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