#17 Mogobe Ramose | The Philosophy of Ubuntu

This edition is made by guest host and guest podcast maker:
Liesbeth Tjon-a-Meeuw


Professor Mogobe Ramose (1950) from South Africa, is known for
making us familiar with the philosophy of ubuntu in where we can
experience our shared humanity. His original thought is explained
in his book African Philosophy Through Ubuntu (1999) that he
decided to write during his years of exile in Europe. In the
Netherlands a Dutch translation of his work was published this
century under the title Ubuntu, Stroom Van Het Bestaan Als
Levensfilosofie (2017). Still today, Ramose elaborates
passionately about the liberation of the African mind from
Western dominance and the need for an African renaissance that
also actively reflects on past mistakes. For instance, in his
eyes Western democracy is a foreign system that doesn’t benefit
the African people. He also mentions the predicament of the youth
that can’t rely on their elders to come up with solutions. During
one of his regular visits to Europe we took the chance to have a
conversation with the philosopher himself and asked him what
makes ubuntu relevant today? What does it take to bring out our
humanity?


  


Host & podcastmaker: Liesbeth Tjon-A-Meeuw in
conversation with Professor Mogobe Ramose


 Music from Frits de Beer


 This is a production from the School of Silent Voices