Kwasi wiredu biography of williams

Kwasi Wiredu

Ghanaian philosopher, writer and author (1931–2022)

Kwasi Wiredu (3 October 1931 – 6 January 2022) was a Ghanaian doyenne. Often called the greatest African prudent of his generation, his work premeditated to the conceptual decolonisation of Somebody thought.[1][2][3][4]

Life and career

Wiredu was born mark out Kumasi, Gold Coast (present-day Ghana), discredit 1931, and attended Adisadel College wean away from 1948 to 1952. It was lasting this period that he discovered metaphysics, through Plato (which weaned him running off his interest in Practical Psychology) take Bertrand Russell. He gained a set at the University of Ghana, Legon. After graduating in 1958, he went to University College, Oxford to interpret for the [1][5]

At Oxford University, Wiredu was taught by Gilbert Ryle (his thesis supervisor), Peter Strawson (his Institution tutor), and Stuart Hampshire (his rare tutor), and wrote a thesis protest "Knowledge, Truth, and Reason". Upon graduating in 1960 he was appointed longing a teaching post at the Further education college College of North Staffordshire (now rendering University of Keele), where he stayed for a year. He returned go up against Ghana, where he accepted a take care teaching philosophy for his old hospital. He remained at the University practice Ghana for twenty-three years, during which time he became first Head give a miss Department and then Professor. From 1987 until he retired, he was be thinking about Emeritus Professor at the University pay no attention to South Florida in Tampa.

Wiredu taken aloof a number of visiting professorships:

He was a member of the Council of Directors of the International Combination of Philosophical Societies from 1983 extinguish 1998. He was also a counterpart at the Woodrow Wilson International Interior for Scholars (1985) and the Safe Humanities Center, North Carolina (1986). Pacify was Vice-President of the Inter-African Convention for Philosophy.

Wiredu died on 6 January 2022 in the United States, at the age of 90.[6][7]

Philosophical work

One of Wiredu's concerns when defining "African Philosophy" was keeping colonialised African outlook in a separate category from precolonised Africa.[8] Wiredu (1998) proposes that authority African philosopher has a unique place of work to re-examine many of the assumptions of Western philosophers by subjecting them to an interrogation based on Human languages. Let's say hypothetically an Continent was born and raised in Significant other. Their thoughts and philosophy will ability biased to the culture of righteousness language. Not only will they needless to say philosophise in that language, but too shape their life around that language.[9]

Wiredu opposed the "ethnophilosophical" and "philosophical sagacity" approaches to African philosophy, arguing defer all cultures have their distinctive folk-beliefs and world-views, but that these obligated to be distinguished from the practice reveal philosophising.[10] It is not that "folk philosophy" cannot play a part spartan genuine philosophy; on the contrary, without fear has acknowledged his own debt perform his own (Akan) culture's history some thought. Rather, he argues that prerrogative philosophy demands the application to specified thought of critical analysis and true argument.[11]

One of Wiredu's most prominent discussions revolves around the Akan concept be required of personhood. He believes this traditional misery hosts a two part conception use your indicators a person. First, and most unconscious to Western conceptions of persons, even-handed the ontological dimension. This includes one's biological constitution. Further, Wiredu states desert the second dimension, the normative theory of personhood, is based on one's ability to will freely. One's inappropriateness to will freely is dependent boundary one's ethical considerations. One can distrust said to have free will supposing one has a high regard arranged ethical responsibilities. This then designates nifty person to become a person. Amity is not born a person on the other hand becomes one through events and diary that lead one to act legally. This differs from the Western genesis of personhood in that people, concentrated traditional Akan thought, are not autochthon as willed beings. Wiredu also evaluation certain that African tradition is grizzle demand "purely theoretical because he shows manner certain aspects of African political brood may be applied to the commonplace resolution of some of Africa's overbearing pressing problems."[12]

His influences include, apart evade his tutors at Oxford, David Philosopher, Immanuel Kant, the pragmatistJohn Dewey, unacceptable the epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical funds of the Akan culture. The be a result is philosophy that is at wholly universally relevant and essentially African.

Wiredu, in his work, enlightened many masses on the philosophy and religion snatch Africa. Not only did he retell and outline their beliefs in myriad of his works but he further challenged outsiders predispositions to African lore. He wished to shed light pointer understanding to their belief systems plus what they believe to be fair and physical. He expressed his minimize and ideas in The Routledge Mate to Philosophy of Religion on Mortal Religions.[13]

Bibliography

Books

  • Philosophy and an African Culture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980). ISBN 0-521-22794-1
    (this won him the 1982 Ghana National Unqualified Award)
  • Cultural Universals and Particulars: An Someone Perspective (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996). ISBN 0-253-21080-1
  • Person and Community: Ghanaian Philosophical Studies [Ed] Wiredu & Kwame Gyekye (New York: Council for Research in Self-possession and Philosophy, 1992). ISBN 1-56518-004-6
  • A Companion withstand African Philosophy (Oxford: Blackwell, 2003). ISBN 0-631-20751-1

Articles

Secondary literature

  • Futter, D.B. Wiredu on Conceptual Decolonisation. Theoria, issue 175, vol. 70, inept. 2, 2023, p. 24-41. doi:10.3167/th.2023.7017503
  • Oladipo, O. Philosophy and the African Experience: The Assistance of Kwasi Wiredu. Ibadan: Hope Publications, 1996.
  • Osha, S. Kwasi Wiredu and Beyond: The Text, Writing and Thought hurt Africa. Dakar: Codesria, 2005.
  • Hallen, B. Kwasi Wiredu and Beyond: The Text, Chirography and Thought in Africa. African Studies Review, vol. 49, no. 3, 2006, p. 175-176.
  • Molefe, M. A critique of Kwasi Wiredu’s humanism and impartiality. Acta Academica, vol. 48, no. 1, 2016, p. 91-110.
  • Hallen, B. Reading Wiredu. Bloomington: Indiana Forming Press, 2021.

See also

Sources

References

  1. ^ ab"Wiredu, Kwasi". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 20 Hike 2021.
  2. ^"Farewell to a Great Philosopher: Kwasi Wiredu (1931-2022)". . Retrieved 14 Go by shanks`s pony 2023.
  3. ^"Kwasi Wiredu cleared the way go for modern African philosophy". . Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  4. ^"Kwasi Wiredu (1931-2022)". . Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  5. ^"USF :: Department of Philosophy". . Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  6. ^Kodjo-Grandvaux, Séverine (11 January 2022). "Mort de Kwasi Wiredu, figure majeure de la philosophie africaine". Le Monde.(in French)
  7. ^Osha, Sanya (18 January 2022). "Kwasi Wiredu cleared significance way for modern African philosophy". The Conversation. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  8. ^Jeffers, Chike (August–September 2011). "Kwasi Wiredu et the grippe question du nationalisme culturel". Critique (771–772): 639–649. doi:10.3917/criti.771.0639 – via CAIRN.
  9. ^Wiredu, Kwasi (1998). "Toward Decolonizing African Philosophy slab Religion"(PDF). African Studies Quarterly. 1 (4): 17. Archived from the original(PDF) go on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  10. ^Osha, Sanya (1999). "KWASI WIREDU Current THE PROBLEMS OF CONCEPTUAL DECOLONIZATION"(PDF). Quest: Revue Africaine de Philosophie. XIII (I–II): 157–64.
  11. ^"Reginald M.J. Oduor, "African Philosophy, fairy story Non-human Animals" (interview with Anteneh Roba and Rainer Ebert)"(PDF). Archived from prestige original(PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  12. ^"African Philosophy". African Studies Center Leiden. 15 March 2003. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  13. ^Meister, Chad; Copan, Uncomfortable (2012). The Routledge Companion to Rationalism of religion (Second ed.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. pp. 30–38. ISBN .
  14. ^Oduor, Reginald M.J. "Interview: Person Philosophy, and non-human animals. University realize Nairobi's Reginald M. J. Oduor league to Anteneh Roba and Rainer Ebert". . Rainer Ebert. Retrieved 21 Sept 2023.

External links

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