Koers (E-Journal)
Not a member yet
2282 research outputs found
Sort by
’n Verwaarloosde faset van D.F. Malherbe se nalatenskap: Kuns – selfstandig en afhanklik
Get PDFA neglected facet of the legacy of D.F. Malherbe: Art – independent and dependent During his studies in Freiburg, Germany Malherbe also had to study philosophy and its history. Since the late seventies the University of the Free State organises an annual commemorative lecture on some or other aspect of the legacy of Malherbe – mostly focused on his literary work and sometimes also on his competence as a linguistic scholar. Initially he adhered, in his view of art and the aesthetic, to the idea that the artist is “free” in the sense of not being bound to aesthetic norms or principles. However, after his retirement discussions with his son-inlaw, Herman Strauss, brought him into contact with the new reformational philosophy at the Free University of Amsterdam (Dooyeweerd and Vollenhoven). This caused a radical paradigm- shift in his theoretical understanding of reality and in his view of art and the aesthetic. In this article his view of the (in)dependence of art and the aesthetic is presented against the background of views in which the meaning of the aesthetic is distorted by making it serviceable to something non-aesthetic and of a view which elevated the aesthetic into a self-contained haven where the “soul” can experience “rest and bliss”. Malherbe provided an analysis of basic aesthetic principles as they reflect the coherence between the aesthetic and non-aesthetic aspects of reality. His broader orientation is embedded in the ideal of Christian scholarship within all the disciplines
Belief and legal philosophy: a conceptual framework for Christian scholarship in undergraduate legal education
Get PDFLegal education in South Africa has arrived at a discursive juncture that demands clarity on what the “purpose” of legal education should be. Debate on the purpose of legal education, more specifically for the Christian law student, becomes especially important in a society dominated by positivism, mate-rialism and pragmatism. With specific reference to the under-graduate Christian law student, this article firstly explains that the purpose of legal education should include the nurturing of the student’s belief – a belief encompassing his/her foun-dational perspective(s) on reality. Secondly, in order to achieve the proper nurturing and development of the Christian law student’s belief, the importance of the teaching of legal philo-sophy is explained. In this regard, proposals are postulated pertaining to specific means by which such nurturing and development of the undergraduate Christian law student’s foundational belief can be attained
The desire for the ineffable: on the myth of music as absolute
Get PDFThis article proposes to establish and critique connections between religious and musico-aesthetic conceptions of in-effability by exploring the link between neoplatonic thought and romantic aesthetics. The central thesis is that recourse to the ineffable is often made by resorting to theological tenets and, consequently, that romantic aesthetics, although desperately trying to disengage itself from theological thinking, can in fact be interpreted as being inextricably bound up with it. Taking Plotinus’ conception of the relationship between the “One” and “Intellect” as model, the romantic conception of the absolute is revealed to be a fallacy. It is shown that claims of the ineffability of music not only locate music as a false absolute, but also confer on music a quasi-religious authority. This results in an ungrounded secular faith in the power of music and the mastery of its composer-god to lead mankind to the truth. Untangling the myths of ineffability leads the way to a detranscendentalised conception of music with performance at its centre
Moderne (finansiële) slawerny
Get PDFModern (financial) slavery There is probably no single person who has not been affected by the current international financial crisis. In order to understand what has happened, the reasons for the credit – and extended financial crisis are analysed and related to slavery. This article provides an international perspective, but also gives the South African perspective. From the article, it seems that the same factors that motivated people to apply slavery, today also motivate large corporations and individuals to keep hostage a large number of people in a spiral of increased consumerism. The consumer spending is financed by paying people more for their spare time and people taking up more credit. From the relentless way in which credit is being advertised, it seems that there is very little respect or care for the well-being of those trapped in debt. The prospects of ending the financial slavery are discussed and some recommendations are made regarding dealing with debt. The article closes with a call on the church to enter into the debate
Corporate social responsibility: a personal reflection on Clover Mama Afrika
Get PDFAlthough corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social investment (CSI), the term preferred by most South African busines-ses, has been studied from the 1950s, up to date no universally ac-cepted definition has been formulated. However, the basic concepts put forward in the definition of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) (2000) are generally accepted as forming the core of CSR
Sacrum suum verbum – aspekte van Calvyn se Skrifbeskouing in sy Kategismus van 1545
Get PDFSacrum suum verbum – aspects of Calvin’s view of Scripture in his 1545 Catechism The succession of spiritual streams that followed in the wake of the Reformation gave rise to seismic shifts in the way Scripture was viewed, the consequences of which still have decisive significance in theology today – most inevitably for preaching and catechism. Semler’s book “Abhandlung von freier Unter-suchung des Canon” (1771-1775), with its insistance on a separation between Scripture and Word, played a far-reaching role in this regard. Against this backdrop, and with the doctrine of Scripture in Calvin’s Catechism (1545) yet to be examined (in contrast with his “Institutes”, for example), this article focuses on the issue of authority in catechesis. Given the central place that catechism occupied in Calvin’s ministry and in his em-phasis on Word ministry, this issue lies at the heart of the subject of “Calvin as catechist”. The investigation has delivered exceptional results. Calvin’s handling of Scripture is quite dynamic. In a discussion on authority, he uses the concept of “Word” to refer implicitly to Scripture, while simultaneously binding it directly to the reve-lation in Christ. By referring to that which “is established from the Word”, he indicates the primacy of Scripture in the issue of authority. Scripture in its entirety is revered to as the Word of God, and is valid as such for the (whole) church. It is therefore not possibe to detach “sola Scriptura” from either “tota Scrip-tura” or “una Scriptura”. According to Calvin in his Catechism, Scripture is valid as the sufficient authoritative foundation for theological and confes-sional pronouncements. In this regard, it is especially the con-nection between Word and Spirit that is of fundamental signi-ficance. The effect of this is that the doctrine of Scripture is not only of bibliological importance, but it also has other theological implications – most notably for christology, pneumatology and soteriology
’n Veranderende benadering tot sosiale verantwoordelikheid: ’n histories-normatiewe gevallestudie oor die Noordwes-Universiteit (Potchefstroomkampus)
Get PDFA changing approach to social responsibility: a historic-normative case study of the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus) As a direct consequence of its Christian character, the former Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (PU for CHE) engaged in local corporate responsibility programmes for a number of decades. When the PU for CHE was merged at the end of 2003 to become the North-West University (NWU) (including the PU for CHE) which emerged in 2004, these programmes continued at the Potchefstroom Campus, but were stripped of their Christian grounding. Now the University has a “value-driven” approach. This article tracks the changes to the normative character as well as the continued changes to the university’s position on social responsibility. It was found that the North-West University’s normative points of departure have yet to be linked clearly to its community activities, and that formal corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities must be clearly differentiated from normal university business as well as student activities such as rag. It is argued that the problematic overlapping of profit-generating activities should be distinguished from all CSR programmes and the contribution of sponsors disclosed at all times. Developments late in 2008 seemed to indicate that some of the most important problem areas be addressed when a new approach to “community engagement” is fleshed out. This could result in the NWU achieving the CSR goals set by both government and the University itself regarding its so-called do-values and developing a guiding philosophy on “community en-gagement”