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Cultural Universals and Particulars

Cultural Universals and Particulars PDF Author: Kwasi Wiredu
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253210807
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
"Wiredu's discussion of culturally defined values and concepts, as well as his attention to such timely issues as human rights, makes this book invaluable interdisciplinary reading." —D. A. Masolo Ghanaian philosopher Kwasi Wiredu confronts the paradox that while Western cultures recoil from claims of universality, previously colonized peoples, seeking to redefine their identities, insist on cultural particularities. Wiredu asserts that universals, rightly conceived on the basis of our common biological identity, are not incompatible with cultural particularities and, in fact, are what make intercultural communication possible. Drawing on aspects of Akan thought that appear to diverge from Western conceptions in the areas of ethics and metaphysics, Wiredu calls for a just reappraisal of these disparities, free of thought patterns corrupted by a colonial mentality. Wiredu's exposition of the principles of African traditional philosophy is not purely theoretical; he shows how certain aspects of African political thought may be applied to the practical resolution of some of Africa's most pressing problems.

Cultural Universals and Particulars

Cultural Universals and Particulars PDF Author: Kwasi Wiredu
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253210807
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
"Wiredu's discussion of culturally defined values and concepts, as well as his attention to such timely issues as human rights, makes this book invaluable interdisciplinary reading." —D. A. Masolo Ghanaian philosopher Kwasi Wiredu confronts the paradox that while Western cultures recoil from claims of universality, previously colonized peoples, seeking to redefine their identities, insist on cultural particularities. Wiredu asserts that universals, rightly conceived on the basis of our common biological identity, are not incompatible with cultural particularities and, in fact, are what make intercultural communication possible. Drawing on aspects of Akan thought that appear to diverge from Western conceptions in the areas of ethics and metaphysics, Wiredu calls for a just reappraisal of these disparities, free of thought patterns corrupted by a colonial mentality. Wiredu's exposition of the principles of African traditional philosophy is not purely theoretical; he shows how certain aspects of African political thought may be applied to the practical resolution of some of Africa's most pressing problems.

Cultural Connections

Cultural Connections PDF Author: Morris J. Vogel
Publisher: Temple University Press
ISBN: 9780877228400
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 274

Book Description
Illustrates the history, civilization, and social conditions of the United States via artifacts, paintings, and other objects from the collections of cultural institutions in Philadelphia and environs.

Philosophy and an African Culture

Philosophy and an African Culture PDF Author: Kwasi Wiredu
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521296472
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
What can philosophy contribute to African culture? What can it draw from it? Could there be a truly African philosophy that goes beyond traditional folk thought? Kwasi Wiredu tries in these essays to define and demonstrate a role for contemporary African philosophers which is distinctive but by no means parochial. He shows how they can assimilate the advances of analytical philosophy and apply them to the general social and intellectual changes associated with 'modernisation' and the transition to new national identities. But we see too how they can exploit traditional resources and test the assumptions of Western philosophy against the intimations of their own language and culture. The volume as a whole presents some of the best non-technical work of a distinguished African philosopher, of importance equally to professional philosophers and to those with a more general interest in contemporary African thought and culture.

Tradition and Modernity

Tradition and Modernity PDF Author: Kwame Gyekye
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195112253
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 359

Book Description
Gyekye offers a philosophical interpretation and critical analysis of the African cultural experience in modern times, and shows how Western philosophical concepts help in addressing a wide range of specifically African problems.

An Essay on African Philosophical Thought

An Essay on African Philosophical Thought PDF Author: Kwame Gyekye
Publisher: Temple University Press
ISBN: 9781566393805
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 302

Book Description
In this sustained and nuanced attempt to define a genuinely African philosophy, Kwame Gyekye rejects the idea that an African philosophy consists simply of the work of Africans writing on philosophy. It must, Gyekye argues, arise from African thought itself, relate to the culture out of which it grows, and provide the possibility of a continuation of a philosophy linked to culture. Offering a philosophical clarification and theology, and ethics of the Akan of Ghana, Gyekye argues that critical analyses of specific traditional African modes of thought are necessary to develop a distinctively African philosophy as well as cultural values in the modern world. --

Civil Society and Social Reconstruction

Civil Society and Social Reconstruction PDF Author: George F. McLean
Publisher: CRVP
ISBN: 9781565180857
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 212

Book Description


African Philosophy as Cultural Inquiry

African Philosophy as Cultural Inquiry PDF Author: Ivan Karp
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253214171
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 286

Book Description
This book assesses the direction and impact of African philosophy as well as its future role. What is the intellectual, social, cultural, and political territory of African philosophy? What directions will African philosophy take in the future? What problems will it face? In 10 probing essays by distinguished African, European, and American scholars, African Philosophy as Cultural Inquiry examines the role of African philosophy at the opening of the new millennium. Here philosophy cuts across disciplinary boundaries to embrace ideas taken from history, literary studies, anthropology, and art. Addressing topics such as the progress of philosophical discourse, knowledge and modes of thought, the relevance of philosophy for cultures that are still largely based on traditional values, and the meaning of philosophy to cultures and individuals in the process of modernization, this volume presents today's best thinking about the concerns and practices that constitute African experience. New views about personhood, freedom, responsibility, progress, development, the role of the state, and life in civil society emerge from these broad-based considerations of the crisis of the postcolonial African state. In a lively fashion this diverse book shows how philosophical questions can be applied to interpretations of culture and reveals the multifaceted nature of philosophical discourse in the multiple and variable settings that exist in contemporary Africa.

Reading Wiredu

Reading Wiredu PDF Author: Barry Hallen
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253057035
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 109

Book Description
Reading Wiredu is the first comprehensive overview of the philosophical thought of Kwasi Wiredu. Born in Ghana in 1931, Wiredu, an important observer and critic of philosophy generally, remains an original and penetrating African thinker. Interrelating Wiredu's philosophical writings from across decades, Barry Hallen sets forth the basic tenets and the defining features of his philosophy. Wiredu's thought is divided into five distinct but interconnected areas: his response to the philosophy of Quine on issues of logic and ontology, issues of language in philosophical reflection, the nature of truth as a practical and philosophical concern, the principle of sympathetic impartiality that all human beings must live by to survive as a group, and finally, consensus building as rooted in intentional, negotiated, and rational exchanges that are part of everyday life. Reading Wiredu explores the scope and depth of Wiredu's philosophical thought, which can be framed through what he calls a genetic methodology—a methodology that privileges environmental considerations in the production of various forms of thought. Hallen's overview is intended to assist scholars and students in grasping Wiredu's complex philosophical thought.

Philosophy in an African Place

Philosophy in an African Place PDF Author: Bruce B. Janz
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780739136683
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 286

Book Description
Over the past few decades, there has been much effort put forth by philosophers to answer the question, "Is there an African philosophy?" Bruce B. Janz boldly changes this central question to "What is it to do philosophy in this (African) place?" in Philosophy in an African Place. Janz argues that African philosophy has spent a lot of time trying to define what African philosophy is, and in doing so has ironically been unable to properly conceptualize African lived experience. He goes on to claim that such conceptualization can only occur when the central question is changed from the spatial to a new, platial one. Philosophy in an African Place both opens up new questions within the field, and also establishes "philosophy-in-place", a mode of philosophy which begins from the places in which concepts have currency and shows how a truly creative philosophy can emerge from focusing on questioning, listening, and attending to difference. This innovative new approach to African philosophy will be useful not only to African and African-American philosophers, but also to scholars interested in any cultural, intercultural, or national philosophical projects.

Debating African Philosophy

Debating African Philosophy PDF Author: George Hull
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429796277
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 280

Book Description
In African countries there has been a surge of intellectual interest in foregrounding ideas and thinkers of African origin—in philosophy as in other disciplines—that have been unjustly ignored or marginalized. African scholars have demonstrated that precolonial African cultures generated ideas and arguments which were at once truly philosophical and distinctively African, and several contemporary African thinkers are now established figures in the philosophical mainstream. Yet, despite the universality of its themes, relevant contributions from African philosophy have rarely permeated global philosophical debates. Critical intellectual excavation has also tended to prioritize precolonial thought, overlooking more recent sources of home-grown philosophical thinking such as Africa’s intellectually rich liberation movements. This book demonstrates the potential for constructive interchange between currents of thought from African philosophy and other intellectual currents within philosophy. Chapters authored by leading and emerging scholars: recover philosophical thinkers and currents of ideas within Africa and about Africa, bringing them into dialogue with contemporary mainstream philosophy; foreground the relevance of African theorizing to contemporary debates in epistemology, philosophy of language, moral/political philosophy, philosophy of race, environmental ethics and the metaphysics of disability; make new interventions within on-going debates in African philosophy; consider ways in which philosophy can become epistemically inclusive, interrogating the contemporary call for ‘decolonization’ of philosophy. Showing how foregrounding Africa—its ideas, thinkers and problems—can help with the project of renewing and improving the discipline of philosophy worldwide, this book will stimulate and challenge everyone with an interest in philosophy, and is essential reading for upper-level undergraduate students, postgraduate students and scholars of African and Africana philosophy.