The fight for equality is valid but the burning down of our universities is not the revolution or decolonisation any of us should want
knowledge
Posted inLifestyle
Does philosophy have a role in society?
Philosophers have a different take on current affairs and pose their own problems. They point out the distance between truth and power. Then it is up to us to choose
Posted inBusiness, General, Lifestyle, Media
Who’s afraid of Big Fake News: How the expert lost her voice
By Daniel den Hollander Information is all around us. Social media platforms keep us informed of the latest developments. You would assume that this continuous access to the latest knowledge would make us smarter and more informed. Unfortunately, it has also created an explosion of fake news, conspiracy theories, and misinformation, often based on prejudice. […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
The present ‘world dis-order’
Bernard Stiegler, referring to the battle for the attention of (particularly young) users of technical devices such as smartphones, writes about the ‘dis-attention’ that results from this. What he has in mind is the manner in which capitalism, not wasting any opportunity for marketing, uses these mnemo-technical devices to disrupt the flow of attention on […]
Posted inGeneral
Are you an agnostic?
What is agnosticism? Broadly speaking, it is the position that claims that human beings cannot ‘know’ whether God (or gods) exists or not. We simply do not have the means to have such knowledge. I put ‘know’ in scare quotes because that is where an agnostic puts the emphasis. The ancient Greek word, ‘gnosis’, means […]
Posted inGeneral, Media
Far more than a thriller writer
It is easy to misjudge a writer, particularly if the blurbs on the cover of his or her books proclaim something like: “Impossible to put down. Another mind-blowing story!” Or: “Wow…Blockbuster perfection. An exhilaratingly brainy thriller…” Not that these blurbs are inaccurate regarding the novels I have in mind; up to a certain point they […]
Posted inGeneral
Philosophy of provisionality
Everything we do as humans is provisional. Because of time’s eroding power, everything is revisable. There is a reason for the word “decision” being a part of our language. Not accidentally, the term derives from the Latin for “cut”; in other words, when we decide something, we make a volitional “cut” of sorts in the […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics, Tech
Why we need a politics of ‘spirit’ not consumption
Most people reading this are probably wondering what a “politics of spirit” could possibly mean. After all, it seems like an oxymoron to juxtapose “politics” and “spirit”. I would agree with that, at first sight anyway. Until you read Bernard Stiegler’s transfixing book, The Re-Enchancement of the World, subtitled: The Value of Spirit against Industrial […]
Posted inGeneral
Making local knowledge matter in the classroom
Recently my grade 10 pupils had to present orals using quotes from African writers. While listening to their orals I was struck by the lacklustre nature of their speeches. When I introduced the assessment to the girls there was an understanding that the speeches should be interesting and that the opportunity to research African writers […]
Posted inEquality, General
Talking ourselves to knowing a new tomorrow
What is knowledge to you? I mean, really, what is it? Is it something that is encapsulated in a document or is it a fractured, partial view of the world? Is knowledge finite and infallible or structured and unchanging? We don’t often reflect on how we know the world but if you were to sit […]
Posted inEquality, General, Media
Africa, the dark continent?
By Matthew de la Hey “The world is like a Mask dancing. If you want to see it well you do not stand in one place” — Chinua Achebe Do they know it’s Christmas? Well of course they do. They’ll probably go to church, and then spend the day with their families. I find the […]
Posted inGeneral
Reimagining dialogue
I used to love going to church. Growing up in a traditional black Methodist Church meant that for each service I knew what to expect. People would arrive 15 minutes before church began, wait in the pews silently or sing a few hymns while we waited for the choir to usher in the preacher for […]