2625 From cogito ergo sum to Ubuntu ngumuntu ngabantu – Reclaiming relational being in a fractured world

Description

Adalbertus Kamanzi, University of Namibia, Department of Development Studies; Contacts: akamanzi@unam.na

Abstract

In this article I explore the philosophical roots of the current global socio-political, economic, and ecological crises, arguing that the dominant Cartesian paradigm, centred on the disembodied, rational, and isolated subject, has contributed significantly to modernity’s structures of alienation, domination, and systemic injustice. Through a critical engagement with cogito ergo sum, I trace how Cartesian logocentrism underpins colonial conquest, capitalist individualism, militarised statecraft, and technocratic governance. Drawing on the works of Descartes, Fanon, Foucault, Santos, Ramose, Wiredu, Gyekye, Mangena, Tutu, and Mbiti, I present the African philosophy of Ubuntu as a counter-ontological and ethical framework. Ubuntu offers a relational metaphysics in which being is co-constructed through mutual recognition and interdependence. I argue for Ubuntu as both a foundation for intercultural philosophical dialogue and a practical policy framework applicable in governance, justice, education, economic development, environmental stewardship, and global diplomacy. By shifting from Cartesian isolation to Ubuntu relationality, the paper advocates for an Ubuntu planetary ethics capable of guiding humanity toward repair, restoration, and co-flourishing.

Keywords: African philosophy, Cartesianism, decolonial ethics, global justice, intercultural dialogue, relational ontology, Ubuntu philosophy

Article type: Original research

Review type: Double-blind