Kwame Gyekye (10 November 1939 – 13 April 2019) was a Ghanaian philosopher, and an important figure in the development of modern African philosophy. Gyekye was an emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Ghana, and a visiting professor of philosophy and African-American studies at Temple University. He is known for theorizing the concept of person-hood on the basis of Akan cultural paradigm in debate with Kwasi Wiredu, which is seen as one of the defining moments of modern African philosophy. Notable is his presentation and defense of moderate communitarianism (or MC), which can be understood as a political theory rooted in principles of common good and dignity.

Biography

Early life

left|thumb|204x204px|Ahanta, Gold Coast 1873.

In 1939, Kwame Gyekye was born in Ahanta, located in the western region of Ghana, then known as the Gold Coast. He grew up steeped in the cultural and familial traditions of the Akan people, one of Ghana's largest ethnic groups. Throughout his youth he learned traditional proverbs and oral traditions about humanity, identity, and personhood.This childhood setting directly influenced his philosophical career, as he centered his scholarship on the exploration of indigenous values, structures, and cultural norms he was exposed to in his youth.

Gyekye grew up during a critical political transition period, as Britain's colonial rule slowly waned until Ghana's independence in 1957. He witnessed the formation of a new Ghanaian national identity, again influencing his later philosophical work.

Education and scholarship

left|thumb|211x211px|University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

He was educated at Mfantsipim School and other local primary and secondary schools. In the mid 1950s he was admitted to University of Ghana at Legon. While here, he studied history, linguistics, and philosophy, engaging primarily with foundational scholars such as Plato, Kant and Hegel. While here, he was foundational in bolstering the department by developing in a curriculum which integrated African indigenous philosophies.

Gyekye gave lectures and taught at universities all over the world in addition to consistently publishing scholarly articles. He participated in national and international philosophical associations as a representative of Ghanaian and African philosophy. He also engaged with community based projects centered on cultural revitalization and preservation. He advocated for a private members bill in Ghanaian Parliament which would give oridinary citizens a voice in government.

Personal life

Gyekye was largely private about his personal life, however it is known he was married to Ms. Joana Dedo Gyekye and had children. He was often described as a thoughtful, patient, reflective, humble, person, and as a rigorous academic. He was passionate about understanding the world through an African indigenous perspective, and was interested in traditional Ghanaian music, proverbs, and storytelling.

He fostered strong relationships with other African philosophers, notably Paulin Hountondji and Kwasi Wiredu despite their scholastic disagreements. He frequently collaborated with them and other scholars.

left|thumb|A Namdom community in Ghana.|233x233px

In Tradition and Modernity: Philosophical Reflections on the African Experience Gyekye meditates on this perspective with worry that it harms individuals in society by denying self-actualization and personal expression. He defines this form of communitarianism as 'radical', and offers moderate communitarianism as an alternative.

Moderate communitarianism balances individual value with that of the community. This perspective argues that while individuals are members of a community this does not imply a homogenous experience, and thus they have inherent personal rights and dignity. It is a framework guided by moral autonomy and personhood which generates individual and community responsibility.

Indigenous culture

thumb|An indigenous settlement in Ghana.

In Beyond Cultures: Perceiving a Common Humanity, Gyekye argues that the ethos of humanity practiced in indigenous cultures offers an adequate framework for modern transformation of society which extends beyond borders or ethnic lines. Gyekye posits that African nations should look to indigenous cultures as a guide which can be adapted to modern needs. He believes this because these cultures based their philosophies around meeting the needs of humanity, even if their practices may have had specific relevance for a particular ethnic group/region.

The practices must be updated and adapted, however, and to reify this point, Gyekye cites an indigenous proverb which states "A person cutting a path does not know that the part that he has cleared behind him is crooked." In the context of his argument, this means that African leaders today must identify what aspects of indigenous culture work in their modern societies and leave behind what is 'crooked'.

Debates with other philosophers

Kwame Gyekye frequently disagreed with other African philosophers on various issues. Notable was his assertion that African philosophy has the same rigor, relevance, and scholarly weight as Western philosophy and can rightly be considered a part of the global philosophical tradition. As described by Gyekye in a 1997 interview, "African philosophy consists of fundamental inquires and analyses into the African cultural and historical experience." This opinion was in direct opposition to Henry Odera Oruka, Kwasi Wiredu, Paulin Hountonji, and Peter Bodunrin, who did not believe African philosophy could be considered in the same philosophical camp as thought of Western and Greek origin`

Kwasi Wiredu and Gyekye

Notably, Kwame Gyekye and Kwasi Wiredu frequently engaged in debate regarding their different perspectives on the indigenous conception of personhood.

They largely disagreed on the nature and impact of the relationship between society and individual personhood. Wiredu argues that Akan philosophy delineates personhood on a degreed basis and that there is a difference between the biological entity of the human and the metaphysical entity of the person. He uses the Akan word onipa to justify this analysis because the word simultaneously means a biological species member and a human that has attained special social status. He posits this implies personhood is something to be attained at different levels based on personal achievement rather than a state of being (ie. a human).

Comparatively, Gyekye takes issues with this conception of a person, and argues that human's possess innate moral equality because of their common humanity. He believes humanity takes precedence and that personhood is not continuous property which ranges in degree based on how much one can acquire. Personhood is not one's character traits or status in life, rather it is an independent condition all humans possess.

At the same event, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Ghana Martin Odei Ajei similarly stated "Beyond his academic endeavors, Prof. Gyekye emerged as a staunch advocate for African Unity and development, championing African solutions to African problems."

Bibliography

  • 1971: "The Terms ‘Prima Intentio‘ and ‘Secunda Intentio’ in Arabic Logic" (Speculum 46, pp. 32-38)
  • 1975: "Philosophical relevance of Akan proverbs" (Second Order: An African Journal of Philosophy 4:2, pp. 45–53)
  • 1977: "Akan language and the materialism thesis: a short essay on the relations between philosophy and language" (Studies in Language 1:1, pp 237 44)
  • 1978: "Akan concept of a person" (International Philosophical Quarterly 18:3, pp. 277–87)
  • 1987: An Essay on African Philosophical Thought: The Akan Conceptual Scheme
  • (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
  • 1995: revised edition (Philadelphia: Temple University Press)
  • 1988: The Unexamined Life: Philosophy and the African Experience (Ghana Universities Press)
  • 1991: "Man as a moral subject: the perspective of an African philosophical anthropology" in The Quest for Man: The Topicality of Philosophical Anthropology, ed. Joris van Nispens & Douwe Tiemersma (Assen/Maastricht, Netherlands: VanGorcum)
  • 1992a: (ed. Gyekye & Kwasi Wiredu) Person and Community: Ghanaian Philosophical Studies 1 (Washington D.C.: The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy)
  • 1992b: "Person and Community" in 1992a
  • 1992c: "Traditional political ideas and values" in 1992a
  • 1995: "Aspects of African communitarian thought" (The Responsive Community: Rights and Responsibilities)
  • 2000: "Beyond Cultures: Perceiving a Common Humanity" (J.B Danquah memorial lectures)

Secondary literature

  • "A Defense of Kwame Gyekye’s Moderate Communitarianism", Kibujjo M. Kalumba, Philosophical Papers Volume 49, 2020 - Issue 1.
  • "Ethical Thought of Kwasi Wiredu and Kwame Gyekye", George Kotei Neequaye, The Palgrave Handbook of African Social Ethics.
  • "The apparent conflict of transcendentalism and immanentism In Kwame Gyekye And Kwasi Wiredu's interpretation of the Akan concept of God", Ada Agada, Filosofia Theoretica Journal of African Philosophy Culture and Religions 6(1):23-38
  • A Critical Exposition of Kwame Gyekye's Communitarianism, O. S. Mwimnobi, Master of Arts thesis submitted in the University of South Africa (2003).

References

  • Akan Philosophy of the Person, on the debate between Gyekye and Wiredu, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.