Thought Leader

Does Philosophy have a function in society?

23 October 2018 Bert Olivier

A doctoral student in philosophy at the University of the Free State, Mark Amaridakis, recently reminded me of the important contribution made to philosophy — specifically the Critical Theory of the so-called Frankfurt School — by Max Horkheimer, one of the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research’s early directors. This made me pick up one of…

comments (0)

| views (3604)

What we’ve learnt from analysing 300 calls to a mental health helpline in South Africa

23 October 2018 Psychological Society of South Africa

By Dessy Deysel and Dr. Linda Eskell Blokland We see the toll-free numbers on TV, read about them in magazines and newspapers, hear radio personalities encourage us to reach out. Helplines for depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric conditions are being used daily in our country, where one in three of us will likely experience a…

comments (0)

| views (1742)

Election day in my new ‘home’: A migrant’s reluctant vote for integration

18 October 2018 Mandela Rhodes Scholars

By Zdena Mtetwa-Middernacht It is Election Day in Belgium. I am not voting but I’ve taken the walk to the polling station. The polling station is a school a few hundred meters from our home, in a little Flemish town on the outskirts of Brussels. I’m at the playground with the kids while my husband…

comments (0)

| views (1626)

Dutch Reformed Church leader misrepresents paedophilic disorder as same-sex sexual orientation: An open statement by PsySSA

18 October 2018 Psychological Society of South Africa

Introduction The Psychological Society of South Africa’s (PsySSA) Sexuality and Gender Division (SGD[1]) welcomed the Dutch Reformed Church Synod’s decision in 2015 to embrace gay and lesbian ministers/reverends, ordain them in their calling as ministers/reverends, and acknowledge and bless gay and lesbian congregants’ unions by conducting and officiating their marriages under the Civil Union Act….

comments (0)

| views (2009)

How to bring South Africa’s fuel prices down – Use Sasol!

15 October 2018 Bert Olivier

Just a quick thought: I have noticed that, quite apart from the large percentage of the debilitating fuel prices in South Africa being due to government taxes, our fuel is much more expensive than in the African countries surrounding us. (Check out these comparisons). What strikes one when you look at these comparisons, is that…

comments (0)

| views (2867)

The battle for America’s soul is also the battle for the world’s soul

6 October 2018 Bert Olivier

Watching the tragicomedy playing itself out in America around the determined attempt on the part of Trump and the Republicans on the Senate, to appoint Brett Kavanaugh as lifetime judge on the panel of judges of the US Supreme Court, I had the uncanny feeling that this showdown between the forces of retrogressive neoconservatism and…

comments (0)

| views (2769)

Avidity

2 October 2018 Avishkar Govender

Avidity defined as: keen interest, enthusiasm or “a positive feeling of wanting to push ahead with something”. Now that we’ve got that out the way I can focus on what it is that has conjured this feeling that I have. It is not just the freedom of a new keyboard, typing hasn’t been this comfortable…

comments (0)

| views (1688)