The meaning of Ubuntu in African philosophy

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In a class there is a learner with low interpersonal skills. The learner is withdrawn and doesn’t seem to be integrating with other learners in class activities. The key point as a teacher is how to encourage the learner to be more self-confident in and out of a classroom environment. The issue for the learner may be behavioural, a home issue or a negative attitude, causing the inability for the learner to work with peers in the classroom. The method of counselling would be applied through African philosophy.

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The focus placed on the learner by giving him/her a deeper understanding of themselves and to build a sense of community in the classroom. Hopefully this may establish an identity and give the learner the ability to approach life in a holistic manner. The teaching style applied may be contributing to the non-involvement of the learner. An indication would be made to the learner to understand that they cannot exist alone.

Thus building a better out-look for the learner through the teachings of African philosophy embodied in the word Ubuntu, which means humanity.

African philosophy is focused on a joint well-being of that community. The individual can be Umuntu because of that community. “No man is an island”. An individual is who they are because of past generations and people around them in that community. African philosophy is about being able to build communities and give people a sense of identity and a sense of belonging. In many ways it encourages individuals within that structure to be humble and also allows one to have a profounder acceptance of ourselves.

African Philosophy enables one to enquire about the importance of tradition and the values they equip an individual with. The concept Ubuntu is a focal point in African philosophy, which cannot just be reduced to tradition practices. African philosophy is a technique to adjust one’s life, which is focused on a western way of existence. It enables that individual to simplify the human experience. African philosophy is embodied by religious and moral beliefs of the African people as a continent. By any means this concept shouldn’t be watered down to a simple form. It embodies the views on life and methods or ability to question its own traditions.

This philosophy gives us insight on what it is that makes us human beings. Ethno-philosophy contains communal customs, which enables Africans to be Africans. (poems, taboos and religions). In my mind this is what gives specific cultures their identity and a sense of pride. The questions of who I am and where do I come from, easy to answers. The oral tradition of izithakazelo gives a lot of African people identity and family history. I am who I am because of my community. Henceforth “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”

Sage philosophy is gear for indigenous thinkers, who didn’t have the benefit of modern education although they are thought to be critical thinkers. They are able to use their judgement based on an inborn insight and understanding of their environment. These are the people who question the authority of those in power in specific communities. It allows decision and ideas to be thought out and critical looked at to see what will benefit the community. As a country it is vital we develop critical thinking at all levels of education and society. Allowing us a country to questions ideas, that makes states function. These people specifically in South Africa are thought to be problem causes as they have views which differ from those in authority and communities. The critical thinkers represent those who cannot voice their views because of fear or any other oppression methods. The capacity to scrutinize your surrounding and have the understanding certain components will not benefit the great community. We continue using methods of western civilization and see the effects they have at higher levels of society and expect them as the norm. If we live in Africa we need to focus upon things that set us apart. African philosophy should be introduced at schools. This would help learners acquire critical thinking skills and give them a sense of community.

The principles of African philosophy are also adapted by leaders who have been educated in western philosophy such as empiricism, existentialism and existentialism. Thus as unique African philosophy maybe or can be connected to elements of western teachings. Critical thinking in essences is investigating consistent and suitable understanding of the world. The saying that says information is power, although that information has to be insightful and instil skilful thinking that helps an individual to understand what to believe or how to react. An individual that think critical is able to inquire by asking the correct questions and is able to logically reason through information. They are then able to reach unfailing and dependable answer about the world and environment. Critical thinkers are able to look for issues that have a great imbalance, ask questions and present answers that may challenge the old ways and systems in place. In general most people are geared to be led and therefore don’t challenge authority figures in their societies. One downfall is those individuals aren’t able to think for themselves and tend to drift with the stream and rely upon those in power. To be a critical thinker gives you the ability to be an individual in society who contributes and has an understanding of what makes the society function.

The advantages instilling into individuals is a sense of community and how one should be governed and led. At the core of this philosophy is Ubuntu that focuses on caring, sharing and forgiveness. Humans exist and grow by developing relationships with others. “I am because you are” Things western may not be suited for all Africans or Africa. The sad case is most Africans have adapted the western life style and the sense of Ubuntu has lost meaning especially with the youth. The disadvantage of the African philosophy is that it doesn’t challenge power structures and is unable to accept women and men as equals. It doesn’t encourage critical thinking and ignores the needs of the individual and accepts cruel superstitious practices. African society tends to have strong beliefs in the natural and supernatural and doesn’t differentiate between the two. (e.g. female circumcision and witch hunts)

Bibliography Higgs, P & Smith, J. 2013 reprint. Rethinking our world. Cape Town: Juta. W. Lawrence Neuman. 1997,1994,1991. Social research methods. 160 Gould street, Needham Heights, Ma 02194. Allyn & Bacon.

Brief History of Ubuntu

Ubuntu was conceived in 2004 by Mark Shuttleworth, a successful South African entrepreneur,and his company Canonical. Shuttleleworth recognized the power of Linux and open source, but was also aware of weaknesses that prevented mainstream use. Shuttleworth set out with clear intentions to address these weaknesses and create a system that was easy to use,and could compete with other mainstream operating systems. With the Debian system as a base, Shuttleworth began to build Ubuntu. Using his own funds at ?rst, installation cds were pressed and shipped worldwide at no cost to the recipients.

Ubuntu spread quickly, its community grew rapidly, and soon Ubuntu became the most popular Linux distribution available. With more people working on the project than ever before, its core features and hardware support continue to improve, and Ubuntu has gained the attention of large organizations worldwide. One of IBM’s open source operating systems is based on Ubuntu. In 2005, the French Police began to transition their entire computer infrastructure to a variant of Ubuntu—a process which has reportedly saved them “millions of euros” in licensing fees for Microsoft Windows.

By the end of 2012, the French Police anticipates that all of their computers will be running Ubuntu. Canonical pro?ts from this arrangement by providing technical support and custom-built software. While large organizations organization ofen ?nd it useful to pay for support services, Shuttleworth has promised that the Ubuntu desktop operating system will always be free. As of 2012, Ubuntu is installed on an estimated 2% of the world’s computers. This equates to tens of millions of users worldwide, and is growing each year. As there is no compulsory registration, the percentage of Ubuntu users should be treated as an estimate.

What is Linux? Ubuntu is built on the foundation of Linux, which is a member of the Unix family. UNIX is one of the oldest types of operating systems, and together with Linux has provided reliability and security for professional applications for almost half a century. Many servers around the world that store data for popular websites (such as YouTube and Google) run some variant of Linux or Unix. The popular Android system for smartphones is a Linux variant; modern in-car computers usually run on Linux. Even the Mac os x is based on UNIX. The Linux kernel is best described as the core—almost the brain—of the Ubuntu operating system.

The Linux kernel is the controller of the operating system; it is responsi ble for allocating memory and processor time. It can also be thought of as the program which manages any and all applications on the computer itself. Linux was designed from the ground up with security and hardware compatibility in mind, and is currently one of the most popular Unix-based operating systems. One of the bene?ts of Linux is that it is incredibly ?exible and can be con?gured to run on almost any device—from the smallest micro-computers and cellphones to the largest super-computers.

UNIX was entirely command line-based until graphical user interfaces (GUIs) emerged in 1973 (in comparison, Apple came out with Mac os ten years later, and Microsoft released Windows 1. 0 in 1985). The early GUIs were di?cult to con?gure, clunky, and generally only used by seasoned computer programmers. In the past decade, however, graphical user interfaces have grown in usability, reliability, and appearance. Installation How to install Ubuntu from CD 1) Download the Ubuntu ISO from http://www. ubuntu. com/getubuntu/download and save to your desktop 2) Burn the ISO image to a blank CD using Roxio CD creator or similar: ) Run the CD from “My Computer” – the CD should ask permission to run at which point you’ll see this option screen: 4) If you’d like to install Ubuntu using Wubi, select “install inside Windows” and follow the instructions. Installing with WUBI is ideal for a first taste of Ubuntu as you can remove from add/remove programs in Windows later on. This install process is really easy but you don’t get the same performance as if Ubuntu had a separate partition running on its EXT3 file system. The following screens are all based on the Wubi installer process, so you can follow the rest of the instructions below.

If you’d like to install Ubuntu separately to Windows, then skip to point 7) below. Here’s what you see next: If you’ve got the space on your hard drive, go for 30gb or more for the installation size. 5) Now configure your installation using the simple settings options. You can specify the location of the Ubuntu installation on your Windows partition, the size of the Ubuntu installation, the Ubuntu flavour (Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, etc), your preferred language, and a username and password for the Ubuntu system. When you click install, you’ll see this screen: As soon as the files have finished downloading, you’ll see this:

6) That’s it! Click reboot now, and select “Ubuntu” on the startup screen. You now have a fully functional dual boot Windows / Ubuntu machine. Ubuntu Desktop Environment Unity (Installed by default) Founded in 2010, the Unity project started by Mark Shuttleworth and Canonical has gone on to deliver a consistent user experience for desktop and netbook users alike. Putting great design at the heart of the project, Unity and its technologies such as Application indicators, System indicators, and Notify OSD, have strived to solve common problems in the Free Software desktop while optimizing the experience for touch, consistency and collaboration.

Unity is the default shell for GNOME 2/3 used by Ubuntu. Features Unity is available in 3D or 2D. The 3D version is powered by Compiz. The top-right portion of the panel is very similar to GNOME 2, offering support for various menus and indicators. A launcher on the left side keeps track of currently-running applications, and also allows the user to pin favorite applications. Applications demanding attention will glow blue. Badges and progress bars on the launcher icons are also supported by some applications, as are quicklists revealed by right-clicking.

By either clicking the button in the upper-left corner or pressing the Super key, the user can open the Dash, which allows searching for applications, files, and more via the use of "lenses". Four workspaces are provided that the user can use for organizing windows. A global menu, similar to that used in Mac OS X, is used for windows by default. You can reveal the menu by mousing over the left portion of the top panel, or by holding Alt. Alternatively, in Ubuntu 12. 04 LTS onward, you can tap the Alt key to reveal the HUD, which allows you to find menu commands by entering search terms, similar to the Dash.

Maximized windows have their window controls also integrated into the top panel. This and the global menu are intended to provide more vertical screen space as compared to other DEs / shells, which is useful for machines like netbooks where screen space is limited. System Requirements Unity 3D, like GNOME Shell, requires a 3D graphics card and hardware acceleration to run. If you cannot run Unity 3D, your machine should still be able to run the 2D version of Unity. They are very similar aside from minor differences in appearance, and that you might get better performance while running Unity 2D.