The Bank Windhoek Socratic Forum Extends Public Invitation

The Bank Windhoek Socratic (Philosophy) Forum was established in April 2013 and has since not only addressed a wide variety of topics but also hosted numerous national and international speakers. Bank Windhoek supports the Forum to stimulate critical thinking in Namibia and has, since its foundation, aimed at achieving this goal by making its supporters aware of the importance of bracketing their own opinions in interactions with others.

With free entrance, the Forum will take place on Tuesday, 5 November 2024, at 18:00 at The Weinberg Conference Venues in Windhoek, where emeritus Professor Johan Snyman will address the topics of power, ethics, and wellbeing. Bank Windhoek once again extends an open invitation to the Namibian public to attend the meeting and participate in honing their critical thinking skills. All enquiries can be directed to Dr. Willem Moore at 081 277 2565.

Prof. Snyman Profile

Professor Johan Snyman is a retired professor of Philosophy, formerly from the University of Johannesburg. He studied at the former University of Potchefstroom, the Rand Afrikaans University, and the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. Having studied in Frankfurt, aesthetics, Adorno, and Critical Theory became, philosophically speaking, second nature to him. However, a good dollop of Kant and Beethoven provides some idealistic balance in his make-up and runs the gamut of Philosophy from Heraclitus to Habermas according to the exacting demands for trendy Philosophy at an Afrikaans university. He published in South African, Czech, and English journals when he found time to write. He enjoys gardening, catching up on the literature he referred to in his published work, and watching his granddaughter growing up.

Power, Ethics and Wellbeing

Aristotle is the father of the concept of ‘the good life.’ His view on a good or morally well-lived life is flourishing, education, and an enabling community. The discussion will fuse Aristotle’s conception with two of Kant’s moral maxims – ‘never treat other people as a means to an end, but as goals in themselves’ and ‘always act in such a way that your actions can become a universal rule for humankind’ to outline the philosophical background for dealing with the problem of the abuse of power in society.

Extracts from some operas staged by the Windhoek Friends of the Opera will illustrate a brief survey of the philosophical themes explored so far. The abuse of power is a favourite theme of drama and ‘drama per musica,’ and the focus will be on characters such as Rigoletto (Verdi), Floristan (Beethoven), and Turandot/Calaf (Puccini).