Philosophical ideas like "ubuntu", originating from "African philosophy, African cosmology, and the African epistemology" can "improve this world", according to Prof. Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Chair of Epistemologies of the Global South, University of Bayreuth, Germany.
"The colonizer's model of the world is about domination of other people. But, ubuntu, if you bring it into the fold, it's not about anybody dominating. It's about coexistence, and we need to draw from such ideas," the professor says.
This will enable the world to operate a "richer knowledge", thus being able to get ourselves "out of this civilizational and epistemic crisis".
"The dominant philosophies, they still come from Europe and North America[...]This knowledge is exhausted and because it is exhausted, we need to decolonize it for our own survival so that we take into account the knowledge from indigenous people," Prof. Ndlovu-Gatsheni explains.
The "deep" crisis we are currently experiencing is "the terminal crisis of capitalism itself", the professor states. However, this is an excellent opportunity.
"When when there is a crisis like this, don't let a good crisis to waste. You needed to begin to plug in and create another world," Prof. Ndlovu-Gatsheni elaborates.
To hear what else the epistemologist had to say, check out the entire episode of the AfroVerdict podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
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