Contents
Kwame Gyekye
Developing moderate communitarianism and examining personhood through Akan philosophy.
An Essay on African Philosophical Thought · Person and Community
- Born
- 10 November 1939
- Birthplace
- Ahanta, Ghana
- Died
- 13 April 2019
More people
Kwame Gyekye
Kwame Gyekye was a Ghanaian philosopher who argued that community and individual dignity need not be opposites.
Early life
Ghanaian schooling
Attended Mfantsipim School.
Philosophical study
Studied at the University of Ghana and earned a Harvard doctorate in Graeco-Arabic philosophy.
Career
- 1969
University of Ghana
Joined its philosophy department.
- 1984
Full professor
Advanced to a professorship after earlier teaching appointments.
- 1990s
International debate
Published influential studies of African ethics and political ideas.
Selected work
An Essay on African Philosophical Thought
Examined the Akan conceptual scheme.
Person and Community
Co-edited Ghanaian philosophical studies with Kwasi Wiredu.
Tradition and Modernity
Explored how African societies could critically adapt inherited values.
Beyond work
Institution building
Helped develop philosophical teaching in Ghana.
Public concerns
Wrote about citizenship, shared responsibility and inclusive political life.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and career ↗Further source ↗Career obituary ↗Identity and date cross-check ↗Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.