Cultural universals and particulars : an African perspective Introduction: The Universal and the Particular Part 1. General considerations Part 2. Religion and Morality Part 3. Conceptual Contrasts Part 4. Democracy and Human Rights Index The eminent Ghanaian philosopher Kwasi Wiredu confronts the paradox that while Western cultures recoil from claims of universality previously colonized peoples seeking to redefine their identities insist on cultural particularities. Wiredus exposition of the principles of African traditional philosophy is not purely theoretical; he shows how certain aspects of African political thought may be applied to the practical resolution of some of Africas most pressing problems