" ... a major work ... an intellectual and cultural tour de force. [Loutzenhiser's] range in the world of the metaphysicians is sure. [His] sections on the arts [are] most penetrating and offer original ideas and insights." -Edward Bruce Bynum, author of The African Unconscious, Director of Behavioral Medicine, University of Massachusetts Amherst "I was impressed with the range of issues and thinkers covered ... It is a rare thinker who can find the thread that connects hegelian phenomenology, transpersonal psychology, holonic theory, the chakra system, the [prose] of Jack Kerouac and the music of Sun Ra." -Samuel Oluoch Imbo, author of An Introduction to African Philosophy " ... thought-provoking ... thoroughgoing " -Nikitah Okembe-ra Imani, associate professor of Sociology-Africentric Critical Studies, James Madison University " ... brilliant and intriguing ideas. [Loutzenhiser's] mind is amazing, vigorous and rich." -John Davis, professor of Transpersonal Psychology, Naropa University " ... important." -Molefi Kete Asante, author of The Afrocentric Idea

Indigenous Education and the Metaphysics of Presence: A worlded philosophy explores a notion of education called ‘worldedness’ that sits at the core of indigenous philosophy. This is the idea that any one thing is constituted by all others and is, therefore, educational to the extent that it is formational. A suggested opposite of this indigenous philosophy is the metaphysics of presence, which describes the tendency in dominant Western philosophy to privilege presence over absence. This book compares these competing philosophies and argues that, even though the metaphysics of presence and the formational notion of education are at odds with each other, they also constitute each other from an indigenous worlded philosophical viewpoint. Drawing on both Maori and Western philosophies, this book demonstrates how the metaphysics of presence is both related and opposed to the indigenous notion of worldedness. Mika explains that presence seeks to fragment things in the world, underpins how indigenous peoples can represent things, and prevents indigenous students, critics, and scholars from reflecting on philosophical colonisation. However, the metaphysics of presence, from an indigenous perspective, is constituted by all other things in the world, and Mika argues that the indigenous student and critic can re-emphasise worldedness and destabilise presence through creative responses, humour, and speculative thinking. This book concludes by positioning well-being within education, because education comprises acts of worldedness and presence. This book will be of key interest to indigenous as well as non-indigenous academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of philosophy of education, indigenous and Western philosophy, political strategy and post-colonial studies. It will also be relevant for those who are interested in philosophies of language, ontology, metaphysics and knowledge.

The Oxford Handbook of Human Development and Culture provides a comprehensive synopsis of theory and research on human development, with every chapter drawing together findings from cultures around the world. This includes a focus on cultural diversity within nations, cultural change, and globalization. Expertly edited by Lene Arnett Jensen, the Handbook covers the entire lifespan from the prenatal period to old age. It delves deeply into topics such as the development of emotion, language, cognition, morality, creativity, and religion, as well as developmental contexts such as family, friends, civic institutions, school, media, and work. Written by an international group of eminent and cutting-edge experts, chapters showcase the burgeoning interdisciplinary approach to scholarship that bridges universal and cultural perspectives on human development. This "cultural-developmental approach" is a multifaceted, flexible, and dynamic way to conceptualize theory and research that is in step with the cultural and global realities of human development in the 21st century.

The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academy of Sciences address scientific topics of broad and current interest, cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Each year, four or five such colloquia are scheduled, typically two days in length and international in scope. Colloquia are organized by a member of the Academy, often with the assistance of an organizing committee, and feature presentations by leading scientists in the field and discussions with a hundred or more researchers with an interest in the topic. Colloquia presentations are recorded and posted on the National Academy of Sciences Sackler colloquia website and published on CD-ROM. These Colloquia are made possible by a generous gift from Mrs. Jill Sackler, in memory of her husband, Arthur M. Sackler.

Recent neuroscience research makes it clear that human biology is cultural biology - we develop and live our lives in socially constructed worlds that vary widely in their structure values, and institutions. This integrative volume brings together interdisciplinary perspectives from the human, social, and biological sciences to explore culture, mind, and brain interactions and their impact on personal and societal issues. Contributors provide a fresh look at emerging concepts, models, and applications of the co-constitution of culture, mind, and brain. Chapters survey the latest theoretical and methodological insights alongside the challenges in this area, and describe how these new ideas are being applied in the sciences, humanities, arts, mental health, and everyday life. Readers will gain new appreciation of the ways in which our unique biology and cultural diversity shape behavior and experience, and our ongoing adaptation to a constantly changing world.

In a country as diverse as South Africa, sickness and health often mean different things to different people – so much so that the different health definitions and health belief models in the country seem to have a profound influence on the health-seeking behaviour of the people who are part of our vibrant, multicultural society. This book is concerned with the integration of indigenous health knowledge (IHK) into the current Western--orientated Primary Health Care (PHC) model. The first section of the book highlights the challenges facing the training of health professionals using a curriculum that is not drawing its knowledge base from the indigenous context and the people of that context. Such professionals will later recognise that they are walking without limbs in matters pertaining to health. The area that was chosen for conducting the research was KwaBomvana in Xhora (Elliotdale), Eastern Cape province, South Africa. The people who reside there are called AmaBomvana. The area where the Bomvana peoples reside is served by Madwaleni Hospital and eight surrounding clinics. Qualitative ethnographic, feminist methods of data collection supported the research done for Section 1 of the book. Section 2 comprises the translation and implementation of PhD study outcomes and had contributions from various researchers. In the critical research findings of the PhD study, older Xhosa women identify the inclusion of social determinants of health as vital to the health problems they managed within their homes. For them, each disease is linked to a social determinant of health, and the management of health problems includes the management of social determinants of health. For them, it is about the health of the home and not just about the management of disease. They believe that healthy homes make healthy villages, and that the prevention of the development of disease is related to the strengthening of the home. Health and illness should be seen within both physical and spiritual contexts; without health, there can be no progress in the home. When defining health, the older Xhosa women add three critical components to the WHO health definition, namely, food security, healthy children and families, and peace and security in their villages. Prof. Mji further proposes that these three elements should be included in the next revision of the WHO health definition because they are not only important for the Bomvana people where the research was conducted, but also for the rest of humanity. In light of the promise of National Health Insurance and the revitalisation of PHC, this book proposes that these two major national health policies should take cognisance of the IHK utilised by the older Xhosa women. In addtion to what this research implies, these policies should also take note of all IHK from the indigenous peoples of South Africa, Africa and the rest of the world, and that there should be a clear plan as to how the knowledge can be supported within a health care systems approach.