Ubuntu: a definition of human intelligence

Alfredo Zotti

Ubuntu is an ancient African word that means “humanity to others”. That’s why this word is the name of computer software freely available to all people: the Linux distribution that brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world. Ubuntu is also a large international digital community (or network) comprising thousands of people from all over the world who are computer programmers, artists, photographers, poets and academics all working towards the creation of this complex software that includes a sophisticated computer operating system, word processor, spreadsheets, database, presentations and all that is necessary to go online. It gives the third world the possibility to gain access to the Internet, therefore providing education to some of the most needy people in the world.

I find this Ubuntu digital community inspiring and I argue that the whole of society needs a similar voluntary effort to bring a better life to disadvantaged people and to preserve the human environment. This book is aimed at improving the welfare of our children and the idea that our world belongs to our future generations. I have appropriated the word Ubuntu here to name this ideological framework that could facilitate a better world. Much of the effort of this book is to talk about this ideological and complex framework. I attempt to apply the theoretical ideas of Geoffrey Samuel and Pierre Bourdieu, which I believe are conducive to an ideological environment that can facilitate the inclusion of disadvantaged members of society into mainstream discourse.

Does society have a place for the disadvantaged? Certainly, in gaols, living on the streets, or exploited in dead-end jobs. For those holding power it is very useful to have an underclass who are desperate to improve their lot and whose circumstances are such that exploited workers are afraid to join their ranks. This book proposes a framework based on anthropology that examines how to include such people into a mainstream discourse for the creation of social policies. We need policies that will be accepted by disadvantaged groups who want to gain the benefits of joining the wider society, bringing about adequate social justice.

The book is divided into three main interconnected chapters. In the Ubuntu section I propose a kind of natural science and anthropological framework that could, in theory, provide the right environment for the inclusion of disadvantaged members of society into mainstream discourse. This leads to mechanisms for the creation of social policies with two features: willingly accepted and used by those who need them (as such disadvantaged groups would want to join the wider society and cooperate towards their own liberation); and they can be easily delivered to make a real difference in the world and bring about a more developed and adequate social justice.

In the second section titled “social intelligence”, I propose that we urgently need to gain some freedom from academic vanity. Decision makers have attitudes that automatically lead to discrimination. To argue this I include various discussions in short essay format such as: “The disadvantage of Australian Aboriginals within the court system”; “Stigma in mental illness” with a discussion about problems with the law and our society.

In the last section of the book, I explore the forces that have shaped our thinking and suggest problem areas such as our understanding of human nature, alternative lifestyles and what is possible for a better future. I suggest that we are missing important variables when faced with the life of disadvantaged people such as the mentally ill and Australian Aboriginal people.

I am writing this book for the welfare of our children so that one day they may say that there were people genuinely interested in the welfare of the human environment and our world.

There are people like myself who think differently but there is no space for us in academia.

People vary enormously, and this enriches our world. We need to provide dignity and equality for all, regardless of their background, problems or handicaps. And yet, institutions like Universities have no place for certain ways of departing from the norm. Academic writing continues to be very focused and specialized. Yet, I believe, we need to expand our intellectual horizons if we are to deal with complexities. This alone can lead us to better policy delivery.

 

 

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