9 Greatest African Innovators in Arts and Sciences

3. Kwame Anthony Appiah

British-born, Ghanaian-American philosopher and writer Appiah has a range of intellectual pursuits that includes the history of ideas in Africa, moral and political theory, the philosophy of language and mind, and fiction writing. His nonfiction book, “The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen,” explores how a sense of honor can both perpetuate an abhorrent practice like slavery and bring about its end. After growing up in Ghana, Appiah earned his Ph.D. in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States to teach philosophy at Harvard, Duke, Princeton, and other universities. Most recently, he joined the faculty at New York University as a professor in the Department of Philosophy and the School of Law. He serves on the advisory boards of PEN American Center and the United Nations Democracy Fund and has been elected in to the American Philosophical Society and American Academy of Arts and Sciences.