About seventeen years ago at the City University of New York Graduate Center, my mentors Professors Peter Caws and David M. Rosenthal provided, respectively, the collegial support and the exacting supervision that made it feasible for me to address humanistic concerns analytically, with the hope of yielding something more than soft-hearted, well-meaning results. More recently, Professor Caws’s 1993 essay on technology transfer provoked me to solicit the views of many outstanding colleagues at the University of Ghana, Legon (Accra), to assemble this longish reply.

As editor of this volume I am deeply grateful to those contributors whose expertise, collegiality and extreme patience have made its production possible despite financial limitations. For funding the production of the manuscript, gratitude is due to the Publications Board of the University of Ghana (Legon)—especially to its chairperson, Professor Mary Esther Kropp-Dakubu and to the late Mr. Ofori-Mante for expediting the grant. Professor George F. McLean, the Director of the Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (as well as General Editor and publisher of the series in which this volume appears) generously matched the Legon Publication Board’s grant at the eleventh hour. His sustained enthusiasm for this project and his tolerance throughout the inordinate number of delays are warmly appreciated.

For their unfailing computer expertise and logistical support, I thank Professor Mumuni Dakubu, Mrs. Agatha Gaisie-Nketsia, Mr. Alfred Quartey, Mr. Vincent Acheampong, Mr. Erasmus Achinor and Mr. Gideon Segbefia—all of the University of Ghana, Legon. Special thanks are due to the Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Mr. K.Y. Fosu, and his computer systems analyst, Mr. Charles Addo-Quaye, for graciously offering computer access. Mr. Dan Tetteh, of Integrated Compu-Resources (Accra), heroically made it possible to finish the manuscript.

The editor is especially indebted to Mr. Tom Lauer for his constant validation, to Mrs. Debbie Kassardjian, the Consular General for the Embassy of Finland in Ghana as well as the proprietress of the Hotel Shangri-La (Accra), for her extremely kind and generous support, and to the exceptional jazz artist, Mr. Jimmy Beckley, for his endless inspiration, motivation, and creative vision.

The General Editor wishes to express his gratitude to Paul Kotey for his orthographic assistance, to Hu Yeping and Nancy Graham respectively for the establishment of the final copy and the proof reading of the manuscript.

All connected with this volume, and especially The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (RVP), are indebted to The International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies (CIPSH) and to its parent organization, UNESCO, Paris, for their high evaluation of the international importance of this African project and hence of this volume.