Browsing by Author "Jurgens, Francois"

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    Absurdity in the Early 21 Century
    (2010) Jurgens, Francois; Galgut, Elisa; Fried, Gregory
    This essay argues against contemporary theorists who claim that the concept of Absurdity that flourished in Western Europe in the 1940s is now of purely historical interest. It is argued instead that while it is important to locate the concept of Absurdity in an appropriate historical context, people living in the early twenty-first century are, in fact, living within an historical period that makes the experience, and thus the concept, of Absurdity relevant again. While Absurdity in the 1940s involved a loss of certainty due to the role the Second World War played in undermining secular and religious beliefs, Absurdity in the twenty-first century involves a loss of certainty due to intense exposure to alternative points of view. This loss of certainty means that when one's typical point of view is brought into relief by an atypical perspective, one struggles to reaffirm one's typical perspective. This robust clash of perspectives strikes at the heart of the way in which we understand the world and ourselves, forming part of the experience that has come to be known as Absurdity. If the analysis of Absurdity that is offered in this essay is correct, then Absurdity is best understood as a personal epistemological condition, rather than a universal metaphysical condition that affects all people simply in virtue of their being human.
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    Risk as injury: an alternative interpretation of the South African law of defamation
    (2019) Jurgens, Francois; Fagan, Anton
    This thesis presents an alternative interpretation of the rules constituting the South African law of defamation. Defamation is typically understood to be a wrong in which the defendant has caused the plaintiff reputational harm. It is argued that it is more justifiable to view the wrong as a wrong of having increased the risk of reputational harm. Defamation law is an instance of state power and it is argued that this alternative interpretation better justifies that exercise of power. In making this argument, the fundamental features of the law are analysed, including what reputation is and why we value it, why it is problematic to view the wrong as being about the causation of reputational harm, and why liability for risk is problematic in the case of negligence but less problematic in the case of defamation. As the risk interpretation is meant to be an alternative interpretation of the existing rules, it is also shown that this interpretation is compatible with those rules, such as the presumptions and defences, and the standard remedial response of damages. While this thesis argues for an alternative interpretation of the rules, it is hoped that this analysis of those rules will shed new light on the law even if the risk interpretation is not accepted wholesale.