Koers (E-Journal)
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Pragmatism attacking Christianity as weakness – Methodologies of targeting
Get PDFThe central argument is that methods are designed with aims in mind, and are determined by one’s worldview and/or ontology and/or philosophical anthropology and/or views of scholarship. It is possible, and here shown by analysis of the methodology of William James, that obsession with a cause, driven by the elitist belief that my cause is for everybody’s advantage, can take an ideological format (a formalistic ideology), in which case it would show tendencies to polarise. In the case of James the scientistic methodology takes as primary target Christianity’s meekness and kindness as humanitarianly ineffective. But James suffers from the problem of intellectual solipsism: reading Christianity via abstract rationalist theology
A vision for a Reformed Christian college for South Africa
Get PDFA yawning gap has existed in the South African educational landscape since the effective termination of the Potchefstroom University (PU) for Christian Higher Education (CHE) by the government in 2004. The North-West University, which was formed through the merger of the PU for CHE and the University of North West, has been positioned as a value-driven university, but for all its good intentions and successes, it cannot (and never was intended to) continue the PU for CHE’s tradition of Christian higher education. Given the growth of Christian schools in South Africa after 1994, it is clear that pupils from these and other schools have no Reformed option when they choose an institution of higher education. It is therefore suggested in this article that the concept of a new Christian college should find favour amongst Reformed Christians from all denominations, races, ethnic groups and languages in South Africa. The author argues that obstacles simply have to be overcome. A balanced Reformed approach which eschews extreme fundamentalism as well as attempts at undermining the fundamentals of the Christian faith is needed. Therefore, the formation of an inclusive pilot committee to investigate the idea is proposed
Human reproductive cloning and biotechnology: Rational, ethical and public concerns
Get PDFPrevious research indicates a lack of clear international guidelines on the permissibility of embryonic stem cell research and human reproductive cloning. These studies suggest that this is the result of severe criticism from uninformed publics, whose arguments are based on misconceptions influenced by popular literature and science fiction films. However, the current research argues that public cloning attitudes that are based on real social and ethical concerns should be deployed to direct social and legal policy-making on human reproductive cloning. Addressing public concerns about human reproductive cloning is essential in exploring sound avenues for sensible biotechnology and policy-making. The research, on which this article reported, intended to give a critical evaluation of some major arguments for and against human reproductive cloning in order to establish whether or not these arguments hold up well under rational interrogation. Notwithstanding the author’s critical attitude to uninformed opinions, false assumptions and unsound conclusions about the complex issue of human reproductive cloning, the author argued from the perspective that every life phenomenon is inextricably intertwined with everything else, and part of larger complex webs of interactions. Such a perspective recognised that the well-being of other human beings, including future human clones, is not only an existential, social and moral imperative but also epistemological. Against the backdrop of this perspective, critical questions arose that justified the creation of human clones in the face of possible defects and abnormalities in cloned children, as well as the possible harm to societies
The emergence of philosophy in Scottish secondary school Religious Education
Get PDFThis article considers changes in the subject Religious Education (RE) within the context of Scottish secondary schools, charting a development towards the increasing use of philosophical skills and content. Before considering the nature, extent and timing of this development this article provides a broader context within which to understand educational change in Scotland. The emergent hypothesis is that Religious Education has become more philosophical as a result of changes in society (particularly secularisation), changes in education (particularly the move to reflective pedagogy), and also as a result of the close epistemological relationship between philosophy and religious education. This article adopts an interpretative research paradigm and considers quantitative and qualitative data drawn from a survey of 126 secondary schools and seventeen key informant interviews. Taken alongside existing reviews of policy and research literature this data demonstrate that three interlinked hypothetical strands have been at the heart of the move towards more philosophical Religious Education, although other possibilities are also raised and considered. This study also suggests areas for further research based on the above findings
Changes in epistemic frameworks: Random or constrained?
Get PDFSince the emergence of a solid anti-positivist approach in the philosophy of science, an important question has been to understand how and why epistemic frameworks change in time, are modified or even substituted. In contemporary philosophy of science three main approaches to framework-change were detected in the humanist tradition:1. In both the pre-theoretical and theoretical domains changes occur according to a rather constrained, predictable or even pre-determined pattern (e.g. Holton).2. Changes occur in a way that is more random or unpredictable and free from constraints (e.g. Kuhn, Feyerabend, Rorty, Lyotard).3. Between these approaches, a middle position can be found, attempting some kind of synthesis (e.g. Popper, Lakatos).Because this situation calls for clarification and systematisation, this article in fact tried to achieve more clarity on how changes in pre-scientific frameworks occur, as well as provided transcendental criticism of the above positions. This article suggested that the above-mentioned positions are not fully satisfactory, as change and constancy are not sufficiently integrated. An alternative model was suggested in which changes in epistemic frameworks occur according to a pattern, neither completely random nor rigidly constrained, which results in change being dynamic but not arbitrary. This alternative model is integral, rather than dialectical and therefore does not correspond to position three.
Koers – reflections on the origin and highs and lows of a focussed academic journal
Get PDFKoers has been synonymous with the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (CHE) over a long period. Since its inception it has tracked the University and its history, and has provided an outlet for authors to voice their ideas and convictions about Christian scholarship and its role within the wider context of faith and scholarship. Its existence has not been without problems and threats and those members of the Koers Association and of the editorial board and more latterly the publications office have worked hard to ensure that the journal could go on existing in a way that would be a credit to the underlying ethos and philosophy, whilst also maintaining the highest academic standards
Singing for your supper: Staff singing for transformation and teambuilding in a South African bank
Get PDFTransformation entails meaningful change. In South Africa (as is increasingly the case in Europe and elsewhere), such change hinges on interaction and communication between citizens of different cultures, ethnicities and languages. Where the inability to speak the others\u27 language(s) can inhibit real interaction and genuine communication, choral singing proffers unique opportunities for shared communicative experiences. In 2005, Dr Steve Booysen, then Group Chief Executive of the Absa Group, initiated an internal choir festival as a platform for social interaction and teambuilding for staff across all cultures, age groups and post levels in the bank. Booysen envisaged the choir project as a means of moral support during the Absa–Barclays merger. This article reports on the results of a Doctoral investigation into the extramusical benefits of this project for Absa, such as transformation and teambuilding. Choral singing as social capital is discussed. The Absa choir project can serve as a microcosm of larger multicultural, multilingual macrocosms. The benefits attained through communal singing in this project may also hold possibilities for attaining unity in diversity in South Africa