Philosophy

I think, therefore I am. ~ Rene’ Descrates, Le Discours de La Methode, 1937

Ubuntu [I am because we are] ~ African Philosophy

Rene Descrates claims that he “thought” himself into being so he offers a central premise upon which European (and Euro-American) worldviews and epistemologies rest—that the individual mind is the source of knowledge and existence.   

A counter perspective is the African concept of “Ubuntu,” translated   means “I am because we are,” resting on the belief that individual existence (and knowledge) is contingent on relationships with others.   

I admit that these are two contradictory perspectives: opposite and conflicting epistemological stances.   

It is within the spirit of Ubuntu that we move through the semester.