The Ethics of Development and Transformation

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The Ethics of Development and Transformation

• Transformation at the UFS
• Responsible citizenship and the quest for a
  shared morality.
• JC van der Merwe, Philosophy Department

UNIVERSITEIT VAN DIE VRYSTAAT UNIVERSITY OF THE
FREE STATE YUNIVESITHI YA FREISTATA Tel (051)
401 2237 E-mail vdmjc.HUM_at_ufs.ac.za
www.ufs.ac.za
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Transformation at the UFS

• Transformation fatigue
• The ethics of transformation
• versus
• Transformational ethics
• Accommodation and tolerance
• versus
• Imagination and participation

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Transformation at the UFS

• Nature of a University
• academic institution
• Republic of South Africa
• constitutional democracy
• University of the Free State
• Public not private

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Responsible citizenship

• The ability to
• Critically examine opinions and traditions
• Understand fellow citizens
• Communicate with fellow citizens

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A shared morality

• Religious paradigm vs Human Rights paradigm
• Rights vs Values
• Democratic Common Sense (Habermas)
• Moral Sensitivity

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• It would be catastrophic to become a nation of
  technically competent people who have lost the
  ability to think critically, to examine
  themselves, and to respect the humanity and
  diversity of others.
• - Martha Nussbaum