Permalink Submitted by Bert van Pinxteren on 14 January 2019
Organization/ affiliation:
PhD student, Leiden University Centre of Languages
Dear Harry,
Thank you for that friendly reply! You may have a point - we probably do not disagree as much as it seems at first sight - but we probably do disagree a bit more than what you are hoping for.
On the philosophical level, I admit that an approach that tries to be just to all 'sentient beings' seems more inclusive than an approach that only considers that humans or only certain humans are sentient. So at the philosophical level, I cannot and do not accuse you of playing into the hands of the dehumanizers. In practice though, I am a bit concerned about how this approach might work out, given the sad history of studies on Africa.
Are there non-human sentient beings? For me, the jury is still out. I am not ready to take that step. But perhaps more relevant: would it make a difference? What would I do differently if I admitted that there are non-human sentient beings (on Earth)? Where is the surplus? More to the point: what is the surplus for African Studies and why should African studies (in Leiden) want/need to take the lead in this? What is the political and strategic relevance or opportunity here?
Politics is about choices: there is more than enough injustice in the world and no matter how inclusive we want to be, conflicts of interest will remain. Taking an ecological justice point of view would be my starting point...
Dear Harry,
Thank you for that friendly reply! You may have a point - we probably do not disagree as much as it seems at first sight - but we probably do disagree a bit more than what you are hoping for.
On the philosophical level, I admit that an approach that tries to be just to all 'sentient beings' seems more inclusive than an approach that only considers that humans or only certain humans are sentient. So at the philosophical level, I cannot and do not accuse you of playing into the hands of the dehumanizers. In practice though, I am a bit concerned about how this approach might work out, given the sad history of studies on Africa.
Are there non-human sentient beings? For me, the jury is still out. I am not ready to take that step. But perhaps more relevant: would it make a difference? What would I do differently if I admitted that there are non-human sentient beings (on Earth)? Where is the surplus? More to the point: what is the surplus for African Studies and why should African studies (in Leiden) want/need to take the lead in this? What is the political and strategic relevance or opportunity here?
Politics is about choices: there is more than enough injustice in the world and no matter how inclusive we want to be, conflicts of interest will remain. Taking an ecological justice point of view would be my starting point...