the sociological/philosophical sense (from context, i gather that he had a theory of individualism that is contrary to Ubuntu thought). Still, i couldn't help but be struck by another connotation of Cartesian, that of coordinates, map making. much of the strife on the continent (and in the world in general) currently playing out is 'cartesian' in nature, in which a former colonial power deliberately drew boundaries across ancestral lands of peoples of different cultures to sow discord and discontent for generations to come. the exacerbation of 'tribal' or ethnic differences in order to aid subjugation of various peoples is still paying off horrific dividends, long after the supposed dismantling of the colonial system. (for another take on that, look at the convenient partition of iraq into kurdish, sunni and shi'a populations, or, beyond that, the way that its borders with turkey and kuwait were created).


peace & blessings,

x.

"I'm on the Zoloft to keep from killing y'all." - Iron Mike