ABSTRACT
To reflect on the position of the liberal as scholar in South Africa is to consider a particular case of a more general phenomenon — the place of the intellectual as humanist in a hostile and repressive milieu. Liberalism as a humanist philosophy has a history that can be traced back to the Judaic-Christian-Greek intellectual world along with ideas of liberty and liberalism with which it is closely linked. The position of the South African liberal scholar is one of commitment. It is a commitment charged with moral indignation at the horrors of apartheid, the terrible suffering it inflicts, its dehumanising content. It is a passionate commitment which does not easily lend itself to the neutral language of the social sciences. Writing and teaching, the scholar’s most effective modes of action, involve the responsibility of interpreting issues which are politically sensitive. The ‘facts’ are among the available instruments of power; the dangers of abuse are not always obvious.
