Stephen Peprah’s academic journey spans continents and centuries as he studies the philosophy of Anton Wilhelm Amo, an 18th-century African-German philosopher and former enslaved person who became a respected academic voice in Europe.
Now a postdoctoral fellow in the Faculty of Arts & Science’s Departments of Classics and Philosophy, Peprah works with Rachel Barney, a professor in both departments.
Peprah finds common ground with Amo in their view of philosophy’s purpose. “I share his idea that philosophy must serve practical ends,” he says.
Peprah is originally from Ghana, where he completed his first two degrees — a bachelor’s in classics and political science, followed by a master’s in ancient philosophy, both at the University of Ghana. He then completed a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic.
His love of philosophy began as an undergrad, with a class in Socratic philosophy in his third year.
“I really enjoyed that class,” he says. “Some of the questions I had were answered there, and it made me want to learn even more.”
During his undergraduate stint at the University of Ghana, Peprah studied Latin. Later on, his love for the work on Amo led him to the U.K., completing a second master’s degree in ancient philosophy and Latin at the University of Cambridge. Peprah went to Cambridge principally to improve his Latin proficiency so he could undertake his current research on Amo.
“I first heard about Amo in 2012 when a professor at the University of Ghana mentioned him in passing in his seminar presentation,” says Peprah. “Apart from his passing mention in an academic setting, he continues to be treated as an object of mere curiosity.
“There is currently no course mounted to teach his philosophy in any university in Ghana. My interest has been to make Amo popular by translating his works from Latin to English and espousing his philosophical ideas to the Ghanaian intellectual community. Especially in his Tractatus, Amo espouses philosophical ideas about morality and politics that resonate with our contemporary African society.”
Amo was born in the western region of present-day Ghana. At four he was taken to Amsterdam by the Dutch West India Company. Some accounts say he was enslaved, while others believe he was sent to Amsterdam by Dutch missionaries working in Ghana.
What is clear, however, is that Amo was presented as a young boy to the German Duke Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel. The duke treated him not merely a servant, but almost as a member of his family and gave him the opportunity to pursue an education as well as a career teaching philosophy.
Amo completed doctoral dissertations at the Universities of Halle and Wittenberg — now the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg — becoming the first African to earn a PhD in philosophy at a European university. Remaining in Germany, he later taught at the University of Halle and the University of Jena.
Read more about the Anton Wilhelm Amo research project at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and other scholarly initiatives that commemorate the life and legacy of the 18th-century Ghanaian philosopher and early European academic.
Amo is best known for his work on the nature of mind and body, particularly his critique of Descartes' theory of dualism that asserts that the mind and body are two distinct and separate substances but do interact on some level.
“Amo, as prominent scholars Stephen Menn and Justin Smith-Ruiu have recently articulated, thinks Descartes did not draw the distinction sharply enough,” reiterates Peprah.
I’m going to the Humboldt University of Berlin for a two-year fellowship to conduct research on Amo's metaphysics and epistemology. I’m super excited.
Amo's core idea was that the mind doesn’t experience sensation nor is it affected by external stimuli in the way the body does. He considered the mind to be a spirit, a non-physical substance distinct from the body, whereas the body, being material, is the source of all perception and feeling.
In researching Amo, Peprah discovered there’s so much more to him than simply one theory.
“When I started translating his Tractatus, I realized his ideas shouldn't be limited to this mind-body problem. He has ideas about practical philosophy, how to conserve nature, how to be moral, and how to be prudent, and how to rule a nation.”
In addition to his theories, Peprah deeply admires Amo for his courage and his willingness to stay true to his convictions — being a Black intellectual in 18th-century Europe was an exceptional challenge, as he faced both societal and intellectual barriers that were rooted in racial prejudice."
“Scholarship during the 18th century Germany was a hotly contested, hostile environment, intellectually speaking,” says Peprah. Academics could be swiftly expelled from universities for sharing unpopular or controversial ideas.
“What fascinates me about Amo is, how was he able to manage that? He was just so attached to his convictions that he didn't care what was happening outside. He was like, ‘This is my truth, and I'm not going to let outside influences intimidate me, shape me, or influence me.’ He was willing to defend his ideas, despite the hostile environment in which he found himself.”
For his research on Amo — which Peprah intends to turn into a book — he will dive into his favourite language: Latin. He loves the ancient language almost as much as philosophy, in part because of the language’s rigid structure.
“You have to be very attentive, you have to follow rules, you have to focus,” says Peprah. “If you miss a suffix, you destroy an entire phrase. Miss a prefix, and the meaning changes.”
In fact, Peprah loves Latin so much, he plans on creating a Latin course for lawyers and medical students in his native country.
“I’m thinking of developing a Latin course book, emphasizing etymologies of Latin medical and legal terms and phrases for lawyers and doctors in Ghana,” he says. “This is one of the several ways I want to show the utility of classics in Ghana.”
The German government recently dedicated a plaque in his honour at the philosophy department at the University of Ghana. I think Amo should not be treated as an object of curiosity anymore. We must engage with his philosophical works. There are now works churned out on him on a yearly basis, published in top journals — but we need even more hands.
Back on campus, Peprah is enjoying U of T’s collaborative intellectual atmosphere.
“Here, you have classics and philosophy joined intellectually, and faculties coming together at conferences, seminars and lectures, it’s amazing,” he says. “In Ghana, philosophy and classics are one department, so when I'm here, it's more like I'm at home. It's only the weather I didn't like initially,” he says, noting he arrived in December.
When Peprah completes his fellowship at the end of this year, he’s headed to the same country where Amo studied and taught.
“I’m going to the Humboldt University of Berlin for a two-year fellowship to conduct research on Amo's metaphysics and epistemology,” he says. “I’m super excited.”
He’s equally excited about the growing international interest in Amo’s works.
“The German government recently dedicated a plaque in his honour at the philosophy department at the University of Ghana,” he says. “I think Amo should not be treated as an object of curiosity anymore. We must engage with his philosophical works. There are now works churned out on him on a yearly basis, published in top journals — but we need even more hands.”