nambu approach, I interrogate some of its main assumptions, and find that the ethics of ubuntu does not really have a chance to be mainstreamed as the philosophy of poverty has to reckon with the fact that the multinational corporation is the dominant institution of our time. For Pela Nambu to succeed, “first economy” participation will need to be in the form of partnerships and not charity. The present Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility performance of companies is not encouraging. Yet, the new Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment codes and the increased marketability of differentiated products does offer an opportunity that initiatives like Pela Nambu could fruitfully explore. From hauntology to a new animism? Nature and culture in Heinz Kimmerle’s intercultural philosophy Derrida has proposed a new spectrology in an attempt to deal with the ghost of Marx. Kimmerle shows that Marx has forgotten nature, and enquires about Derrida’s forgetting Marx’s forgetting. With specific reference to African culture he asks whether a new animism should not be explored within the framework of a new spectrology. Derrida uses the concept animism, but not in terms of the being of things in and of themselves, which could positively be thought as animated. Kimmerle proposes a way in which Western philosophy could be opened to African philosophy in order to understand the problem of animated nature more adequately. African philosophy has a concept of the universe of spiritual forces, in which nature and its powers are completely integrated. This paper explores these issues in dialogue with a number of African philosophers, while linking them to certain contestations within environmental philosophy and ethics, especially Murray Bookchin’s critique of spirit-talk in Deep Ecology. Kimmerle’s work on the relationship between Africa and Hegel sets the scene for an elaboration of his re-evaluation of animism which is compared to the ground-breaking hypothesis of Bird-David. A relational epistemology is understood in ethical terms, and it is implied that such an epistemology would be more adequate for a new humanism that would be new in going beyond the western tradition, and in the process gain a more inclusive concept of ‘person’ and ‘community’. The community and the individual in Western and African thought: Implications for knowledge production The tension between the group and the individual is a pervasive condition of humanity that is resolved differently in Western and African knowledge systems. The polarity of “I think therefore I am” versus “I am because we are” does not do justice to the role of the individual in African knowledge systems, and recent attempts in Western philosophy to ormulate a “philosophy of we”. A contextual philosophy of knowledge production is concerned about the we as the carrier of traditions. It is a philosophy of the in-between cultures and knowledge systems that is engaged in dialogues aimed at the formulation of universals. Intercultural (or contextual) philosophy becomes the ‘contemporary idiom’ within which to express ‘the cluster of humanist principles which underlie the traditional African society’ (Nkrumah).

M. Tech. Entrepreneurship / The world is experiencing remarkable social, political, economic and entrepreneurial changes and challenges. Some of these challenges relate to the incorporation of various social cultures to the business culture. Managers, businessmen and entrepreneurs need to reconcile the various cultural dimensions to survive in a highly competitive global market environment. When doing business with people it is important to understand what defines them and most people are defined by their social culture and tradition. Culture is therefore an important aspect in understanding how we all interact in our social and business lives. Culture creates the rules for social interaction that conditions how people will react to others within the business environment and that form of interaction occurs according to rules (norms) and values embedded in our various cultures. The purpose of the study is to investigate the influence of the Ubuntu philosophy and its practice on the functionality of family businesses.

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2009. / Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 140 p. Includes bibliographical references.

For most of Rwanda's post-independence past, the country has been marked by ethnic feuding, mass population movements and long exiles in neighbouring countries, and civil wars that culminated in the genocide in 1994. As this research shows in its review of literature of the history of Rwanda's post-independence period, the civil wars of those with ethnically-differentiated access to power and wealth have had social-, cultural- and economic effects. How has foreign culture - acquired by Rwandaliens - affected indigenous Rwandan culture, and its influence thereof on the present leadership styles? This thesis assesses the most common leadership styles in companies / organisations in Rwanda, in order to build a theory of the predominant leadership styles and culture in Rwanda in the context of the post-genocide era.

D.Litt. et Phil. / The post-1994 South African society has become humanistic, pluralistic and tolerant. The era is characterised by a call and commitment to build a non–racial, non–sexist, and non–discriminatory society enshrined in the constitution of the Republic of South Africa. These conditions challenge African evangelical leaders to minister the gospel without losing their faith and cultural identity. They also provide such leaders with an opportunity to effectively minister the gospel to others within their cultures and value systems. In an earlier study, which described how leaders of this type have developed and which values influenced them, the researcher discovered that: (a) these leaders follow the same developmental phases mentioned in Clinton‘s leadership emergence pattern and (b) the family played an important role in influencing, shaping and passing certain values to these leaders. In addition to these observations, the results of the completed questionnaires in the earlier study reflect that the leaders who participated in the previous study were significantly influenced by African and Western values. The influence of theses sets of values was referred to as operating with ―two souls‖, a condition which indicates that a person is simultaneously embracing both African and Western values without creating a dichotomy. The implication is that these leaders have embraced both kinds of values in their ministry and daily lives, without realising it. The researcher based the current study upon the recommendation that a qualitative study on African evangelical leadership development be conducted to determine areas that the researcher did not cover earlier. Based upon this recommendation he engaged in three tasks which constitute the purpose of this study: to (a) compare Ubuntu with Western values among African evangelical leaders in the same district and relate these values to New Testament leadership values, (b) argue that the ministry context of African evangelical leaders in the district dictates that they operate with ―two souls‖, and (c) develop a leadership training module for evangelical leaders in the district who participated in the study to enable them to minister in the culturally diverse, humanistic and pluralistic society of South Africa.

In this dissertation I sketch a conception of personhood as understood from within an Afrocommunitarian worldview, and argue that this understanding of personhood has implications for understanding the concept of reconciliation. Understanding ‘being human’ as a collective, communal enterprise has implications for how responsibility, justice, forgiveness and humanization (all cognate concepts of reconciliation) are conceptualized. In line with this understanding of reconciliation and its cognate concepts, I argue that the humanization of self and other (according to the Afrocommunitarian understanding of personhood) is required for addressing the ‘inferiority’ and concurrent ‘superiority’ racial complexes as diagnosed by Franz Fanon and Steve Biko. These complexes reach deeply within individual and collective psyches and political identities, and I argue that political solutions to protracted conflict (in South Africa and other racially charged contexts) which do not address these deeply entrenched pathologies will be inadequate according to an Afrocommunitarian framework.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (by coursework and research report), February 2010 / This research report answers the question, "would ubuntu obligate the people of Zimbabwe to agree to amnesty for Mr. Roberts Mugabe as a means to restore community harmony?" Seen as an ideal social ethic and foundation of African philosophy, ubuntu values community harmony and commands respect for dignity of humanity: [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version] / XL2018

<p>The<strong> </strong><em>Aim</em><strong> </strong>of this study is to interpret and analyse what is considered to be professional responsibility within substance abuse treatment in the unique perspective of Ubuntu philosophy. The <em>Method</em><strong> </strong>is of hermeneutic tradition, which is based upon qualitative research with five interviews. <em>Result:</em><strong> </strong>Ubuntu philosophy can be seen as a perspective when interacting with clients, professionals and surrounding community. Ethical responsibility is by the professionals considered as a positive attitude, different approaches and respect for the profession, co-workers and clients. The <em>Discussion</em><strong> </strong>enlightens the importance of education, ethical responsibilities and how the Ubuntu philosophy creates a holistic perspective in treatment. <em>Conclusion:</em><strong> </strong>There will always be differences when working with people but the differences should not be considered as dilemmas more as challenges.</p>