The Idea of Transmodern Ethiopia: A Perspective from Philosophy and Ethics of Liberation1

Abstract

Transmodernity is a new philosophical paradigm that transcends the modern foundational ethos and as well differs from the postmodern critique. It is basically a call towards a just social order that gives priority to human life. It is inherently ethical and fundamentally liberational. This work looks into the insufficiency of Modern Ethiopian establishment in attaining an inclusive and pluralist arrangement. It assumes this establishment as a hegemonic totality that marginalizes its others. It argues that the Modern Ethiopian establishment is an ontologic totality that needs to be liberated and transformed. Based on Dussel’s Philosophy and Ethics of Liberation, Transmodern Ethiopia is anticipated as an entity that could transcend the Modern and come up with a different arrangement. This would be an ethical arrangement which accepts the other as other. The three principles of Ethics of Liberation (material principle, formal principle and feasibility principle) are used as an ethical framework for the construction.

Key words: Transmodernity, Liberation philosophy, Analectic, Ethics of Liberation, Modern Ethiopia, Transmodern Ethiopia, Pluriversal polylogue