Luís Cordeiro-Rodrigues

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated health resource scarcity in many countries. Due to the shortage of medical equipment, some health workers in Zimbabwe refused to provide health services until these needs were addressed. In this article, we analyse the case of withdrawal of services by health workers in Zimbabwe and contend that they were morally justified in doing this. To forward this thesis, we try for the first time to use the African values of partiality and social harmony to evaluate the morality of health workers striking during a pandemic. The first set of arguments, based on the African ethics of partiality, is divided into two sub-arguments: namely, that the health workers were justified in withdrawing medical services because they held special duties to their families which could be violated if they had provided health services without the use of protection, and that it is psychologically unrealistic to demand that health workers put their families at risk. The second set of arguments upholds that the actions of the health workers are grounded in the idea of Ubuntu/social harmony and, therefore, are morally justified. Finally, we contend that although our thesis implies some hierarchies, not only may these be morally justified, but they are also not necessarily incompatible with the ethical standards of equality, universality, and non-favouritism. Although the case of Zimbabwe serves as an illuminating example, the way we formulate this thesis indicates that the arguments can be generalized to similar settings.

The moral standing of combatants is a fundamental question in jus in bello: do combatants have the same moral standing in battle, irrespective of the side for which they are fighting? While the Zhuangzi does not explicitly address this question, it offers useful philosophical resources for addressing it. The Zhuangzian view contends that although, in principle, just cause would imply that combatants’ moral standing is unequal, they should nonetheless be treated equally in view of the manipulation and knowledge limitations that are characteristic of war.

This piece defends an integrative medicine approach to Medical AI, grounded in a Daoist perspective. Specifically, it draws on the Daoist classic Zhuangzi to argue that algorithms in medical AI should not be restricted to offering diagnoses and treatments from a Western medical perspective alone. Instead, medical AI should be prepared to provide patients with various forms of alternative medicine (such as Chinese medicine). This can significantly benefit public health and address the healthcare needs of a broader population.

This piece defends an integrative medicine approach to Medical AI, grounded in a Daoist perspective. Specifically, it draws on the Daoist classic _Zhuangzi_ to argue that algorithms in medical AI should not be restricted to offering diagnoses and treatments from a Western medical perspective alone. Instead, medical AI should be prepared to provide patients with various forms of alternative medicine (such as Chinese medicine). This can significantly benefit public health and address the healthcare needs of a broader population.

In this article, I argue from a Zhuangzian point of view in favour of using virtual reality to enhance athletes’ morality. I argue that the Zhuangzi implies that (a) transformation is an everyday fact of life, (b) human beings have a limited perspective of reality, and (c) this perspective can be enriched by combining one’s view of the world with others’ views of the world. In turn, I use these arguments to contend that technological moral enhancement with virtual reality in sports is morally justified.

In this article, I argue from a Zhuangzian point of view in favour of using virtual reality to enhance athletes’ morality. I argue that the Zhuangzi implies that (a) transformation is an everyday fact of life, (b) human beings have a limited perspective of reality, and (c) this perspective can be enriched by combining one’s view of the world with others’ views of the world. In turn, I use these arguments to contend that technological moral enhancement with virtual reality in sports is morally justified.

Some philosophers who are sceptical about the value of culture have contended that cultural practices that involve animal cruelty are not morally justified. To forward this position, these philosophers offer arguments grounded in intuition, harm, comparative weight and equality. They contend that cultural practices involving animal harm can be shown to be morally wrong simply by relying on a weak perspective that we should not harm others unnecessarily. In this article, I argue that this weak perspective on animals’ interests is insufficient to prescribe minority practices that involve animal cruelty as more morally relevant than the interest in culture. For their argument to be cogent, these philosophers need to rely on stronger assumptions. I then conclude by suggesting a path for debate that involves taking the claims of cultural groups seriously.

A topic in contemporary political philosophy that has received substantial attention recently is whether minorities have the right to mistreat nonhuman animals. Mostly the debate is focused on minority practices in the West, such as Muslim religious slaughtering. However, other minority contexts, especially Iberian ones, have been largely ignored. In this article, I place the Portuguese case study at the center of political philosophy debates and assess whether this cultural practice ought to be banned. I do this by looking at four arguments routinely used in these debates. These arguments are that Portuguese bullfighting ought to be allowed because it has an economic role in the community, it helps address social prejudice, it promotes friendship and, and allowing it is a way to be legally consistent. I reject the four arguments and defend that bullfighting, in the Portuguese case, should be banned.

Digital technology can improve individuals’ lives substantially. Nonetheless, not everyone has access to it. This fact poses the question: is there an obligation to enable access to digital technology for everyone? We respond to this question affirmatively in this article, taking a Zhuangzian point of view. Particularly, we uphold that from a Zhuangzian viewpoint, we have duties towards everyone who shares the same nature; resultantly, there is an obligation beyond borders to bring digital technology to everyone.

European politicians have recently considered reintroducing conscription and have offered three main reasons for this, arguing that conscription is critical for (1) military readiness and deterrence, (2) respecting the social contract citizens have with their state, and (3) teaching civic values and patriotism. This article analyses these arguments and shows that they are false. While these arguments may have succeeded historically, warfare, conscription, and societies have changed, weakening these arguments.

Angolan Political Thought introduces anticolonial thinkers whose writings on colonialism and liberation have been instrumental in the formation of Angolan identity. It focuses on the political nature of these thinkers and how their work has impacted Angolan political reality. Luís Cordeiro-Rodrigues both introduces and critically analyzes the thought of Queen Njinga, Mário Pinto de Andrade, Agostinho Neto and Pepetela and systematically addresses five important topics in Angolan political thought. Firstly, it gives a general introduction to African political philosophy and explains the place of Angolan political thought in this. Secondly, it explains how different Angolan thinkers have conceptualized colonialism and its effects on the global Black community. Thirdly, the book surveys what key Angolan thinkers have identified as legitimate and effective tools of liberation and resistance from colonialism. For example, it addresses the place of poetry for liberation, as well as the justification for war against colonial powers. Fourth, this book will explain the different theories that Africa and, in particular, African identity, consists of. Finally, it will look at Angolan theories of distributive justice and compensation for historical injustices.

Are the existence of God and evil logically compatible? Philosophers have been dwelling on this question since the era of Ancient Greek philosophy. Most responses to this philosophical problem have come from a Western viewpoint. This article aims to answer this question by considering an African cosmological and ethical groundwork. Working conceptually within this cosmology and ethic, we argue that if the evil in the world is understood as a lesser evil, then a good God can plausibly allow evil to happen. This is the case because God preventing evil will lead to a worse state of affairs which will result in a worse world. Allowing a lesser evil is the best possible outcome. We assert that this view offers a better theory than the theodicy defended by some mainstream Western philosophers according to which a greater good is achieved through evil.

The rapid development of AI in recent years has brought the problem of AI's moral status to the fore. In this article, we combine Afro-communitarian ethics with a cognitive perspective and argue that some AI can hold a moral status to the extent that it can be both a subject and an object of communion. Further, different kinds of AI have different degrees of moral status, depending on their communal capacities. To demonstrate this, we show that AI can engage in moral behavior and be morally disposed to act in certain ways. We defend that this theory deserves consideration along with other theories of moral status.

Political opportunism of the far-right threatens the efficacy of public health policies and political stability in general. In this commentary, we outline some of the ways that the European far-right has misused public health concerns as propaganda tools. This is a significant threat to the goals of making health and science more inclusive, and we recommend some policies for mitigating the racist effect of the far-right. Notably, we recommend (a) transparency in health policies and robust implementation of the rule of law, (b) the use of operative public values and human rights in health policy making, and (c) investment in decolonizing mindsets which may be corrosive of health policies.

The Portuguese elections occurred this March, and the left’s decline has accompanied the far-right’s growth, as in previous elections. Explanations for such phenomena are often carried out using quantitative and qualitative methods. Philosophical conceptual analysis, in contrast, is frequently dismissed as a method for analysing political change. In this paper, I will show how, by using conceptual analysis, it is possible to assist in explaining voting behaviour from the left on the far-right party Chega in Portugal. This methodology resembles philosophers and political theorists using concepts like ‘class’ and ‘authoritarianism’ to assist in explaining socio-political changes. I will use concepts, such as ‘complex ideology’ and ‘anti-power/anti-system politics’, which have helpful explanatory power to the phenomenon I address. Particularly, I argue that the right-wing party Chega can attract voters from the left because of its anti-system ideology, an ideological characteristic of left voters in Portugal. Thus, I argue that the rise of the far-right partly relates to the changing politics of some smaller left parties with parliamentary representation. These political changes within these parties create a space for specific anti-system ideologies that the far-right, in the case of Portugal, can fill.

In Africa, homosexuality is routinely understood as a form of immoral behaviour. This has great implications for the physical and psychological well-being of homosexuals in Africa. One of the reasons why homosexuals are sometimes understood to be behaving immorally is because it is believed that same-sex relations are unnatural. I think that this conception of unnatural is grounded on the perverted faculty argument, although this is not often expressed in such terms. In this article, I will develop a concept of natural grounded on the concept of Ukama. I will show that despite Ukama implying a functional conception of nature, just like in the perverted faculty argument, it does not imply that homosexuality is immoral.

Homosexuality is criminalised and socially condemned in many places in Africa. This fact seems to suggest that African moral philosophy would likely render homosexuality immoral. Indeed, some of the African philosophical literature tries to suggest that homosexuality is morally wrong. Contrasting with this view, in this article, I will show that Afro-communitarian ethics implies that homosexuality is morally permissible and, indeed, can be an excellent way to promote social harmony. I defend this theory by drawing out the implications of social harmony, and also respond to potential objections from African intellectuals and new natural law theorists.

Jiren (畸人), literally translated as irregular (Ji) person (ren), is a critical concept in the classical Daoist text the Zhuangzi (5th–3rd century BC.).1 The concept refers to individuals with atypical body shapes. Some of them lack body parts of the standard human body, like a leg or toes. Some others have an atypical anatomy, like having a chin stuck down their navel; and some of them are, by social standards of the time, considered to be extremely ugly.1 These individuals are described as incredibly virtuous. The description of Jiren individuals as virtuous does not simply aim to show there may be hidden virtues that social conventions blur. The point is not to show that we should also care for those with atypical bodies who have a hidden virtue. Rather, the point is to show that all human beings have an unconditional intrinsic value and moral worth. So, Jiren prescribes that an atypical body shape does not reflect inferiority. The variation of body anatomies should be understood as how the world is, not a value hierarchy. The concept of Jiren encourages, therefore, to consider one’s own and others’ value beyond their physical appearance. What’s more, Jiren encourages individuals to resist social pressures to fit a standard and to search inward for who they really are and accept it. This ethical groundwork set by the Jiren aims at freeing people from existing physical and mental boundaries to their well-being and helping them rethink …