Anton Wilhelm Amo

Anton Wilhelm Amo
Drawing of Anton Wilhelm Amo
Bornc. 1703
Diedc. 1759(1759-00-00) (aged 55–56)
Other namesAntonius Guilielmus Amo Afer
Anthony William Amo
Academic background
EducationUniversity of Helmstedt
University of Halle
University of Wittenberg
ThesisDisputatio Philosophica continens Ideam Distinctam Eorum quae competunt vel menti vel corpori nostro vivo et organico (1734)
Academic advisorsSamuel Christian Hollmann
Martin Gotthelf Löscher
Influences
Academic work
EraContemporary philosophy
School or traditionWestern philosophy, rationalism
InstitutionsUniversity of Halle
University of Jena
Doctoral studentsJohannes Theodosius Meiner
Main interestsPhilosophy of mind
Notable ideasCritique of Descartes' philosophy of mind[1]
Anton Wilhelm Amo: Title page of his doctoral dissertation On the impassivity of the human mind (in Latin), Wittenberg, 1734.

Anton Wilhelm Amo or Anthony William Amo (c. 1703 – c. 1759) was a Nzema philosopher from Axim, Dutch Gold Coast (now Ghana). Amo was a professor at the universities of Halle and Jena in Germany after studying there. He was brought to Germany by the Dutch West India Company in 1707 and was presented as a gift to Dukes Augustus William and Ludwig Rudolf of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel,[2] being treated as a member of the family by their father Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. In 2020, Oxford University Press published a translation (into English) of his Latin works from the early 1730s.[3]

  1. ^ Wiredu, Kwasi (2004). "Amo's Critique of Descartes' Philosophy of Mind". In Wiredu, Kwasi: A Companion to African Philosophy. MA, USA, Blackwell Publishing. pp. 200–206.
  2. ^ Loutzenhiser, Mike (17 September 2008). The role of the indigenous African psyche in the evolution of human consciousness. Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse. p. xiii. ISBN 978-0595503766.
  3. ^ Menn, Stephen; Smith, Justin E. H. (5 September 2020). Anton Wilhelm Amo's Philosophical Dissertations on Mind and Body. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-750162-7. OCLC 1379043206.