We have already established the case for the extremely difficult nature of grasping the contents and general outlook of Prof. Dompere’s body of works. Stated differently, reading his works is not the same as reading other “complicated” writers such as Wole Soyinka, Wilson Harris, and William Faulkner, for the latter three and their caliber of writers are too easy to read, to grasp, to digest. Moreover, unlike Soyinka’s body of works which does not require expertise in any field to understand, to interpret, or to appreciate, Prof. Dompere’s body of works require technical sophistication, varied academic and professional training, African-centered methodology, cosmopolitan worldview and eclectic knowledge, critical theory, informal education, and expertise in multiple disciplines in the natural sciences, mathematics (set theory, topology, functional analysis, speculative or pure mathematics, etc), the liberal arts (the humanities and the social science), and logic, among a host of others.
Acquisition of all of these afore-cited ideas must be advanced and intellectually, philosophically, and methodologically thorough, at least from the holistic standpoint of the natural sciences, logic, and mathematics (for additional information on the African-centered or Afrocentric methodology, see Nkrumah’s Sept. 24, 1964 speech delivered at the Opening Session of the First Meeting of the Editorial Board of the Encyclopedia Africana, University of Ghana).
Thus, it bears emphasizing again that Prof. Dompere’s target audience is one of experienced multifaceted individual thinkers or simply experts, not the average reader or the “ordinary” PhD holder. This is not to scare away potential readers of his vast body of works; it is to state the bare facts without mincing words. The fact is that no scholar can approach the analytic depths of Nkrumah’s mind without the level and intellectual armor of technical sophistication, multiple expertise, and varied training which he [Prof. Dompere] brings to bear in the vigor of scientific and mathematical exegesis of Nkrumahism. More so he is widely known for the rigor of his mathematical formulations and modeling of complex qualitative problems and ideas and memes, and beyond that, methodological abstraction. For instance, Prof. Dompere’s contributions to fuzzy logic, fuzzy mathematics, and fuzzy theory as they relate to academic economics and the practice of political economy have widely been acknowledged by academic economists, mathematicians, institutions, and Springer Publishing, one of his major publishers which also happens to be one of the world’s largest carriers of scientific titles and journals; as well as of Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd, and so on.
More than 3000 libraries carry Prof. Dompere’s academic works around the world (see WorldCat for Prof. Dompere’s scholarly works; WorldCat houses tens of thousands of libraries in at 160 countries; it is also “the world largest and most comprehensive catalogue of library resources from around the world.” See OCLC.org for additional information! Amazon.com also has them).
Even so, his role as one of America’s leading minds in the forefront of bridging the frontiers among the natural sciences, the liberal arts, and the general public has also been widely acknowledged. Also, Prof. Dompere’s high-profile academic standing in the American Academy, notwithstanding all the above, is exemplified by his respected membership in a number of prominent institutions: The American Society for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest scientific organization; the New York Academy of Sciences; the Econometric Society, an international society of academic economists; the Golden Key National Honor Society; the American Economic Association (AEA); the Diopian Institute for Scholarly Advancement (DISA), with Prof. Kwame Botwe-Asamoah); and the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS). Prof. Dompere is also associated with Scientific American; Fuzzy Sets and Systems; the International Journal of Development Economics; the Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, Theory and Decision; and the Journal of Intelligent and Fuzzy Systems. Further, Prof. Dompere has also served as Chairman of the Appointments, Promotions and Tenure Committee (APT) of Howard University’s Economics Committee, as well as of the Curriculum Committee and the Macroeconomic Examination Committee. He has also been a member of the Gradual School’s Task Force on Environment Science at Howard University.
And last but not least, he was noted among Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges (1977); Who’s Who Among American Teachers (2005, 2006); nominated for Brookings Research Fellowship (1977) and the National Science Foundation Summer Fellowship on Energy Modeling (Lehigh University, 1980), and General Electric Scholarship (University of Chicago, 1982).
Finally, we again acknowledge belaboring Prof. Dompere’s consultancy work for a number of the world’s most important institutions, including some in Africa and the Americas, and therefore will not explore the subject further here (readers who are interested in the subject can go back and read “Dr. Kofi Dompere on Nkrumah’s Scientific Thinking 7”). In addition to these accomplishments, Prof. Dompere has also published widely in a number of top peer-reviewed academic journals and on top of that, has several academic texts to his credit.
It is clear from the foregoing why he [Prof. Dompere] has been ranked among the “Top 100 Thinkers in Modern Times” (Another Nkrumahist Dr. Molefi Kete Asante has been described as “One of the most influential leaders in the decade,” “One of the 100 Leading Thinkers in America,” and “Asante may be the most important professor in Black America”). The list of internationally renowned Nkrumahists is endless!
Having said that, we should all be grateful to Prof. Kwame Botwe-Asamoah, Prof. Dompere’s friend, for his vision and foresight as well as for introducing the latter and his large body of academic texts and scholarly writings to us, the author of this series. Interestingly Prof. Botwe-Asamoah remains one of his friend’s important critics and admirers. He and Prof. Dompere remain two of the most important and formidable Nkrumahists on a tall list consisting of the most knowledgeable Nkrumahists in the world today. In fact, Dr. Botwe-Asamoah sat on a committee in the US (the Diopian Institute of Scholarly Advancement, the Cheikh Anta Diop International Conference) that nominated Prof. Dompere’s scholarly work “Polyrhythmicity: Foundations of African Philosophy” among a highly competitive list, and subsequently recognized it with a prestigious award.
It is also extremely important that “Polyrhythmicity” should be perused prior to, in conjunction with, or parallel to Prof. Dompere’s forthcoming books, if that is possible or convenient for the reader. Nkrumah’s “Philosophy and Ideology for Decolonization” is a must-read as well! The afore-mentioned book, in fact, foregrounds the philosophical and methodological conjunction of his [Prof. Dompere’s] forthcoming couple of books and more than anything else also, it provides the necessary methodological and intellectual vista into the labyrinth of Nkrumah’s map of scientific and philosophic thinking.
Granted, what follows are chapter and sub-chapter summaries of one of a couple of Prof. Dompere forthcoming books: “THE THEORY OF CATEGORIAL CONVERSION: RATIONAL FOUNDATIONS OF NKRUMAHISM” (the other is “THE THEORY OF PHILOSOPHICAL CONSCIENCISM: PRACTICE FOUNDATIONS OF NKRUMAHISM”). We believe this will give readers an inkling of what to expect as this book comes out! Here we go:
CHAPTER 1: ABSTRACT IDEAS AND PRACTICE OF IDEAS IN SOCIAL SETTINGS: EXTENTIONS AND REFLECTIONS ON NKRUMAH
1.1 Abstract, Ideas, Possibility Space and the Possible-World Space
1.2 Philosophy and Ideology in Social Information and Knowledge
1.3 Illusory Ideology and the Possible-World Space
1.4 The Relationship between Philosophy and Ideology as Non-violent Instrument of Mind Control
1.4.1 Some Uses of the Imperialist Philosophy and Ideology
1.4.2 Contending Ideologies, Freedom and Liberation
CHAPTER 2: RESTRUCTURING THE MIND OF AFRICA AND THE OPPRESSED: DEFINING AN INITIAL FRAMEWORK FOR LIBERATION THINKING
2.1 The Art and Science of Creating an Unthinking People for Imperialist and
Colonialist Domination and Exploitation
2.2 The Task of Nkrumah, the Road to the African Decolonization,
Independence and Emancipation
2.3 The Uses of THE Imperialist Philosophy and Ideology
2.4 Contending Ideologies, Freedom and Liberation
CHAPTER 3: THE INTELLECTUAL TASK FOR AFRICA’S DECOLONIZATION AND EMANCIPATION
3.1 Reflections by Some Pan-African Personalities on the Task
3.2 Ontology, Epistemology and the Prelude to the Logic in Nkrumaist Conceptual
System
3.3 The Ontological-Epistemological Relationship in the Developmental
Relationship in the Development of either Imperial or Liberation Philosophy
and Ideology
CHAPTER 4: THE THEORY OF CATEGORIAL CONVERSION: PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS AND EXTENSIONS OF NKRUMAISM
4.1 Searching for an Alternative Paradigm
4.1.1 The Reconciling of the Elements in the Ontological and Epistemological
Spaces
4.1.2 The Framework for the Development of Non-classical Laws of Thought
4.1.3 Conceptual Definitions of Some Important Concepts
4.1.4 A Comparison of the Classical Paradigm and the Fuzzy Paradigm in Cognition
4.2 Categorial Formation and the Logic of Categorial Conversion
4.2.1 Category Formation in the Logic of Qualitative Transformations
4.2.2 Categorial Conversion in the Logic of Qualitative Transformations
4.3 On the Epistemic Structure of the Categorial Conversion
4.4 The Fuzzy Paradigm and the Explication of Qualitative Disposition in the Category
Formation and the Theory of Categorial Conversion
4.4.1 The Fuzzy Paradigm, its Nature and Relational Structure to Categorial
Conversion
4.4.2 Dualism, Duality and Relational Unity in Categorial Conversion
4.5 Duality, Continuum and Relational Unity in Categorial Conversion under Fuzzy Laws
of Thought
4.5.1 The Concepts of Duality, Continuum and Relational Unity in Category
Formation
4.5.2 The Characteristics of Duality in the Theory of Categorial Conversion
CHAPTER 5: THE THEORY OF CATEGORIAL CONVERSION: AXIOMATIC FOUNDATIONS
5.1 The African Intellectual Framework, Fuzzy Paradigm and the Development of
the Theory of Categorial Conversion
5.2 A Reflection on the General Logic in Categorial Conversion
5.2.1 The Time Trinity, Actual, Reality, Potential and Perception in Categorial
Conversion
5.3 Language, Vocabulary and Grammar of the Theory of Categorial Conversion
5.3.1The Logical Blocks of the Theory of Categorial Conversion
5.3.1.1 Concerning the Universal Unity and Particular Unity in the Theory of
Categorial Conversion
5.3.1.2 Concerning the Concepts of Ontology, Ontic, Epistemology, and
Epistemic in the Theory of Categorial Conversion
5.3.1.3 Concerning Categories and their Formations in the Theory of Categorial
Conversion
5.3.1.4 Concerning Polarity, Duality, Oppositeness and Unity in the Theory of
Categorial Conversion
5.4 Essential Definitions and Explications in the Language of the Theory of
Categorial Conversion
5.4.1 Definitions, Similarities and Differences of Dualism and Duality in the
Development of the Laws of Reasoning in the Theory of Categorial Conversion
5.4.2 Concerning General, Negative and Positive Characteristics Sets
5.4.3 The Relativity of the Negative and Positive Characteristics Sets and
Corresponding Actions in Categorial Conversion
5.4.3.1 The Concepts of the Actual and Potential in Theory of Categorial Conversion
5.5 Information, Knowledge, Wisdom and Intelligence
5.5.1 Concerning Information, Knowledge, Wisdom and Intelligence in Theory
of Categorial Conversion
5.5.1.2 Concerning the Continuum and Quantum in the Theory of
Categorial Conversion
5.5.1.3 Concerning the Analog and Digital in the Theory of Categorial Conversion
5.5.2 Relationality, Polarity, Duality, Information, Matter and Energy
5.5.2.1 Concerning Relationality in Polarity and Duality in the Theory of
Categorial Conversion
5.5.2.2 Concerning the Multiplicity of Energy in the Theory of Categorial
Conversion
5.5.2.3 Concerning the Conceptual Pyramid and the Trinity in the Theory
of Categorial Conversion
5.4 Principles and Laws of Reasoning in the Theory of Categorial Conversion
5.4.1 General Africentric Postulates in the Theory of Categorial Conversion
5.4.1.1 The postulate of existence of infinity and the transformation from
nothingness
5.4.1.2. The postulate of conversion through internal dynamics and self-evolution
5.4.1.3 The postulate of cognitive independence
5.4.1.4 The postulate of actual-potential transformations and substitutions
5.4.2 The General Africentic Axioms in the Theory of Categorial Conversion
5.4.2.1. Axiom of existence of nothingness-somethingness polarity as the primary
category of global reality
5.4 2.2 Axiom of categorial conversion and existence of matter:
5.4.2.3. The Axiom of self-motion, creation, evolution and transformations
5.4.2.4. The Axiom of beginning-end polarity actual-potential duality and
Categorial Conversion
5.5 Essential Postulates, Principles and the Theory of Categorial Conversion
5.5.1 Essential Postulates in the Theory of Categorial Conversion
5.5.1.1 The postulate of universal partition
5.5.2 The postulate of existence of primary category
5.5.3. The postulate of non-sole primary reality of matter
5.5.4 The postulate of General categorial conversion
5.5.4(a): The postulate of categorial conversion At the Level of Ontology
5.5.4(b): The postulate of categorial conversion At the Level of Epistemology
5.5.4(c) The postulate of categorial-conversion Identity
5.5.4(d) Concerning the Postulate of categorial Transversality
5.5.5 The Africentric Principles of the Opposites of the Universal system
5.5.5.1. The Principle of Duality and Unity:
5.5.5.2. The Principle of Polarity and Unity of the Poles:
5.5.5.3 The principle of relationality and multiplicity of rhythms
5.5.6 The Law of Motion, Conversion and Transformations:
5.5.6(a) The law of interdependence of dual and poles in duality and
polarity
5.5.6(b) The law of interdependence of mutual negation of poles and
duals
5.5.6(c) The law of quantitative and qualitative motion:
5.5.6(d) The law of rhythms:
CHAPTER 6: THE THEORY OF CATEGORIAL CONVERSION: THE ANALYTICAL BUILDING BLOCKS
6.1 The General Conceptual Structure
6.2 CHARACTERISTIC SETS AND CATEGORIES
6.2.1 Ontology, Epistemology and Categorial
6.2.2 Polarity, Duality, Unity and Categorial Conversion
6.3 The Problem of Categorial Conversion Revisited
6.3.1 The Conceptual Solution to the Categorial Conversion Problem
6.3.2 More Reflections on the Africentric Roots
6.4 Relationality, Opposites, Conflicts, Energy and Self-motion
6.4.1 Relationality and Information
6.4.2 Energy, Communication and Self-Motion
6.5 Polarity, Duality, Game Theory and Categorial Conversion of Socio-Natural
States
CHAPTER 7: THE THEORY OF CATEGORIAL CONVERSION: MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATIONS, SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATION AND CONDITIONS OF CONVERTIBILITY
7.1 Discussions on Some Conceptual Difficulties and Solutions
7.2 A Reflection on the Theory of Categorial Conversion and Nkrumah’s
Conceptual System
7.3 Dynamics, Motion and Progress in the Theory of Categorial Conversion
7.3.1 Concerning the Structure of Quantitative Motion
7.3.2 The Structure of Qualitative Motion
7.4 Information Definition and Representation in the Theories of Categorial
Formation and Categorial Conversion
7.4.1 The Concept and Nature of Information in the Theories of Category
Formation and Categorial Conversion
7.4.2 Essential Definitions and Explication of Information and Category Formation
7.4.3 The Subjective Information Structure
7.5 The Mathematical and Logical Structure of the Theory of Categorial Conversion
under Fuzzy Laws of Thought
7.5.1 The Concepts of the Actual and Potential in Theory of Categorial Conversion
7.5. 2 The Concepts and Roles of the Categories in the Theory of Categorial Conversion
CHAPTER 8: THE MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTION TO THE CATEGORIAL CONVERSION OF ACTUAL-POTENTIAL POLARITY
8.1 The Structures of Duality, Polarity and the Action Space in Categorial
Conversions
8.2 Fuzzy Rationality, Degrees of Effectiveness of the Positive and Negative Actions
8.2.1 Actual Duality in the Actual Pole
8.2.2 Potential Duality in the Potential Pole
8.2.3 Relational Interactions and Unity in the Actual-Potential Polarity
8.3 Categorial-Conversion Analytics
8.4 The Nature of Categorial Conversion Moment and its Measure
8.5 Game Theory and the Theory of Categorial Conversion
8.5.1 Types of the Game, Information and Negation of Negation
8.5.2 Information and Types of Game Theory
8.5.3 Polarity, Duality, Relationality and Game Theory
We shall return…
