Abstract

MULLER, Julian C.. Together in the world! Postfoundationalism re-discovered in Ubuntu. Verbum Eccles. (Online) [online]. 2021, vol.42, n.2, pp.1-6. ISSN 2074-7705.  https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v42i2.2300.

This article investigates two questions: (1) What is the significance of a typical western philosophical concept like postfoundationalism for the African context? (2) Can Ubuntu be the key or the bridge between two seemingly distant philosophical worlds? I have been involved in two major research projects: firstly, the exploration of the postfoundationalist paradigm and the significance of it for practical theology; secondly, a study of Ubuntu and its value for human and social development in Africa. INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS: This article is an ethnographic journey in which I revisit and reflect on those two projects and the link between them. The reflection focuses on four concepts: interdisciplinary practice, colonialism and whiteness, fiction and research, and holism.

Keywords : postfoundationalism; Ubuntu; western philosophical concept; African context; philosophical worlds.

        · text in English     · English ( pdf )