Koers (E-Journal)
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Re-authoring marital partners’ stories The aid of sculpting and the use of small objects as “co-therapists”
Get PDFAs a result of the high divorce rate and the traumatic and far-reaching effects these phenomena have on adults and children, psychologists should constantly aim to develop effective ways of marriage counselling and therapy. The aim of this article is to introduce one approach to marriage therapy that has been developed by the author of this article. Within this approach to marriage therapy the therapist employs the assistance of a number of figurines and objects utilized as "co-therapists" during the therapy sessions to represent the marriage partners\u27 relationship. During this process the emphasis falls on the close proximity or distance (i.e. intimacy or lack of it) between the marriage partners, and the difference in height (i.e. power relations) which exists between the partners. Experience has indicated that this approach is a powerful diagnostic and therapeutic technique. In this article a theoretical grounding for this technique, methods of presentation and the rationale behind the technique are discussed. Suggestions for further research about the technique, as well as for the development of it are also given
Teaching respect: a philosophical analysis
Get PDFAccording to a Zulu proverb a human being can only become truly human because of others. Each person can only become more human, more himself- regardless of his sex - through the co-involvement of others. It is the love for one’s neighbour and the respect one has for him/her as a person which makes one consider the other party\u27s feelings, viewpoints and circumstances. In order to arrive at a situation of peaceful coexistence it is important to realize that human attitudes and a mature life style evolve through a process of learning and interaction with others. It is a timeconsuming and costly process which starts at infancy and continues throughout someone\u27s life. Instruction concerning interpersonal relations and the teaching of respect cannot be confined to individual lessons or working sessions at home or in school. Discussions and conversations concerning interpersonal relations need to form an integral and natural part of a child’s life within the home environment and throughout the pupil\u27s school career. It is senseless if educators talk about the importance of teaching respect only to reveal disrespectful behaviour themselves, or to talk about the importance of self-esteem in the paying of respect whilst causing children to feel negative about themselves. To be able to express respect to other human beings, one needs to be respected. A child needs to experience how it feels when homage is paid. The following rule of life applies in this regard: one can never give if one has never received respect
H.F. Verwoerd’s student years - cradle of his political career and thought
Get PDFThis article briefly describes student life in Stellenbosch during the period 1919-1924 when the young H.F. Verwoerd was immersed in a general Christian ethos and atmosphere of Afrikaner nationalism which he articulated with fervour. In view thereof, the notion put forward by Miller (1993), viz. that South Africa’s sixth prime minister changed his political beliefs substantially when he became the editor of Die Transvaler in 1937 is rejected. It is found that the basic views Verwoerd held as a student were generally consistent with those he held in later life. It is accepted, though, that some of his views were adapted and inconsistencies could possibly be identified in some of his views. Unlike Miller’s analysis and conclusions, Venter’s (1999) analysis of Verwoerd\u27s political thought is found to be remarkably consistent with the views and activities of Verwoerd the student activist. Consequently, this article argues that the context and nature of the political views he held as a student at Stellenbosch help significantly to explain Verwoerd’s later positions as lecturer, editor and politician, even if he did not personally subscribe to every view expressed by the Students\u27 Representative Council he was part of and chaired
Die reg op godsdiensvryheid in Suid-Afrikaanse skole
Get PDFThe right to religious freedom in South African schoolsIn general, religion is to be regarded as one of the most important aspects of human life and as one of the key human functions that distinguishes a human being from the rest of creation. For this reason, religious freedom is deemed by many to be the “first liberty" to be protected by any Bill of Rights. However, protecting everyone’s religious freedom on an equal and equitable basis is sometimes easier said than done. In the USA, for instance, in an effort to protect the religious rights and freedom of all, a wall of separation between state and religion was implemented on the basis of the US "establishment clause”: the American State is compelled to maintain a neutral stance as far as religious matters are concerned. In the eyes of some representatives of the US academe, this approach to the protection of religious freedom ultimately led to the US government’s becoming the “enemy of religion” in American schools. In the 1998 case of Wittmann v Deutscher Schulverein, Pretoria the court confirmed that the drafters of the South African constitution steered the issue of religious freedom on a different course to that of the United States. In Wittmann it was held that the South African constitution did not create a wall of separation between church and state (i.e. schools) and that it is the constitutional right of every person (i.e. the learner and the teacher) at school to "entertain such beliefs as a person chooses". The court also held that everyone at school has the right to confess his/her faith and to participate freely in religious worship and religious practice (and even teach and disseminate religion) at school
Metanationality, comprehensive democracy and left communitarian rights: lessons from Ghana for South Africa
Get PDFThe Ghanaian philosopher, Kwame Gyekye, defends a concept of metanationality (nationality-transcending specific ethnic groups, yet accommodating them all on a basis of equality), which he regards as eminently suitable for application in multicultural societies. Metanationality distinguishes between first- and second-tier solidarity. Second-tier solidarity entails commitment to the democratic institutions of the state and a system of rights to which individuals bear title. These rights include social and economic rights which are backup rights ensuring effective use of political rights. This system of comprehensive democracy requires that the constitution does not differentiate between citizens, though individuals are differentiated at first-tier solidarity with reference to the communocultural groups with whom they identify. Gyekye succeeds in marrying rights to a politics of the common good. This success is due largely to a novel feature of his philosophy - the equal moral standing of individual and community - and to a limitation clause designed to limit liberty whenever it is necessary to protect the requirements of equality. Gyekye’s attempt to find a reciprocal balance between rights and the common good is instructive for attempts in South Africa to effect a just dispensation for all citizens
Mathematics and the real world
Get PDFIn this article the initial discussion of the untenability of the distinction between “pure” and “applied" mathematics is followed by looking at alternative approaches regarding the relationship between mathematics and the “real world” - with intuitionism and Platonism representing the two opposite positions. The notions of infinity as well as the totality character of spatial continuity (and its implied infinite divisibility) turned out to occupy a central position in this context. In the final section brief attention is given - against the background of some perspectives on the history of mathematics - to an alternative approach in which both the uniqueness and the mutual irreducibility of number and space are conjectured
Menswaardigheid: ’n Verkenning van Biestek se siening
Get PDFHuman dignity: An exploration of Biestek’s viewSocial workers face the question of how to relate to other human beings, more specifically how to relate to client groups. Human dignity as a fundamental value of social work is widely used as a guiding principle in this regard. What is meant by the concept human dignity is not, however, always clear. It is argued that different, even opposing presuppositions, underpin and form the meaning and application of this concept and that as a practice principle human dignity is used in an intuitive way. Historically the term human dignity has had different meanings. In antiquity human dignity was linked with man’s rational capacities. The Christian perspective fuses human dignity with being created in the image of God. From a human-rights perspective human dignity is seen as a basic human right. In the post-modern context values are seen as relative and the question is what the implications for human dignity are if we accept it as a relative value in social work. The aim of this article is to show that human dignity is given meaning within a hierarchical ontology in social work. In this hierarchical ontology as argued by Biestek, man is viewed in a dualistic way where rationality dominates. It also places the individual central in the view of society
In the light of the Spirit: the dual nature of the Third Person
Get PDFAnalogy with physical things and phenomena can be a useful tool in theology. In particular, the vestigia Trinitatis can be used to illustrate the doctrine of the Trinity, even if it is illegitimate to derive it from them. The phenomenon of light has frequently been suggested as a vestigium; in particular its dual nature as particle and wave can serve to illustrate how the Holy Spirit appears both to have the properties of a person, and also acts impersonally
