Ubuntu and the Obligation to Obey the Law

Questioning obligation has roots in our nature as reflective beings. Reflectivity pervades our lives and as moral agents we like to think that we act from reasons and ought to demand reasons for everything that we do. Even where we decide not to have a reason for doing something, there can be said to be an implicit reason for not having any reasons. We can be said to be acting from a conscious or unconscious reason not to have any reasons for what we do. The reflective process is therefore characterised by questions and a variety of possible answers. We are not afraid to ask questions that go to the very foundations of who we think we are. We are also not afraid that these answers may change our self-conceptions. The word ‘why’ is part of our daily lives. By asking for reasons why we act, we are not only learning about ourselves, we are in the process of constructing ourselves.