Author Archives: Jacques

Jacques Rousseau

Jacques Rousseau teaches critical thinking and ethics at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Freedom of (Multi)choice

By Jacques | Posted: March 9, 2010
Has porn been proved to cause sexual violence, as they claim? No. Does our Bill of Rights enshrine freedom of expression? Yes. And has DStv put systems in place to prevent children from accessing its adult channels? That would be another yes.
Posted in Morality | Tagged Daily Maverick, DSTV, Errol Naidoo, freedom of speech, Multichoice, porn, rights, Taryn Hodgson | Leave a comment

On JZ’s call for a national dialogue on “our moral code”

By Jacques | Posted: March 4, 2010
Why is Zuma suddenly interested in discussing South Africa's "moral code" - is it the transparent attempt at deflection it appears to be? And who should be involved in the discussion?
Posted in Morality, Politics | Tagged Daily Maverick, Jacob Zuma, moral code, Ray McCauley | 1 Comment

Addicted to victimhood

By Jacques | Posted: March 3, 2010
I must confess to having read, and enjoyed, Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, but judging by snippets from a couple of interviews, corn syrup must also either rot your brain or turn you into a marketing uber-guru.
Posted in External World, Politics | Tagged Food Rules, Omnivore's Dilemma, Pollan, responsibility, victimhood | 5 Comments

Taryn Hodgson’s pornography problem

By Jacques | Posted: February 25, 2010
To approach the complicated problem of pornography from the point of view that Christian values will save us from various social ills is stupendously naive, in that it ignores other data we have suggesting that the religious are no better off in terms of protecting what Hodgson refers to as the "basic building block of society" - the family.
Posted in Morality, Religion | Tagged DSTV, Morality, pornography, rights, science, Taryn Hodgson | 22 Comments

More on Maxwele and freedom of speech

By Jacques | Posted: February 23, 2010
A follow-up article on the Chumani Maxwele incident, and the implications it has for free speech in South Africa, appeared in the Durban Mercury (22/02/10) and the Cape Times (23/02/10). My original text can be found here.
Posted in Politics | Tagged Chumani Maxwele, Free Society Institute, freedom of speech, Jacob Zuma, police | Leave a comment
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