Partiality and Impartiality in African Philosophy fills the lacuna in African philosophy literature on the inherent tension between requirements of partiality (favoritism) and impartiality (equality). Motsamai Molefe deploys two strategies to philosophically resolve the tension between partiality and impartiality. The first strategy involves applying the moral theories of Kwasi Wiredu, Thaddeus Metz, and Kwame Gyekye to the problem. Finding their views useful in some ways and seriously lim...

Ontologized Ethics: New Essays in African Meta-Ethics examines an often neglected meta-ethical issue in African philosophical discourse: the extent to which one’s orientation of being, or idea of what-is – as an individual or as a group of persons – does, or should, determine one’s concept of the good. To what extent is ethics, or our idea of what is permissible or impermissible, grounded on ideas of what fundamentally exists or what it means to be? The aim of this collection of essays, wi...

Recently, the salient idea of personhood in the tradition of African philosophy has been objected to on various grounds. Two such objections stand out ñ the book deals with a lot more. The first criticism is that the idea of personhood is patriarchal insofar as it elevates the status of men and marginalises women in society. The second criticism observes that the idea of personhood is characterised by speciesism. The essence of these concerns is that personhood fails to embody a robust mor...

The Illusion of Escape: Why Giving Up Is the Hardest Thing You Can Do is a thought-provoking exploration of why walking away is often more difficult than pushing forward. Blending psychology, philosophy, and real-life stories, this book uncovers the hidden forces that trap us in toxic situations—whether in careers, relationships, or personal goals. It challenges the notion that persistence is always the right path and reveals how knowing when to quit can be the key to true...

Motivational book for those finding themselves between a rock and a hard place.

This book articulates an African conception of dignity in light of the salient axiological category of personhood in African cultures. The idea of personhood embodies a moral system for evaluating human lives exuding with virtue or ones that are morally excellent. This book argues that this idea of personhood embodies an under-explored conception of dignity, which accounts for it in terms of our capacity for the virtue of sympathy. It then proceeds to apply this personhood-based conception...

This book analyzes the concepts of moral status and human dignity in African philosophy and applies them to the moral problems associated with death.The book first challenges the criticism and rejection of moral status in African philosophy and then continues to consider how moral personhood is defined in African ethical theories, investigating which entities have full moral status or moral personhood and are therefore worthy of full ethical consideration. It then applies this theo...

This book throws a spotlight on the under-explored African perspective on the mercurial concept of human dignity. To do so, it employs two strategies. In the first instance, it considers African theories of human dignity: (1) vitality; (2) community; (3) Personhood. Secondly, it explores the plausibility of these theories by applying them to select applied ethics themes, specifically: animal ethics, disability ethics and euthanasia. The aim of this book is not to argue for the plausibility...

This book explores the salient ethical idea of personhood in African philosophy. It is a philosophical exposition that pursues the ethical and political consequences of the normative idea of personhood as a robust or even foundational ethical category. Personhood refers to the moral achievements of the moral agent usually captured in terms of a virtuous character, which have consequences for both morality and politics. The aim is not to argue for the plausibility of the ethical and politic...

This book provides a philosophical exposition of Ubuntu ethics, which it does by explaining the saying ‘a person is a person through other persons’. Written by one of the world’s leading scholars of African philosophy, the book first argues that the focus on umuntu (or, a person) in Ubuntu ethics as intrinsically valuable makes ethical humanism and human dignity vitally important. The book then goes on to consider the role of virtue ethics in driving an ideal of moral perfectionis...

One of four definitions of the word FORMULA is "a general law", and examples are given ofmathematical and chemical formulae.Another is a list of the substances used in making something, such as a medicine, a fuel, a drink,and so on, sometimes also including a description of how they are to be mixed.A third definition defines FORMULA as a combination of things, events and the like, that will leadalmost unavoidably to the stated or expected result.An...

THE ITINERARY (Triumphs and Tribulations – Political and Personal Memoirs of a PAC exile and activist 1963-1992) is the autobiographical account of a political activist, whose service in the struggle almost spanned the years of Apartheid in government. Ike Mafole became conscious politically as the National Party was enacting in earnest its plethora of racist laws and policies; his own family fell victim to the mass removals in which blacks were moved from areas designated white. The mass ...