Wilson Maina

• Position: Professor
• Department: History and Philosophy
• Office Location: Building 50, Room 232
• wmaina@uwf.edu
• Campus: 850.474.2680

Biography

Dr. Wilson Maina, professor of philosophy, teaches biomedical ethics, African philosophy, ethics, world religions and philosophy of religion.

Maina’s research is informed by his experiences growing up in Nairobi, Kenya. He has written several peer-reviewed journal articles on various aspects of philosophy of religion and African philosophy, which were published in the Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, Pacifica and African Christian Studies.

In his book, Historical and Social Dimensions in African Christian Theology: A Contemporary Approach, he analyzes issues affecting Africa today and shows the social and political role that Christianity has to play in an African context. He is also working on an upcoming manuscript, The Making of an African Christian Ethics: Bénézet Bujo and the Roman Catholic Moral Tradition, that explores the foundation of African communitarian ethics, where individuality is derived through the community.

In 2012, he received the Bi-Annual Prize in the field of Religion and Human Rights from the Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies for his contribution to human rights. Maina is also a reviewer and serves on the advisory board of the Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies. 

Degrees & Institutions

He received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. Augustine College, a bachelor’s of sacred theology from St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Nairobi, master’s degree in ethics from Boston College, and a master’s in philosophy and doctorate in theological studies from Fordham University.

Special Interests

Research Interests

• Religious Ethics
• African Religions
• Political and Liberation Ethics
• Medical Ethics
• Contemporary Systematics 

Teaching Interests

• Philosophy of Religion
• Introduction to Religion
• Perspectives on Religious Self
• Man Nature, and Value
• Medieval Thought

Keywords: African philosophy, biomedical ethics, philosophy of religion, communitarian ethics, Bénézet Bujo