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BEYOND CULTURES Perceiving a Common Humanity CULTURAL HERITAGE AND CONTEMPORARY CHANGE SERIES II, AFRICA, VOLUME 9 BEYOND CULTURES Perceiving a Common Humanity Ghanaian Philosophical Studies, III by Kwame Gyekye The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy Copyright © 2004 by The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy Gibbons Hall B-20 620 Michigan Avenue, NE Washington, D.C. 20064 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Gyekye, Kwame. Beyond cultures : perceiving a common humanity : Ghanaian philosophical studies, III / by Kwame Gyekye. p.cm – (The J.B. Danquh memorial lectures ; ser. 32) (Cultural heritage and contemporary change. Series II, Africa; vol. 9) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Philosophical anthropology. 2. Human being. 3. Ethnology. [DNLM: 1. Anthropology, Cultural.] I. Title. II. Series. III. Series: Cultural heritage and contemporary change. Series II, Africa; vol. 9. BD450 .G94 2003 2003021757 128—dc21 CIP ISBN 1-56518-193-X (pbk.) TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface v Foreword vii Alexander A. Kwapong Introduction 1 George F. McLean Lecture I: Our Human Nature, Our Human Values: Looking over the Cultural Wall 27 Lecture II: The Emptiness of Ethnocentrism 59 Lecture III: The Morality of a Shared Humanity 89 Lecture IV: Our One World: Some Thoughts on Globalization 119 Epilogue 139 Notes 145 Bibliography 157 Index 163 PREFACE KWAME GYEKYE, FGA The text published here is substantially the three lectures I delivered on February 22-24, 1999 as the 32nd Series of the J. B. Danquah Memorial Lectures and the Anniversary Address I delivered on November 22, 2003, both under the auspices of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences. I say ‘substantially’ because some material has been added to that originally presented in the lectures. This addition was necessitated by three factors: the intention or need to fill out certain lacunae or reinstate passages that were deliberately omitted in the original lectures due to pressure of time, the need to make logical amplifications and clarifications of some of the statements or views expressed in the original lectures; and the desire to respond critically to some views expressed in a handful of books and articles that came to my notice after the lectures had been delivered but that bear on the theme of the lectures. Despite the additions, however, the position and conclusions of the original lectures remain unchanged. The original title of the Anniversary Address was "Understanding Globalization." The Address is published here as Lecture IV under the title of "Our One World: Some Thoughts on Globalization." Acquaintance with the writings of Dr. Danquah convinces one that he was undoubtedly a man of broad erudition and philosophical perspicacity. For more on the intellectual and political stature of the man whose memory the J .B. Danquah Lectures are intended to celebrate, I ask the reader to read the remarks made by the chairman for my first lecture and which, with his permission, are reproduced in the following Foreword. I am greatly honored to have been invited by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences to deliver this year’s series of the J. B. Danquah Memorial Lectures, which hold a very important place in the Academy’s annual activities. The Analytical Table of Contents provide a bird’s eye view of the views and arguments presented in the text. It remains for me now to record my gratitude and appreciation to a few people. Dr. Helen Lauer, my colleague in the Department of Philosophy of the University of Ghana, found time to read the first drafts of the lectures; she offered me elaborate critical comments and suggestions that I found extremely helpful. I am deeply indebted to her, for her trenchant comments compelled me to amplify, clarify, and refine my own position. The famous American philosopher, Martha Nussbaum, previously of Brown University and now of the University of Chicago read the lectures after they had been delivered; I found the comments she sent delightful and exhilarating. I wish to thank Professor Mary-Esther Kropp-Dakubu of the University of Ghana and a Fellow of the Ghana Academy, whose copyediting of the final manuscript resulted in many stylistic improvements. I would like to express my profound gratitude to the following Fellows of the Academy who graciously chaired the three Danquah lectures: Professor Alexander A. Kwapong (the first lecture), Nana Dr. S.K.B. Asante, the Academy’s Vice- President for Arts (the second lecture), and The Very Rt. Rev. Professor Kwesi A. Dickson, a former President of the Academy (the third lecture). I would thank also Professor Fred T. Sai, the President of the Academy, who chaired the Anniversary Lecture. I wish, finally, to express my deep gratitude and appreciation to Professor George F. McLean of The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy at the Catholic University of America for agreeing to publish these lectures under "The Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change" series of the Council. His editorial suggestions have considerably improved the stylistic presentation of this expanded edition of the book. Department of Philosophy University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana FOREWORD THE J. B. DANQUAH MEMORIAL LECTURES ALEXANDER A. KWAPONG The general theme of these Lectures is: "Beyond Cultures: Perceiving a Common Humanity." This subject is dear to the hearts of many and is, I believe, of critical importance to our national integration and development; yet it has often not been given the sufficient attention by policy makers and development practitioners that it deserves. It is therefore with much appreciation that look forward to this year’s Danquah Memorial Lectures on this important subject. Professor Kwame Gyekye is without a doubt one of the leading and erudite African scholars of philosophy that Legon has produced. He has brought much distinction and understanding to the teaching, research and exposition of African philosophy during the past two decades. The Ghana Academy of Arts and Academy was established nearly forty years ago in November 1959 on the initiative of the then Prime Minister, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, its first Chairman. Its three-fold aims and objectives are to promote the study, extension and dissemination of knowledge of all the sciences and learning; to uphold proper standards of endeavor in all fields of sciences and learning in Ghana; and to recognize outstanding contributions to the advancement of the sciences and learning in Ghana. These aims and objectives have continued to animate the work and programs of the Academy since its foundation. Of the original twenty persons selected to be foundation members, Dr. Joseph Boakye Danquah was one of the most distinguished. Dr. Danquah and Dr. Nkrumah were then bitter political opponents. However, the apparent promise of scholarly cooperation between them that common membership of the Academy seemed to augur was not to be fulfilled. Dr. Danquah was detained twice and died tragically on February 4, 1965 during his second incarceration. One of the highlights of the Academy’s achievements has been the series of lectures instituted in 1967, two years after his tragic death in prison. The series commemorate the life and work of Dr. J. B. Danquah, truly one of the greatest sons whom this soil has ever produced. Twenty years ago, on the occasion of the twelfth Danquah Memorial lectures which I had the honor to deliver, I made the following observation in my introductory remarks: Perhaps we are still too near in time and place to Dr. Danquah. All of us alive in Ghana today, whether political foes or allies, owe him a deep debt of gratitude for the very example of his life. Now that the dust of the political conflicts and intolerance, which led to his untimely death, is beginning to settle, we can see from his life and his death what the true African genius can be. Few Ghanaians have ranged so widely, so deeply or so boldly in their scholarship; few were so cosmopolitan or so interested in foreign ways and ideas, yet few were so steeped in, or proud of, their African culture. Few can compare with him in his unflagging commitment to the democratic process and courageous devotion to freedom. He was acutely aware of the need to sustain thought by practical action in all spheres of life. He was willing to lay down his life for the ideals by which he stood and for which he died. All Ghana and Africa, and, indeed, the whole world, owe a deep debt of gratitude to the many-sided genius of Dr. Danquah. Except for the somewhat sanguine optimism of the phrase "the dust of political conflicts and intolerance beginning to settle," that assessment has well stood the test of time. This year’s lectures are the thirty-second in the series. They continue to be an enduring memorial to the many-sided genius of Dr. Danquah and have ranged widely over the whole spectrum of all the sciences and of learning. Dr. J. B. Danquah, the doyen of African philosophers, was undoubtedly particularly interested in the general theme of this year’s Memorial Lectures which deal with issues concerning culture, human nature and human values. What is their central importance and relevance to development, the unity of humankind, and respect for all people of all cultures as we enter the third millennium. Professor Gyekye has entitled his first lecture: "Our Human Nature, Our Human Values: Looking Over the Cultural Wall. Clearly," he will explain to us in this Lecture what he conceives to be the vision of our human nature, our human values and our common humanity, to which he will lead us over the dividing wall of our cultural identities. It should be an exciting three days, for Professor Gyekye is not only an excellent philosophical scholar and researcher who has done so much to advance his specialty in African philosophy and culture.
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