Meaning Of Justice In African Philosophy

The book examines the meaning of justice in African political philosophy, building on the use-theoretical approach. Currently, most of the philosophical works in this context advocate for a communal interpretation of the meaning of justice, such as the 'relational theory of justice' and 'Ubuntu justice as fairness.' The author argues that this foundation of justice in the community undermines the self, which is a major problem with these theories. As an attempt to go beyond communitarianism in African thought, the book recognizes other philosophical frameworks for elaborating the meaning of justice in ordinary people's experience, such as vitalism, theism, ubuntuism, and semantic framework. The author opts for a reconstructed ubuntu-based theory of the meaning of justice that reflects the traditional African experience and recuperates 'valuing self-existence' and 'valuing other-existence' as its foundations. The book further identifies the centrality of rights in defining justice in traditional African communities.

This book provides a much-needed philosophical response to the recurrent postcolonial call to uproot the prevalent workings of the colonial regime, with a close focus on the African context. The work addresses a range of questions concerning the othering of Africans in the postcolonial context, specifically by focusing on the philosophical analysis of problems of justice, the effect of injustice on the formation of the self, and strategies of resistance against the injustice of othering. Questions raised in this collection include: who or what is "the other"? Who is the "African other"? In what ways are Africans othered? What is the effect of unjust conditions on the formation of the self? In what sense is othering an injustice? How can justice concern itself with the problem of othering? What are the strategies to resist the injustice of othering? Can one ever do justice to the experience of the subaltern other in abstract terms of philosophical analysis? In considering these questions, this book will be of interest to all those studying the intersectional ways in which colonial injustice is manifested in the postcolony, as well as those seeking greater philosophical reflection on postcolonial justice. This book was originally published as a special issue of Angelaki.

In contemporary political philosophy, the subject of global justice has received sustained interest. This is unsurprising, given the nexus between inequality and many of the pressing global problems today, such as immigration, global public health, poverty and violence. Theorists of global justice ask why inequality is morally wrong, what we owe to the global poor, what the implications of global inequality for people in affluent countries are, and the power of agencies or institutions necessary for the realization of a fairer world. Although political philosophers have offered different conceptions of these problems and narratives of the ideal of justice, a major shortcoming of the current discussion are the limits of the concepts and idioms employed. Assumptions are made about the experience of poverty, but little is done to understand the way people in underdeveloped countries experience and understand their predicament. This has resulted in the entrenchment of cognitive inequality in the global justice debate. This book attempts to correct the inaccuracies engendered by the one-sided theorising of global justice. By employing metaphors, concepts and philosophical ideas to reflect on global justice, the book provides an account of global justice that goes beyond current parochial perspective. This book was originally published as a Special Issue of Philosophical Papers.

How should disability justice be conceptualised, not by orthodox human rights or capabilities approaches, but by a legal philosophy that mirrors an African relational community ideal? This book develops the first comprehensive answer to this question through the contemporary literature on African philosophy, which is relied upon to construct a legal philosophy of disability justice comprising of ethical ideals of community, human relationships and obligations. From these ideals, an African legal philosophy of disability justice is offered as a criterion for critically evaluating existing laws, legal and political institutions, as well as providing an ethical basis for creating new ones to ensure that they are inclusive to people with disabilities. In taking an alternative perspective on the subject, the book outlines and emphasises the need for a new public culture of obligations owed to people with disabilities, highlighting both the prospects and difficulties of achieving the ideal of disability justice that continues to elude the lived experiences of millions of Africans today. Oche Onazi's An African Path to Disability Justice is the first book-length exploration of disability in the light of African ethics, as contrasted with the human rights and capabilities frameworks. Of particular interest are Onazi's thoughtful reflections on how various conceptions of community salient in African moral philosophy––including group-based, reciprocal and relational––bear on what we owe to the disabled. --Thaddeus Metz, Distinguished Professor, University of Johannesburg

This book focuses on environmental justice in African philosophy, highlighting important new perspectives which will be of significance to researchers with an interest in environmental ethics both within Africa and beyond. Drawing on African social and ethical conceptions of existence, the book makes suggestions for how to derive environmental justice from African philosophies such as communitarian ethics, relational ethics, unhu/ubuntu ethics, ecofeminist ethics and intergenerational ethics. Specifically, the book emphasises the ways in which African philosophies of existence seek to involve everyone in environmental policy and planning and to equitably distribute both environmental benefits (such as natural resources) and environmental burdens (such as pollution and the location of mining, industrial or dumping sites). This extends to fair distribution between global South and global North, rich and poor, urban and rural populations, men and women and adults and children. These principles of humaneness, relationships, equality, interconnectedness and teleologically oriented existence among all beings are important not only to African environmental justice but also to the environmental justice movement globally. The book will interest researchers and students working in the fields of environmental ethics, African philosophy and political philosophy in general.

This book introduces readers to the concepts of political philosophy. It starts by explaining why the subject is important and how it tackles basic ethical questions such as 'how should we live together in society?' It looks at political authority, the reasons why we need politics at all, the limitations of politics, and whether there are areas of life that shouldn't be governed by politics. It explores the connections between political authority and justice, a constant theme in political philosophy, and the ways in which social justice can be used to regulate rather than destroy a market economy. David Miller discusses why nations are the natural units of government and whether the rise of multiculturalism and transnational co-operation will change this: will we ever see the formation of a world government? ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Henry Odera Oruka was one of the most influential figures in 20th-century African philosophy. During the early years of the decolonization of African countries, as universities worked to redefine themselves, Odera drove changes to curricula and research. A tireless advocate for democracy and human rights in Africa, he repeatedly intervened in the political debates of his time. This is the first critical biography of both the man himself and African philosophy in the context of changing times, taking us through his early life, scholarly training, and Oruka's way of transforming the field of philosophy as it was taught in Kenya. The narrative unfolds from the personal to the global, from Africa to the world, and from African philosophy to the wider field of philosophy. Biographical material is woven with narratives of the social conditions and live questions as they arise in Oruka's life in Kenya, Sweden, and the United States. We are introduced to his understanding of philosophy as a critique of society. Exposing prison practices in Africa and targeting capitalists, Oruka sought to remedy social problems on a global scale, from institutional racism and ethnic division to the wealth gap between rich and poor nations. Through archival material, personal interviews and primary texts, this book shines a light on Oruka's monumental contribution to African philosophy and global justice. Finally we can see how Oruka's insights are still relevant to how we think about poverty, philosophy and human rights today.