Lecture
LUCIP Lecture Series with Godfrey Igwebuike Onah
- Date
- Wednesday 28 April 2021
- Time
- Location
- Kaltura
- Room
- https://smart.newrow.com/room/nr2/?room_id=ytz-076&fr=lti at 3.30 pm Dutch time
Dialogue between African and Asian Philosophies
All interested are cordially invited to the next Spring lecture of the Centre of Intercultural Philosophy on Kaltura, on Wednesday 28 April 2021, 3.30 PM Dutch time.
Prof. Godfrey Igwebuike Onah
Emeritus Professor Pontifical Urban University & Roman Catholic Bishop of Nsukka, Nigeria
Abstract
Philosophy is, presumably, a universal form of knowledge. Yet, it is also limited by the cultural context within which it is elaborated. For a very long time, the cultural dimension of all philosophies was ignored as the Western approaches to philosophy were presented as the only possible ones. Gradually, philosophy too is opening itself up to the attitude of dialogue that has marked other fields of life in the last decades. Nevertheless, the dialogue in philosophy has so far been only between the East and the West, between Europe and Asia. The African contributions to philosophy have largely been ignored both by Europe and by Asia. This lecture wishes to underscore the need for the extension of the dialogue
between philosophical traditions. After a short review of the relationship between philosophy and culture and a brief excursus into the history of African philosophy, it goes on to point out some major areas where such a dialogue is made easier by some already existing similarities. The anthropological question is presented as one which offers a common ground for dialogue between philosophical traditions from the various corners of the globe. Given that the lecture is meant to be a contribution to a study on Thomism and intercultural dialogue, the conclusion is presented in the style of the Angelic Doctor’s Summa theologiae.
About
Professor (Dr) Godfrey Igwebuike Onah is the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka, located in southeastern Nigeria. He is an Emeritus Professor of philosophy and former Vice-Rector of the Pontifical Urbaniana University (Universitas Urbaniana), Rome. He received his PhD (Summa Cum Laude) in philosophy in 1992 and was immediately appointed to teach in his alma mater, where he rose to become a professor of philosophy. His areas of interest are Philosophical Anthropology (his central focus), Philosophy of Religion, and African Philosophy. These have led him also to work in the area of Comparative Philosophy. He makes a critical link between philosophical discourses and current challenges concerning Africa and the wider world. He has published series of books and articles in renowned presses and international journals. In his ministry as a Bishop, Professor Onah has been outspoken in his defense of human rights and good governance in his country.
