The African saying 'when elephants fight, the grass is trampled' refers to the position of regular people when political leaders argue. Prof. Henk Jochemsen used this metaphor to begin his inaugural address about the 'good way' in the practice of development cooperation. He accepted the position of Professor holding an endowed chair in Reformational Philosophy at Wageningen University on 28 May. The chair is endowed by the Association for Reformational Philosophy.
In his research, Prof. H. Jochemsen will focus in part on the professional practice of development cooperation. He asks the question: what is the purpose (telos) of the practice of development cooperation? In prevailing thinking on development cooperation, the primary objective is economic development (sustainable, socially and ecologically responsible). Development cooperation serves progress, although the substance of that concept depends on the individual political colour. But, stated Prof. Jochemsen in his inaugural address 'So that the grass grows again … - Development, life sciences and religion', progress is not a neutral concept, but a value of modernity, which is subject to criticism.
Connection to meaning
"Development work, whether it takes place in rich or poor countries, must not focus on objective-rational culture development", stated Jochemsen, "and also not primarily on economic growth, health care or education – even though all these objectives have a place." Development work must focus primarily on connection to meaning in tangible human communities, where people seek well-being: sustenance, quality-of-life and the experience of meaning in connection with others.
People do all this in many practices and corresponding institutions, each of which focuses on realising essential values in human life and society. According to Jochemsen, the functioning of these practices and institutions, in which these values are given shape and experienced, means connection to meaning. He believes that development is the fruit of human action in the diversity of these practices and institutions. If this takes place in a way that honours the inherent norms of those practices, this leads to connection to meaning and good development. In the metaphor with elephants, the animals stop fighting. In the other case, it leads to 'imprisoned meaning' and distorted development, says Jochemsen, where the political leaders continue to fight with each other at the expense of the population.
The correct place and characteristic of the practice of development work is therefore to promote the development of the various practices and institutions that are important to the lives of the people. At the same time, people's religious convictions must be taken seriously.
Development work is therefore characterised by meaning-oriented design. This applies to all cultures and societies, and thus not only to 'poor' countries. Development cooperation must indeed be principal-based cooperation, concluded Jochemsen, because we must develop along with 'them'. As part of this development, a norm-based use of the life sciences can provide an important contribution.
North-South
The one-sided influence of the North on the South harbours the danger that the same one sidedness will also be transferred to those countries. Or that the entire enterprise of international development cooperation will become dominated by the interests of the rich countries. In development cooperation, politics and the issue of power relations must therefore also be addressed.
The endowed chair in Reformational Philosophy is part of the Applied Philosophy Group of Wageningen University.