week 4

Question 1

what is D.A. Masolo’s characterization of Western Individualism (interpretation of rights)

Answer 1

• individuals sovereignty is the source of group/collective authority
• Western individualism is a primary negative view that aims to avoid infringing upon individuals rights- a negative view of rights means that a person is free from the interference of another person or group of persons. The power for a person to do or not do some action cannot be infringed up

Question 2

What is D.A. Masolo’s characterization of Western Individualism (social contract theory)

Answer 2

1. the state of nature- an initial situation, where people must return if they fail to come to some agreement- different philosophers have different conceptions of what the state of nature looks like, however all follow that it is desirable to escape the state of nature and enjoy the benefits of a collective contract for the people.
2. the parties to the contract are those who have preferences and can interact rationally with others
   -subjective view- individuals maximize their own interests and bargain with others
   -objective- individuals pursue their own interests in a way that can be justified to others, who also have interests to pursue.

Question 3

What is D.A. Masolo’s characterization of Western communitarianism (interpretation of rights)

Answer 3

the rights of individuals are not basic, the collective can have rights that are (1) independent of the individuals, and (2) potentially opposed to the rights of the individual- a primarily positive view about enabling individuals freedom- rights that provide something that people need to secure their wellbeing.

Question 4

What is D.A. Masolo’s characterization of Western Communitarianism (description of the state for Hegel)

Answer 4

1. the political state: institution of government and lawmaking
2. the civil state: arrangements of individuals apart from that is imposed upon them
3. the ethical state: the sum of values, experiences, responses, religious and cultural homogeneity. At this stage, an individual can transcend and be free

Question 5

What does the Dogon expression Kinkinu say and the Lou expression Jouk refer to.

Answer 5

kinkinu- the seat of an individuals capacities acquired from previous generations
jouk- inherited from an ancestor- rendered as “will”- responsible for various capacities

Question 6

what philosophical elements do Kinkinu and Jouk share

Answer 6

• both expressions seem to indicate that one’s will or capacity to act in a certain way is derived from previous generations and is what makes one a human being. Furthermore both phases express something that is common to all human beings.
• both elude to the notion that individuals depend on others (parents and ancestors) for their organic existence’s well. as for what really makes them humans in the real sense of the term (ability to communicate/transmit ideas)

Question 7

what specific criticism does D.A. Masolo make of western individualism

Answer 7

• Masolo criticizes both components of social contract theory
• States that contract is insufficient to make human life “comfortable and enjoyable”, because value exists in families, and communities, beyond the negative avoidance of rights being infringed upon or the positive promotion of the individual.
  example: the practice of training and educating children to carry messages between villages- cultivates virtues such as obedience and attentiveness

Question 8

What specific criticism does D.A. Masolo make of western communitarianism

Answer 8

He rejects the notion that society ought to be upheld by a “doctrine” and argues that communitarianism is not itself a doctrine among Africans, but a way of living, or part of human nature. He seems to argue that communitarianism is the logical approach to society, as individual interests are inherently bound up with others.
Example: the Luo saying “it is among humans that one may decide to go hungry for a night so another person can eat”- to motivate someone to help a needy relative

Question 9

How does D.A. Masolo criticize African socialism

Answer 9

Masolo rejects some political leaders’ view of African socialism that the community overrides the rights of individuals- Masolo argues that the fundamentality of the community is not morally or politically at odds with individual value

Question 10

how does D.A. Masolo’s view of African communitarianism differ from African socialism

Answer 10

• there is never any justification given that African societies were communitarian in their social-political ethics (as doctrine)
• Practices cannot be enforced beyond urging- communitarianism merely builds upon pre-existing feelings of empathy and altruism, not because it is based on a formal doctrine of socialism
• African socialism follows from inherent communitarianism which sees the community as intertwined with the individual, not above the individual.
• African socialism tends to believe that the values of individual worth and freedom were incompatible with those of communitarianism
• Masolo believes that communitarianism is compatible with individualism- he claims that communitarianism goes farther in involving the ideas that being inscribed in a social space requires everyone to realize that they cannot live in society and be indifferent.