Reflections of West-African thought Traditions in the Context of German Enlightenment: Amo as Cross-cultural Philosopher

Abstract

This paper explores discernible resonances of West-African thought traditions in the philosophical writings of Amo. We highlight a combination of religio-theological and philosophical motifs that point in the direction of an impregnation of Amo’s thinking by the encyclopaedia of his place of birth. Amo was neither decidedly a European nor an African philosopher, as controversies had it in the past. To a certain degree, he was both. From traces of this awareness of his origin in the coastal area of today’s Ghana, we argue for his place in African philosophy by pursuing the thesis that he should be appropriately appreciated as a self-confident West-African, educated in German philosophical traditions and critically engaged in enlightenment philosophy.