From dis-enclosure to decolonisation : in dialogue with Nancy and Mbembe on self-determination and the other
Date
2018-04-13
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: What might a sense of decolonisation (not)/be? Or, what comes after the logic of the
coloniser? This question is at the centre of many debates in South Africa and extends to all countries
worldwide who are faced with the challenge of self-determination by rethinking the world we live in
after the domination of the world by the so-called “all enclosingWestern world-view” incarnated in
various oppressive political, economic, social and intellectual practices. The challenge of rethinking
the world following the demotion of the West from its centre, as will be argued, is not only for those
who are particularly living in a previously colonised world, but also for those who were/ still are in
the position of dominance, which is a universal task. It is at this point where the various philosophical
traditions meet, more precisely that of continental philosophy of religion and African philosophy.
Accordingly, this article seeks to explore the question in two parts by way of an inter-cultural approach.
Part one retraces the critique of (a certain) Western metaphysics in terms of its onto-theological
constitution. Subsequently, this onto-theological constitution is discussed in relation to the notions of
identity and political to outline what a sense of decolonisation might not be, that is a re-enforcement
of the logic of the coloniser, which denies the full existence of an-other. In part two, four suggestions
are made on what a sense of decolonisation might be in dialogue with Jean-Luc Nancy and Achille
Mbembe. The suggestions include a two-sided attitude of reticence/dissidence against falling back
into the problematic logic. A move to consider decolonisation as the dis-enclosure of the world, which
in turn, opens up a space for an alternative ontology that acknowledges our existence as always
being-in-the-word with others. The fourth suggestion concerns the implications of this alternative
ontology regarding a non-substantialist notion of identity as mêlée, which is the action of constant
struggle within the re-opened space for what it means to live in the world. Finally, it is concluded
that the alternative ontology of decolonisation as dis-enclosure implies a universal task of taking
responsibility for the reparation of the dignity of the whole of humanity within our shared world.
Description
CITATION: Gerber, S. H. 2018. From dis-enclosure to decolonisation : in dialogue with Nancy and Mbembe on self-determination and the other. Religions, 9(4):128, doi:10.3390/rel9040128.
The original publication is available at http://www.mdpi.com
The original publication is available at http://www.mdpi.com
Keywords
African philosophy, Decolonisation, Self-determination (Psychology), Cultural relations, Philosophy, African
Citation
Gerber, S. H. 2018. From dis-enclosure to decolonisation : in dialogue with Nancy and Mbembe on self-determination and the other. Religions, 9(4):128, doi:10.3390/rel9040128