Today, we’re doing our final session on Ubuntu philosophy. This approach to philosophy starts with the idea that A person is a person through other persons (“Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”). In his paper, Thaddeus Metz then tries to found this on two principles:
- Good will
- Shared Identity
Put together, this gives us a picture where self-realization takes place through communal relationships. Let’s start to think about these and how they fit together through some writing tasks.
Writing exercises
Task 1:
Imagine that you are in a group where there is good will, but no shared identity (or think of an experience of this). Write about this for 7 minutes.
**Task 2: **
Imagine you are in a group where there is shared identity but no good will (or think of an experience of this). Write about this for 7 minutes.
Discussion
In breakout groups, discuss the following question.\
- What do you understand by “good will”?
- What do you undersatnd by “shared identity”?
- Metz says that “Good-will without shared identity has more moral value on the face of it than does shared identity without good-will.” On the basis of what you have written, do you agree?
Break
Metz claims that “An action is right just insofar as it promotes shared identity among people grounded on good-will; an act is wrong to the extent that it fails to do so and tends to encourage the opposites of division and ill-will.” Thinking about this, we’ll reflect on how ubuntu ethics differs from, or resembles, other forms of ethics.
Discussion
- What are the differences and similarities between this approach and utilitarian ethics?
- What are the differences and similarities between this approach and deontological ethics?
- What are the differences and similarities between this approach and virtue ethics?
- What are the differences and similarities between this approach and care ethics?
- Is there something distinctive in the ubuntu approach to ethics, or is this approach reducible to another body of moral theory.
Ubuntu-ing Parami
Finally, an exercise for Parami. Think about your experience of Parami. Give Parami University a score from 1 to 5 (where 1 is low, and 5 is high) for both a) good-will, and b) shared identity.
Let’s say we wanted to maximise the ubuntu-ness of Parami. So we want to increase both good-will and identity, but not either at the expense of the other.
Take 5 minutes to think of a policy or practice that could increase either a) good-will or b) identity at Parami (whichever you think needs to be developed more), but not at the expense of the other. Write it down.
We’ll share our policies.
Finally, if we put these into action, how would Parami change?
Homework
For next week, we are talking about one more topic: religion and ethics. So I want you to write a piece on canvas with the title religion, ethics, and me. How is your personal understanding of ethics influenced by religion? Are there tensions between your relationship with religion and your ethical concerns? Does religion help support you in virtue?