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. He has as well an exceptional facility and gift for exposition and for explaining complex issues and ideas in clear, lucid language that the average lay man can follow.
Foundation Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences
and, formerly, Professor of Classics,
University of Ghana