Falk Parra-Witte Joins GloPhi to Explore Indigenous Cosmologies and Nature-Based Philosophizing
Fellow Announcement
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We are delighted to welcome Dr. Falk Parra-Witte as a Long-Term Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies “Philosophizing in a Globalized World.” He is part of GloPhi since January, and his fellowship has been extended to December 2026.
Falk Parra-Witte is a Colombian-German anthropologist whose research examines human relations with nature within broader cosmological frameworks. Drawing particularly on the principles and traditions of Indigenous peoples such as the Kogi of Colombia, his work explores alternative ontological and epistemological approaches to ecology, sustainability, and human responsibility.
He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge with a dissertation on the cosmological, ontological, epistemological, and ecological foundations of Kogi environmental politics. His work combines transdisciplinary research, public outreach, and community engagement, fostering dialogue between Indigenous ecology, the natural sciences, the humanities, public institutions, NGOs, and civil society.
His previous activities include collaborations with the Tairona Heritage Trust, the Zhigoneshi Alliance and its land-regeneration project Múnekaň Masha – Revitalizing Water, the UNESCO-BRIDGES Sustainability Science Coalition, the Latin American Council of Social Sciences research programme “Nature in Other Words,” and the UNESCO Chair on Global Understanding for Sustainability at the University of Jena.
Alongside his fellowship at GloPhi, he works as Strategy Coordinator for the Scientific and Medical Network in Español and as an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Luxembourg. At GloPhi, Falk Parra-Witte investigates what it may mean to philosophize according to the ontological and epistemological premises of Indigenous peoples, particularly where thought, knowledge, and language are understood as arising from non-human cosmic consciousness and as inherent to the land.
His project centres on two exchanges with Indigenous guests from Latin America: Pajé Tchydjo, a Kariri Xoco Shaman from Brazil, and three representatives of the Kogi people of Colombia. Through these encounters, he explores how anthropology and philosophy can complement one another in approaching nature-based forms of understanding, perception, and reflection.
His research speaks directly to GloPhi’s engagement with philosophy across languages, knowledge systems, and cultural traditions. It also asks how Indigenous ecological knowledge can contribute to socio-environmental stewardship, education, and policy.
We warmly welcome Falk Parra-Witte to GloPhi and look forward to the perspectives, conversations, and collaborations his work brings to the Center.