https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/5422 2026-05-01T18:52:38Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/5519 Plato and the modern African state some : thoughts on the question of justice Cloete, Michael The influence of the Platonic metaphysical tradition on the development of modern Western political institutions, and the modern state in particular has been quite significant. The influence of the modern Western state on the formation of the modern African state has been no less significant. In both political traditions the principles of human freedom and dignity have provided the moral impetus in the struggle for democracy and political independence. The African political experience of modernity, however, has, been less than salutary, given the devastating impact of European colonial domination and racism, as well as current neoliberal projects of globalization. For Plato, the ideal of the good life is inseparable from the historical possibility of economic (material) well-being, without which there can be no talk of justice. Given this argument, this paper seeks to reflect upon the idea and possibility of justice in the modern African state. 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/5518 Paul, the stoic and human rights Strijdom, Johan M. Two recent arguments trace the genealogy of human rights back to either Paul on the one hand or the Stoics on the other. First, Crossan and Reed (2004) suggest that although Paul intended his egalitarian vision and program for Christian communities in the first place, his wish that all humanity should convert to a Christian world of egalitarian justice would logically imply a basic continuity with the ideals of universal human rights. Secondly, the classicist Richard Sorabji (2002) considers whether the concept of human rights is to be found in the Stoic ideas of oikeiosis and natural law. My purpose will be to relate these two archaeological arguments, in the light of recent comparisons between Paul and the Stoics, and to hermeneutically problematize the discourse with reference to Hannah Arendt's perplexities on human rights. 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/5504 From 'man is the measure of all things' to money is the measure of all things : a dialogue between Protagoras and African philosophy Ajei, Martin Odei; Ramose, M.B. Protagoras’ declaration that “man is the measure of all things” is conventionally discussed in the context of epistemology. There was, however, a communal or social dimension to this even in ancient Greece. In the unfolding process of time, this latter dimension assumed greater intensity and expanded systematically into all aspects of human relations. The centrality of money in these relations speaks to the transition from “man is the measure of all things” to money is the measure of all things. It is precisely this thesis that the present essay proposes to defend. 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z