Zoly Rakotoniera | University of Antananarivo (original) (raw)
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Papers by Zoly Rakotoniera
South African Journal of Philosophy, 2018
In two papers early in his career, Siméon Rajaona-one of Madagascar's most famous intellectuals-a... more In two papers early in his career, Siméon Rajaona-one of Madagascar's most famous intellectuals-argues that Westerners have tended to distort the Malagasy worldview by interpolating Western notions into their understanding of it. As a result, the authentic characteristics of the Malagasy mind have been missed by many in the West. He claims that when compared to Westerners, Malagasy have a distinct notion of truth, a different style of reasoning, a different conceptual connection with the world, and a distinct ethical system. His work on this topic is pioneering and insightful. We think that Rajaona is correct on some points but that others are overestimated. In the essay, we explain his work and raise challenges for most of his claims and express agreement with him in parts. While we express scepticism about his claims involving truth, reasoning, and conceptual connection, we agree with him that there is a distinctive Malagasy ethics, though it has analogues in the West. At the end of the paper, we sketch what we take to be distinct elements in the Malagasy worldview relative to Rajaona's claims.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Sep 1, 2004
Traditionally associated to the earth, to water or to goddesses, the mother figure is sacred in A... more Traditionally associated to the earth, to water or to goddesses, the mother figure is sacred in African societies. Indeed, the centrality of procreation and mothering as the guarantees of lineage continuation has led to the institutionalization of motherhood. Changes brought by modernity, however, have also altered the way in which motherhood is viewed and experienced by African women. It is more and more present in public discourse not only as an institution but also as an experience. This article presents a comparative analysis of two African novels, The Joys of Motherhood (1979) by Buchi Emecheta and Ny Zanako (1966) by Clarisse Ratsifandrihamanana and aims at providing a more systematic understanding of the past and present dimensions of motherhood in the African context. In fact, despite the writers' different backgrounds and nationalities, a close examination of the two texts reveals a stunning array of thematic and stylistic parallels revolving around motherhood. The Joys...
South African Journal of Philosophy, 2018
In two papers early in his career, Siméon Rajaona-one of Madagascar's most famous intellectuals-a... more In two papers early in his career, Siméon Rajaona-one of Madagascar's most famous intellectuals-argues that Westerners have tended to distort the Malagasy worldview by interpolating Western notions into their understanding of it. As a result, the authentic characteristics of the Malagasy mind have been missed by many in the West. He claims that when compared to Westerners, Malagasy have a distinct notion of truth, a different style of reasoning, a different conceptual connection with the world, and a distinct ethical system. His work on this topic is pioneering and insightful. We think that Rajaona is correct on some points but that others are overestimated. In the essay, we explain his work and raise challenges for most of his claims and express agreement with him in parts. While we express scepticism about his claims involving truth, reasoning, and conceptual connection, we agree with him that there is a distinctive Malagasy ethics, though it has analogues in the West. At the end of the paper, we sketch what we take to be distinct elements in the Malagasy worldview relative to Rajaona's claims.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Sep 1, 2004
Traditionally associated to the earth, to water or to goddesses, the mother figure is sacred in A... more Traditionally associated to the earth, to water or to goddesses, the mother figure is sacred in African societies. Indeed, the centrality of procreation and mothering as the guarantees of lineage continuation has led to the institutionalization of motherhood. Changes brought by modernity, however, have also altered the way in which motherhood is viewed and experienced by African women. It is more and more present in public discourse not only as an institution but also as an experience. This article presents a comparative analysis of two African novels, The Joys of Motherhood (1979) by Buchi Emecheta and Ny Zanako (1966) by Clarisse Ratsifandrihamanana and aims at providing a more systematic understanding of the past and present dimensions of motherhood in the African context. In fact, despite the writers' different backgrounds and nationalities, a close examination of the two texts reveals a stunning array of thematic and stylistic parallels revolving around motherhood. The Joys...