Cultural Universals and Particulars
Title | Cultural Universals and Particulars PDF eBook |
Author | Kwasi Wiredu |
Publisher | Indiana University Press |
Pages | 256 |
Release | 1996 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 9780253210807 |
"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.
Philosophy and an African Culture
Title | Philosophy and an African Culture PDF eBook |
Author | Kwasi Wiredu |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 256 |
Release | 1980-04-10 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 9780521296472 |
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.
Cultural Connections
Title | Cultural Connections PDF eBook |
Author | Morris J. Vogel |
Publisher | Temple University Press |
Pages | 274 |
Release | 1991 |
Genre | Architecture |
ISBN | 9780877228400 |
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.
An Essay on African Philosophical Thought
Title | An Essay on African Philosophical Thought PDF eBook |
Author | Kwame Gyekye |
Publisher | Temple University Press |
Pages | 302 |
Release | 1995 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 9781566393805 |
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. --
Universals
Title | Universals PDF eBook |
Author | James Porter Moreland |
Publisher | Routledge |
Pages | 193 |
Release | 2014-12-18 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 1317490010 |
Things are particulars and their qualities are universals, but do universals have an existence distinct from the particular things describable by those terms? And what must be their nature if they do? This book provides a careful and assured survey of the central issues of debate surrounding universals, in particular those issues that have been a crucial part of the emergence of contemporary analytic ontology. The book begins with a taxonomy of extreme nominalist, moderate nominalist, and realist positions on properties, and outlines the way each handles the phenomena of predication, resemblance, and abstract reference. The debate about properties and philosophical naturalism is also examined. Different forms of extreme nominalism, moderate nominalism, and minimalist realism are critiqued. Later chapters defend a traditional realist view of universals and examine the objections to realism from various infinite regresses, the difficulties in stating identity conditions for properties, and problems with realist accounts of knowledge of abstract objects. In addition, the debate between Platonists and Aristotelians is examined alongside a discussion of the relationship between properties and an adequate theory of existence. The book's final chapter explores the problem of individuating particulars. The book makes accessible a difficult topic without blunting the sophistication of argument required by a more advanced readership.
Tradition and Modernity
Title | Tradition and Modernity PDF eBook |
Author | Kwame Gyekye |
Publisher | Oxford University Press, USA |
Pages | 359 |
Release | 1997 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 0195112253 |
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.
Civil Society and Social Reconstruction
Title | Civil Society and Social Reconstruction PDF eBook |
Author | George F. McLean |
Publisher | CRVP |
Pages | 212 |
Release | 1997 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 9781565180857 |