University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 4-3-2019 Anton Wilhelm Amo's Philosophy and Reception: from the Origins through the Encyclopédie Dwight Kenneth Lewis Jr. University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the African History Commons, and the Metaphysics Commons Scholar Commons Citation Lewis, Dwight Kenneth Jr., "Anton Wilhelm Amo's Philosophy and Reception: from the Origins through the Encyclopédie" (2019). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/8382 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Anton Wilhelm Amo's Philosophy and Reception: from the Origins through the Encyclopédie by Dwight Kenneth Lewis Jr. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Philosophy College of Arts & Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Roger Ariew, Ph.D. Douglas Jesseph, Ph.D. Alex Levine, Ph.D. Colin Heydt, Ph.D. Justin E. H. Smith, Ph.D. Date of Approval: March 25, 2019 Keywords: Anton Wilhelm Amo, Descartes, Mind/Body, Race, Passions Copyright © 2019, Dwight Kenneth Lewis Jr DEDICATION For my Dad and the Culture. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to start by thanking my undergrad mentor, Tom Schwanda. While I was at Wheaton College, Tom would not allow me to accept mediocrity; he pushed me to do my best and introduced me to the academic world. He will always hold a special place in my heart. His care and direction helped me pick the unbelievable committee members that I have. Roger, my chair, teaches by taking you along with him. He models the way an academic should do research while not compromising on integrity, and Amo scholarship would not be where it is today without Roger pushing me to pursue whatever project I wanted. I would not want any other chair. Justin, I flew across to world to meet you because I believed in your scholarship. In return, you’ve taught me more than you could know about academia, life, and Amo. We have worked together to bring attention to Amo and are at this moment changing the landscape of philosophical history. You have become more than my mentor; you are my friend. From Doug, I learned that you cannot just say things; you have to live them out. He is active in his community the way that I desire to be. Colin made be a better teacher and writer. Alex has taught me how to be a better mentor; he has always been willing to give me his opinion, and it has always been transformative. I also want to thank my momma, Tracy, who has been extremely supportive throughout this process even when she did not fully understand it. She believed that I knew what was best for me. I hope everyone gets to experience a parent that has this type of faith in their children and in her God. My brother, Adrian, I thank you and your partner, Stef, for your continuous encouragement. Adrian, you are a model father, and I would like to be like you one day. A big thank you to my sister, April, and her partner, Mark, for reading almost every paper I’ve ever written from my freshman year of college until now. April, you are a rock, and I would not be the person I am today without you. To my nieces (Madison, Zoe, Phoebe, Willow, and Ember) and nephew (Theo), I want you know that the impossible is not impossible. Dream big and dangerous! Do not be afraid to change the world! I would also like to thank all of my friends, professors, and colleagues who played critical roles in my Ph.D. journey –including Jill Hernandez, Eric Winsberg, Thomas Williams, Joanne Waugh, Josh Rayman, Falk Wunderlich, Heiner Klemme, William Goodwin, Lucio Mare, the Morrises, Aminah Hasan-Birdwell, Corey Dyck, Richard Creek, Zac Purdue, Dahlia Guzman, Raman Sachdev, Erika Oshiro, Aaron Spink, Simon & Danielle, Cam Wright, Jesús Ramírez, Christine Wieseler, Rafa Solorzano, Taína Figueroa, Matt Dee, Alex Shillito, Zach Vereb, Sean Gleason, Ryan Quandt, Megan Flocken, Bryan Mitchell, Sam Badger, Willian Parkhurst, Wilson Underkuffler, Diana Hardy, Kevin Fink, John Walsh, Greg McCreery, Brad Warfield, Lucien Monson, Vanessa Burshnic, Julie Krupa, Seth Oppong, Sorayah Geffrard, Anthony Fernandez, Nicholas Dovellos, June Brown, Mark Castricone, Carter Hardy, Manika Dulcio, Lillian King, Timothy Yenter, Brian Curtis, Erli Mertika, Areins Pelayo, Karina Rios, Mahu Kamal, Devona Pierre, Xavier Pickett, Brandon Snyder, Mariela Noles Cotito, Michael Bennett McNulty, Stephen Howard, Jacob Mabe, Dag Herbjørnsrud, Jeremiah Favara, Sonja and Rana Brentjes, Monika Firla, Andreij Krause, Stephen Menn, Paola Rumore, Paulin Hountondji, my extended family, and dozens of unnamed friends. This list is certainly incomplete, but please know that I am grateful for all of you. Zac Purdue and Dahlia Guzman, you both hold a special place in my heart, too; I do not know if I would have made it without your refuge. Additionally, I’m thankful for the office staff (Darlene Corcoran, Eileen Kahl, and Dana Pittman), the institutes and organizations that hosted me (the University of South Florida, Emory University, James Weldon Johnson Institute, Minorities and Philosophy, the Early Modern Circle, and dozens more), and my community college students at Valencia College and Hillsborough Community College. Those students developed my teaching, presenting, and researching abilities; I will forever be in their debt. Also thank you to my editor, Robert Birdwell; I would not have finished without the unbelievable job that you did. Finally, I would like to thank my dad, Dwight Kenneth Lewis Sr., for all that you did for our family. You were taken earlier than I would have liked, but your impact is still felt daily. Thank you for teaching me to fight for my beliefs, to care about other human beings, and to believe that consistency matters. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... iii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1 Timeline of Anton Wilhelm Amo’s Life .......................................................................................12 Chapter One: An Intellectual Biography of Anton Wilhelm Amo ................................................16 I. Introduction ....................................................................................................................16 II. Amo’s Early Life ...........................................................................................................17 II. A. The Duke of Wolfenbüttel: Power, Africans, and Baptism .........................18 II. B. Religious Controversy and Amo ..................................................................22 III. Amo and Halle .............................................................................................................25 III. A. Amo’s Registration at Halle: His Name & Racial Designations ................25 III. B. Amo’s De jure maurorum in Europa ..........................................................29 IV. Wittenberg to Halle......................................................................................................34 IV. A. At Wittenberg .............................................................................................34 IV. B. August III’s Visit to Wittenberg .................................................................35 IV. C. Amo’s De humanae mentis APATHEIA .....................................................37 IV. D. Amo’s Transition to Halle ..........................................................................42 V. Jena and Amo’s return to Africa ...................................................................................46 V. A. Jena & Race..................................................................................................46 V. B. Amo’s Return to Africa ................................................................................52 VI. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................54 Chapter Two: The Hows and Whys of Anton Wilhelm Amo’s Critique of René Descartes ........56 I. Introduction ....................................................................................................................56 II. Mind/Body Distinction in Descartes and Amo .............................................................57 III. Amo’s Status controversiae .........................................................................................64 IV. Explanation of Amo’s Controversiae, the Impassivity ................................................65 V. Amo & Descartes ..........................................................................................................68 VI. WHY? ..........................................................................................................................70 VI. A. Immortal Soul .............................................................................................70