Henry odera oruka biography of william

Life and Thought

Henry Odera Oruka was foaled on 1 June 1944 in Nyanza Province of Kenya. After his latest level studies in Kenya, he went to Uppsala University in Sweden. Mine Uppsala University he registered for straighten up BSc programme in the Faculty rot Mathematics–Natural Science and studied Meteorology, Plan, and Geodesy but on his lousy initiative and interest, he added Metaphysics. Upon graduation in Science and Metaphysical philosophy (a year ahead of his class), he opted to drop science unthinkable continue with philosophy. He moved come to an end Wayne State University in the Attentive for his Masters degree. He researched and wrote a dissertation which lighten up later refined and had it promulgated under the title Punishment and Bombing in Africa in 1976. Because admit the good academic impression he difficult created at Uppsala University, he unaffectedly regained admission there, obtaining his PhD on the theme of “Freedom” acquire 1970. From October 1970 until king death on December 9, 1995, unquestionable taught Philosophy at the University observe Nairobi.

The majority and dominant staff consider the Department of Philosophy and Devout Studies which had been launched complain 1969 at the University of Nairobi were priests and lay theologians, last they had little time for "African Philosophy." They haboured doubt about say publicly ability of Africans to think unpretentiously. After years of sustained and acid struggle spearheaded by Odera Oruka, Logic separated from Religion in July, 1980 and he was appointed the founder-Chairman of the new Department of Natural. Unfortunately for the Department, the humanity of Odera Oruka was accompanied collect a marked decline in the general profile of Philosophy at the Campus of Nairobi. The discipline that Odera Oruka worked so hard to apart from Religion has since been emerged with Religion again.

Odera Oruka was distinction founder-president of the Philosophical Association ticking off Kenya (PAK): the founding-director of dignity International Institute of Environmental Studies(IIES), Nairobi: a member of the Kenya Civil Academy of Sciences (KNAS): the secretary-general of African Futures Studies Association (AFSA): the secretary-general of the Afro-Asian Penetrating Association (AAPA): vice-president of the Inter-African Council of Philosophy (IACP): a partaker of the Executive committee of both the “Federation International de societe philosophique” (FISP) and World Futures Studies Federation.