Disclosing agency for ontological emancipation : A conversation with the work of Arturo Escobar

This papers develops an experiential reflection from a phenomenological approach to the study of crises. It reflects upon personal stories that converged in moment of introspection as a way of approaching to the study of a convergence of global crises. Following Arturo Escobar, this convergence has a core source: modernity, ingrained in a tradition that gives shape to our behaviour and aspirations. The convergence of crises might be understood in ontological terms, manifesting both globally and locally, in the planet and in our own ‘selves’. Since it is an ontological crisis, an ontological emancipation is vowed. Such emancipation should orient the opening of a new space of possibilities. The role of agency in this process is proposed to have key roots in a re-understanding on language and reality. Finally, it is argued that ontological emancipation is a process of healing in local and global terms, therefore, sustainability is a natural result.