African Philosophy of Education as a Response to Human Rights Violations: Cultivating Ubuntu as a Virtue in Religious Education

Abstract

Human rights violations on the African continent have emerged as a predicament for human flourishing. This article reconsiders the notion of an African philosophy of education as a response to human rights violations, in particular how the notion of Ubuntu (human interdependence and humaneness) can be used to counteract violence. It is argued that Ubuntu in becoming – with reference to the thoughts of Giorgio Agamben – can counteract human rights violations. In this way, Ubuntu, as an instance of African philosophy of education, can respond more positively to genocide, tribal conflict and wars, and the rape and abuse of women and children on the continent. And, as a tribute to Cornelia Roux, specifically her seminal work on religious and human rights education in South Africa, it is also argued that religious education ought to be constituted by the virtues of deliberative human engagement and cosmopolitan action, which constitute an Ubuntu in becoming that can offer pathways to enhancing religious education.

Keywords: African Philosophy, education, human rights, ubuntu, religious education