Kwame Gyekye (10 November 1939 – 13 April 2019) was a Ghanaian philosopher, and an important figure in the development of modern African philosophy.
[1] He is known for theorizing the concept of person-hood on the basis of Akan cultural paradigm in debate with Kwasi Wiredu, which is seen as one of the defining moments of modern African philosophy.
He attributes this view to African philosopher Ifeanyi Menkiti, as well as socialist political figures like Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah, Senegal's Léopold Senghor, and Tanzania's Julius Nyerere.
Thus, he argues, a person is viewed as more than just a material or physical object, but children of God, and therefore intrinsically valuable.
This intrinsic value, it is argued, makes nonsense of the view that the individual's value stems solely from the community.