The end of essentialist gods and Ubuntu : a feminist critical investigation
- Mzondi, Abraham Modisa Mkhondo
- Authors: Mzondi, Abraham Modisa Mkhondo
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Feminist theology - Africa , Ubuntu (Philosophy)
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/122018 , uj:20597
- Description: Abstract: Armstrong (1993, 2009), Ferguson (1995) and others have convincingly demonstrated that different people conceptualise different god ideas to suit their diverse socio-cultural contexts. Their work laid the necessary groundwork for this study which juxtaposed god and Ubuntu constructs, affirming the fact that people are natural social constructivists involved in a continuous process of conceptualising ideas (ideologies/theologies) that work for them and give meaning to their contexts. Extending the ongoing construction of new god ideas also to that of Ubuntu, different sets of ideas of Ubuntu were investigated. This proved that this basic idea of African “humanness” similarly becomes concretised within diverse interest groups. Thus the thesis of this study as reflected in its title, “The end of essentialist gods andUbuntu: A feminist critical investigation” was substantiated. Two research methods, one general (social constructivism) and one specific (feminism) were employed to conduct the study. Social constructivism is a theory developed to understand human interactions and consequent ideas. It has two essential elements known as philosophical idealism and philosophical materialism; and culture and context form its basis. Insights of the notion of philosophical idealism were employed to analyse the ideationist constructs of religion (gods) and of Ubuntu. Whereas social-constuctivism served as the broad overarching hermeneutical tool, feminism was used as the specific interpretive framework to critically scrutinise mostly patriarchally biased conceptualisations of god and Ubuntu... , D.Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Studies)
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mzondi, Abraham Modisa Mkhondo
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Feminist theology - Africa , Ubuntu (Philosophy)
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/122018 , uj:20597
- Description: Abstract: Armstrong (1993, 2009), Ferguson (1995) and others have convincingly demonstrated that different people conceptualise different god ideas to suit their diverse socio-cultural contexts. Their work laid the necessary groundwork for this study which juxtaposed god and Ubuntu constructs, affirming the fact that people are natural social constructivists involved in a continuous process of conceptualising ideas (ideologies/theologies) that work for them and give meaning to their contexts. Extending the ongoing construction of new god ideas also to that of Ubuntu, different sets of ideas of Ubuntu were investigated. This proved that this basic idea of African “humanness” similarly becomes concretised within diverse interest groups. Thus the thesis of this study as reflected in its title, “The end of essentialist gods andUbuntu: A feminist critical investigation” was substantiated. Two research methods, one general (social constructivism) and one specific (feminism) were employed to conduct the study. Social constructivism is a theory developed to understand human interactions and consequent ideas. It has two essential elements known as philosophical idealism and philosophical materialism; and culture and context form its basis. Insights of the notion of philosophical idealism were employed to analyse the ideationist constructs of religion (gods) and of Ubuntu. Whereas social-constuctivism served as the broad overarching hermeneutical tool, feminism was used as the specific interpretive framework to critically scrutinise mostly patriarchally biased conceptualisations of god and Ubuntu... , D.Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Studies)
- Full Text:
The tenacity of religious ritual : a comparison of pre-christian, christian and post-christian marriage
- Authors: Murray, Michelle
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Marriage customs and rites
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/246116 , uj:25506
- Description: M.A. (Biblical Studies) , Abstract: In a seminal work from the perspective of Cognitive Science, McCauley and Lawson (2002: 1-4) open their discussion of the composition of religious ritual with some puzzles about this worldwide phenomenon. Why do rituals have a Janus-face – some – for example, weddings – highly emotional and salient and others – such as weekly communion – boring and hardly worth remembering? Why can there be a substitution in some rituals, but not in others – for example, using grape juice instead of wine is acceptable, but a priest cannot be replaced by a lay person? Why do some seem to be reversible but others not? Further questions can be added: What is the difference between ordinary, patterned behaviour and religious ritual? How should rituals be differentiated from ordinary day-to-day actions? What cognitive mechanisms are active in both? Why have humans tenaciously adhered to seemingly irrational behaviours since time immemorial without being clear why they do them, but are not prepared to refrain from performing these actions? What are the possible origins of ritual behaviour? And then, how do these origins predict the likelihood of the continued behaviours? Following McCauley and Lawson (1990; 2002), Justin Barrett (2004: 126) circumscribes ritual as follows: ‘…an event during which an agent acts on someone or something to bring about a state of affairs that would not naturally follow from the action. A religious ritual further requires the presence of a superhuman agent being included somewhere in the ritual or previous prerequisite rituals’. In this working definition, Barrett already provides an answer to the difference between ordinary ritualised actions and religious rituals. The latter decidedly brings into account the assumed interventions of culturally postulated superhuman agents (CPS-agents), sometimes called counter-intuitive beings (for example, gods). Although these CPS-agents are humanly constructed/conceptualised, believers hold them ontologically ‘very real’ without being able to prove their existence. In some mysterious ways, these gods are believed to intervene to bring about a state of affairs that is predicted by the ritual. This probably partly explains why rituals can be ‘irrational’, why their effects cannot be logically derived from the actions taken during the ritual but, together with the expectation of the gods’ ‘better’ understanding, are seen as ‘very real’ and following a ‘good order’. A young boy would still grow into a man without the ‘magical’ and illogical initiation rites to ‘make him a man’; common in many cultures, but something mysterious is believed...
- Full Text:
- Authors: Murray, Michelle
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Marriage customs and rites
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/246116 , uj:25506
- Description: M.A. (Biblical Studies) , Abstract: In a seminal work from the perspective of Cognitive Science, McCauley and Lawson (2002: 1-4) open their discussion of the composition of religious ritual with some puzzles about this worldwide phenomenon. Why do rituals have a Janus-face – some – for example, weddings – highly emotional and salient and others – such as weekly communion – boring and hardly worth remembering? Why can there be a substitution in some rituals, but not in others – for example, using grape juice instead of wine is acceptable, but a priest cannot be replaced by a lay person? Why do some seem to be reversible but others not? Further questions can be added: What is the difference between ordinary, patterned behaviour and religious ritual? How should rituals be differentiated from ordinary day-to-day actions? What cognitive mechanisms are active in both? Why have humans tenaciously adhered to seemingly irrational behaviours since time immemorial without being clear why they do them, but are not prepared to refrain from performing these actions? What are the possible origins of ritual behaviour? And then, how do these origins predict the likelihood of the continued behaviours? Following McCauley and Lawson (1990; 2002), Justin Barrett (2004: 126) circumscribes ritual as follows: ‘…an event during which an agent acts on someone or something to bring about a state of affairs that would not naturally follow from the action. A religious ritual further requires the presence of a superhuman agent being included somewhere in the ritual or previous prerequisite rituals’. In this working definition, Barrett already provides an answer to the difference between ordinary ritualised actions and religious rituals. The latter decidedly brings into account the assumed interventions of culturally postulated superhuman agents (CPS-agents), sometimes called counter-intuitive beings (for example, gods). Although these CPS-agents are humanly constructed/conceptualised, believers hold them ontologically ‘very real’ without being able to prove their existence. In some mysterious ways, these gods are believed to intervene to bring about a state of affairs that is predicted by the ritual. This probably partly explains why rituals can be ‘irrational’, why their effects cannot be logically derived from the actions taken during the ritual but, together with the expectation of the gods’ ‘better’ understanding, are seen as ‘very real’ and following a ‘good order’. A young boy would still grow into a man without the ‘magical’ and illogical initiation rites to ‘make him a man’; common in many cultures, but something mysterious is believed...
- Full Text:
Evaluating the life of Wangari Maathai (1940–2011) using the lens of Dark Green Religion
- Authors: Du Toit, Louisa Johanna
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Maathai, Wangai , Green Belt Movement (Society : Kenya) , Tree planting - Kenya , Green movement - Kenya , Environmentalists - Kenya
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/413456 , uj:34832
- Description: Abstract : This study is an attempt to evaluate the life and work of Wangari Maathai (1949-2011) using the lens of Dark Green Religion (DGR). Wangari Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her environmental activism, starting in her native Kenya and spreading globally. She initiated the planting of trees in an effort to combat the environmental degradation severely impacting on the lives of rural women in Kenya. She encouraged the planting of trees since they provide in the basic needs of the community, enabling them to sustain themselves and achieve a better quality of life, while restoring their environment. The Green Belt Movement established by Maathai succeeded in planting more than 30 million trees across Kenya, but the movement also became involved in issues of social justice. Maathai strove to demonstrate that a link exists between the environment, peace and democratic governance. The recognition she received from the Nobel Peace Prize committee reflects an acknowledgement of this aspect of her advocacy... , M.A. (Biblical Studies)
- Full Text:
- Authors: Du Toit, Louisa Johanna
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Maathai, Wangai , Green Belt Movement (Society : Kenya) , Tree planting - Kenya , Green movement - Kenya , Environmentalists - Kenya
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/413456 , uj:34832
- Description: Abstract : This study is an attempt to evaluate the life and work of Wangari Maathai (1949-2011) using the lens of Dark Green Religion (DGR). Wangari Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her environmental activism, starting in her native Kenya and spreading globally. She initiated the planting of trees in an effort to combat the environmental degradation severely impacting on the lives of rural women in Kenya. She encouraged the planting of trees since they provide in the basic needs of the community, enabling them to sustain themselves and achieve a better quality of life, while restoring their environment. The Green Belt Movement established by Maathai succeeded in planting more than 30 million trees across Kenya, but the movement also became involved in issues of social justice. Maathai strove to demonstrate that a link exists between the environment, peace and democratic governance. The recognition she received from the Nobel Peace Prize committee reflects an acknowledgement of this aspect of her advocacy... , M.A. (Biblical Studies)
- Full Text:
- «
- ‹
- 1
- ›
- »