Appiah, Kwame Anthony (1954–)

AbstractKwame Anthony Appiah was born in London and raised in Ghana. He is currently Laurence S. Rockefeller University Professor of Philosophy and a professor in the University Center for Human Values, Princeton University. He is a wide‐ranging thinker whose writings encompass philosophy of language debates in an analytic philosophical tradition; significant contributions to discussions of race, culture, and African philosophy; and essays about patriotism and cosmopolitanism, literature, social identity, honor, as well as several novels. An elegant and thoughtful writer, Appiah's contributions to political theory are in his defense of a democratic liberalism attuned to diversity. In the spirit of John Stuart Mill's ethical philosophy of liberalism he argues that respect for diversity is central to the liberal tradition in terms of identity, beliefs, ideas, aesthetics, and argument. This attunement is essential for individual thriving and our collective good as beings entitled to equal dignity within political communities. To have the chance to develop ethically (living a good life) and morally (in relation to others) for Appiah means that we ought not to be “too tightly scripted” by narratives about who we are or should be. Essential to Appiah's liberalism is a defense of autonomy for individuals who negotiate their identity in relation to family life, local communities, religious, national, and human rights aspirations.