A Critique of Cultural Universals and Particulars in Kwasi Wiredu’s Philosophy

Abstract

The paper is an attempt to revisit and examine the recondite issue of cultural universals and particulars, taking into consideration Wireduan philosophical account. The paper strengthens further the basic tenets of Kwasi Wiredu's philosophical defense of the compatibility of cultural universals and particulars. Through critical exposition, the paper appraises some of the inconsistencies and contradictory notions implicit in Wiredu's position on cultural universals and particulars. It discusses the relevance of the scholarship of Wiredu to an understanding of the dichotomy between universalism in philosophical discourse, and within African philosophy in particular. Beyond Wiredu's submissions on biological identity, inter/intra cultural communication, epistemic and moral universals, and language as cultural universals, the paper, in its contribution to knowledge, extends the frontiers of this realm of universals by establishing the plausibility of 'causality' as another instance of a conceptual universal, transcending all cultural particularities.

Nigerian Pidgin English: A Cultural Universal for National Communication and Policy Enactment

“…This paper is focused on language as a cultural universal because every society has one and is distinguished by same (Wiredu, 1995). Languages are imperative in any society, however what the language encompasses and embodies is a matter of exigency (Fayemi, 2011). Language homogenisation beyond merely being a cultural universal is a nation-building tool (Bernini, 2013).…”

“…Wiredu's objective in discussing the cultural universal concept was borne from the African state's quest for identity and meaning as a people (Fayemi, 2011) and this cannot be independent communicativity with an African 'tone'. He emphasised that intercultural differences can be a unification factor.…”

“…This quandary's root cause as mentioned before can be traced to an identity crisis, not just of Nigeria but Africa, and it is not unrelated to the negative impact of Western domination in years past, globalisation and neocolonialism. As a panacea, this paper leans on Kwasi Wiredu's proposition of Cultural Universals (language communication in particular) as essential for intercultural communication (Fayemi, 2011). Effective intercultural communication, in our context, implies a means for national unity, communication, growth and development.…”

From Dis-Enclosure to Decolonisation: In Dialogue with Nancy and Mbembe on Self-Determination and the Other

“…Take, for example, the debate outlined in the African philosophical tradition regarding the quest for self-identity. On the one side, as Fayemi (2011) describes, you have the ethnophilosophies 2 that focus on the particularity of African cultures to the point of cultural relativism. On the other side, you have the anti-ethnophilosophies that attempt to account for cultural universalism.…”

“…Scholars that form part of this group according to Fayemi (2011, p. 260) include: Abraham (1966);Mbiti (1969);Sodipo (1973); Anyanwu (1983);Tempels (1959);and Senghor (1991). 3 Philosophers that are included in this classification according to Fayemi (2011, p. 260) are: Bodunrin (1985; Hountondji (1983); Appiah (1992); Towa (1991);and Wiredu (1980). Although Mbembe has a complex relationship with African philosophy and is influenced by a wide range of authors from Fanon and Cesaire to Foucalt and Nancy, for the purpose of this paper Mbembe could also be placed among these thinkers that aim at rethinking the relation of the universal and the particular.…”