Jurisprudence, friendship and the university as heterogenous public space

Abstract

Within the legal, political and social context in which we live and work the task of developing a post-apartheid jurisprudence is a necessity. In my address I will present a few thoughts on such a development bringing into play the meanings of jurisprudence, ideas on friendship, politics and democracy and how these relate to the university. Austrian artist Gustav Klimt produced three paintings on commission in 1894 for a new university building in Vienna representing three of the four classical disciplines, namely Medicine, Philosophy and Jurisprudence. The painting representing Jurisprudence was received with outrage when it was seen for the first time in 1907. Many members of the legal community felt that Klimt misrepresented and reduced the function of law to one of punishment, undermining the potential of the legal system to contribute to society in other ways. Defenders of Klimt argued that this portrayal captures the violence that is the essence of law. Other commentators have noted that the work is much more complex and that there are other dimensions involved that were missed by the initial interpretation. I shall elaborate on some of these interpretations as a way to reflect on the development of a post-apartheid jurisprudence. Many commentators have been engaged in exploring notions of friendship, politics and democracy calling for an agonist politics and more recently an agonistic law. The development of a post-apartheid jurisprudence or, perhaps rather, jurisprudences for a post-apartheid context will to a great extent be touched by notions of friendship, agonism, politics and democracy. By way of conclusion I will argue for the university as a heterogeneous public space. The academic pursuit of jurisprudence in all its guises and the demands of politics and democracy are central to not only a faculty of law but to the notion of the university itself.