Ubuntu and African philosophy and Ubuntu : concepts lost in translation

Abstract

This study is based on African philosophy and ubuntu as a way of life. The main argument is that ubuntu is indeed a philosophy that is common amongst all or most African societies. The argument is that African philosophy should be given the same status as western philosophy, and that ubuntu should not be looked at through the western lenses and measured against what is considered as philosophy by the West. Africans since time immemorial have had the ability to think and develop knowledge. The argument that Africans did not and could not have had philosophy pre-colonial times is based on a flawed premise that Africans were not capable to think rationally. I argue that ubuntu is a concept and philosophy that should be developed and applied by the courts when interpreting and applying the law. The Constitutional court as the highest court of the land should promote the spirit of ubuntu. There should be more scholarly articles written on ubuntu to falsify the claims that it is a term and concept that cannot be applied in contemporary South Africa as a whole. The last chapter deals with the criticism levelled against ubuntu and how the constitutional court addressed these criticism. The word ubuntu is this study is not written in italics it is written as any other word because placing it in italics renders it to be a foreign term or word.