The growing existence of multiethnic individuals and diverse societies seems to pose a challenge to the nation-state and its configuration of the political community. Classic theories of...Show moreThe growing existence of multiethnic individuals and diverse societies seems to pose a challenge to the nation-state and its configuration of the political community. Classic theories of nationalism prescribe the formation of a state around an ever-existing nation which constitutes a somewhat homogenous community, conflicting with the modern realities of statehood. Thus, this thesis explores the theory of nationalism and its ability to accommodate diversity and plurality within its structure. Ultimately, I argue, illustrated through the concept of the critical hybrid subject, that nationalism is unable to cope with the diversity of its members, due to the implementation of a national identity as an authority retaining political strategy.Show less
According to Heinz Kimmerle, most philosophy is Eurocentric. He is convinced that, in contrast to comparative philosophy, his method of intercultural philosophy – dialogue – can successfully...Show moreAccording to Heinz Kimmerle, most philosophy is Eurocentric. He is convinced that, in contrast to comparative philosophy, his method of intercultural philosophy – dialogue – can successfully contest Eurocentrism in philosophy. Although his writings predate the debate about epistemic justice, Renate Schepen has explored how a discourse between both can be mutually enriching. In this essay, I will examine the extent to which Kimmerle’s notion of intercultural philosophical dialogue contributes to epistemic justice.Show less
This thesis puts forward a dialogue between postcolonial philosophy and psychoanalysis as a way of furthering the development of contemporary decolonial theory. Analysing the example of the Dutch...Show moreThis thesis puts forward a dialogue between postcolonial philosophy and psychoanalysis as a way of furthering the development of contemporary decolonial theory. Analysing the example of the Dutch king Willem-Alexander offering official appologies to the Indonesian state, a reading of Frantz Fanon through the lens of Jacques Lacan's psychoanalytic theory provides the fundament for showing how this effort at postcolonial reconciliation is lacking, and how this example can be used for furthering the development of postcolonial thinking.Show less
With the grounding of Cartesian mind-body dualism in modern European philosophy the mind has been granted a pivotal place in the field of epistemology. As a result, knowledge production is...Show moreWith the grounding of Cartesian mind-body dualism in modern European philosophy the mind has been granted a pivotal place in the field of epistemology. As a result, knowledge production is predominantly considered a disembodied enterprise. Over the last century critiques have been formulated against placing knowledge within the perimeters of the mind. For one, the phenomenological tradition offered an influential critique against the separability of mind, body as well as the external world in which the cognisant being finds oneself. Despite providing a powerful argument against disembodied theories of knowledge it appears the applicability of such a phenomenological theory falls short when transcending knowledge on the level of individual experience. This research takes a different approach in critiquing a disembodied understanding of knowledge. Through findings in ethnography and material culture studies it becomes clear knowledge cannot be confined to the internal mental processes of individual subjects. These two research fields bring special attention to firstly, the distributive nature of knowledge amongst collectivities and secondly, the shared epistemological and ontological aspects of knowledge amongst groups of people/cultures required to produce knowledge. Knowledge is considered something that is constructed intersubjectively and in direct relation to the physical world and power discourse in which it is used. Through case studies in material culture currently housed at the Pitt Rivers Museum, an ethnographic and anthropology institute in Oxford, UK, it is argued that mind, body and external world properties play inseparable roles in the way knowledge is produced. In addition it becomes clear that a traditional Cartesian understanding of knowledge has consistently been used in interpreting the knowledge systems of other cultures. Such projection of a traditional Cartesian understanding of knowledge on the knowledge systems of other cultures has left an often distorted view of other modes of knowing, being and understanding, and attests to the colonial conditions under which the objects examined here were acquired. Study of material objects expose the fallacy in mind-body dualism and ought to be considered the missing links regarding knowledge systems obscured as result of the universalisation of the traditional Cartesian understanding of knowledge.Show less
