Asking the wrong questions often leads us further astray from the narrative we need to co-create and live by as a society. The assumption that the “scientific mindset” is entirely attributable to the European Renaissance leads to the erroneous attributions of science as Western and alien to indigenous people of Africa and other parts of the world.  

Further confusion is sown by suggesting that the scientific mindset led to colonial conquest and its devastating consequences the world over.  Instead, colonial conquest was driven by an extractive mindset of Europeans that spawned slavery and dispossession of peoples across the world.

Philip Mirkin’s opinion piece, “The gifts and curses of the scientific mindset and colonisation – and the global future challenges”, expresses serious concerns about the costs of the scientific mindset to indigenous people and Earth itself. Mirkin attributes colonialism to the scientific mindset, leading him to suggest that the decolonialism movement among South African students should take on this scientific mindset to protect indigenous cultures and heritage.

In response I raise questions about the extent to which academics, educators and the general public know about ancient Africa as not only the cradle of humanity, but of the first human civilisation. This first human civilisation left indelible footprints on human history that remain unacknowledged by many Africans and the world at large.  

How could ancient Africans build complex settlements along the Nile, the Congo and other major rivers, as well as in coastal areas in Africa such as Benin, without scientific knowledge? Was science and technology not essential in conceiving of, and constructing, enduring monuments such as the pyramids, embalmed human bodies, cosmology, mining and moulding minerals into various tools and ornaments? 

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Finding African solutions to African problems — we must reframe science innovation”

This widespread ignorance of Africa’s ancient history is a result of our failure to transform our curricula after 1994 to correct the colonial narratives of Africa as a “dark continent” – a continent without history.  The challenge that this failure presents to us is existential in that it goes to the core of our identity as a people. If we do not know our roots and the rich heritage we have been bequeathed, how do we define who we are?  

We face an existential crisis as a people by continuing to live by narratives written by others. John Henrik Clarke, an African-American scholar, reminds us: “To control a people you must first control what they think about themselves and how they regard their history and culture. And when your conqueror makes you ashamed of your culture and your history, he needs no prison walls and no chains to hold you.” 

Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations

Our failure to transform our history and embrace the rich African cultural heritage as the first human civilisation, has kept us in mental prisons that undermine our mindsets and pride as a people. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: “African scientists and technology could drive future black hole discoveries”

This is not just a matter of decolonisation that we can expect students to drive. We need new narratives of self-definition to articulate our pride in our African identity as heirs to a rich heritage. The Afrik-Akili Declaration, launched on International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on 9 August 2022 by the Club of Rome’s Africa Chapter, was inspired by the urgent need for Africans to reclaim their heritage and articulate their own narrative of the Africa they sense in their very beings. 

The Afrik-Akili Declaration marks a moment of celebration of all that Africa is, and what it has to offer at a critical point in the evolution of our planet.  

“We, the people of Africa, declare that:

1. Africa is the birthplace of humanity. We believe that all humans share a common humanity;
2. The ancient wisdom of Africa remains at the disposal of its future and at the service of humanity. It holds enormous richness and inspiration for sense-making of the emerging global civilisations;
3. The people of Africa comprise a significant portion of the future of humanity and we respect the fullness of diversity of humanity thus created;
4. We are responsible to future generations. We aspire to be good future elders and ancestors, and to ensure the well-being of those who will inherit our legacy;
5. The people of Africa, her natural resources and culture of belonging and community, best serve humanity when her values of inclusion, circularity and sustainability are respected;
6. Connectedness and interdependence are central to our philosophy. This means a connection between all peoples of Earth, with whom we share a common humanity. As a result, we possess a profound sense of community and respect for all members of society. We know this by various names throughout the continent, including Ubuntu and omenala;
7. We celebrate our own scientific tradition and continue to contribute to the global body of new knowledge in a way that affirms our people and our planet;
8. A living systems approach is fundamental to our understanding of the world. We view time, nature, communities and work as expressions of the dynamism of life;
9. We believe in a profound connection between the ecological gifts from our ancestors, and the abundance of opportunity present in the fecund futures we share with nature, and those yet to be born; and
10. We are future-oriented in our outlook and embrace the opportunity of a time yet to come, while we retain a fluid sense of time in which the past, present and future co-exist. This wisdom we learn from a deep respect for spiritual eternity and the prolific cycles of nature.

“May this please the people.”

Africa and its people have an opportunity to embrace this Afrik-Akili Declaration to help us tell our story as a people to liberate ourselves from the mental prisons that we continue to live in. Mental prisons, not scientific mindsets, undermine our self-worth and belief in our capacity to transform ourselves, our communities, our country and our continent into places where our Ubuntu shapes everything we do to promote well-being for all and a healthy planet. DM/MC

Mamphela Ramphele is Co-President of the Club of Rome and Founder of ReimagineSA.