African Philosophy & the Enlightenment | Philosophy Tube

Ethiopian philosopher Zera Yacob came up with philosophy that prefigured Enlightenment thinkers Hume, Descartes, Locke, Kant, and the US Founding Fathers! Once lost to history, now his ideas about God and ethics can be celebrated and learned!

Twitter: @PhilosophyTube

Recommended Reading:
Zera Yacob, The Hatata

If you or your organisation would like to financially support Philosophy Tube in distributing philosophical knowledge to those who might not otherwise have access to it in exchange for credits on the show, please get in touch!

Any copyrighted material should fall under fair use for educational purposes or commentary, but if you are a copyright holder and believe your material has been used unfairly please get in touch with us and we will be happy to discuss it.

[ContraPoints]

I was in academic philosophy for four years and this is the first I've heard of this person.

[mintcarouselchannelabandon]

you: "What do you think? Leave your answers in the comments below!"
Yacob, an Intellectual: "I entreat any wise and inquisitive man who may come after I am dead to add his thoughts to mine."

[SimonCadel]

It's really a shame how little we are taught about Africa, not just in philosophy, but history and culture. I wonder if the growing popularity of afro-futurism like in Black Panther will cause more people to become interested

[abeldegefu]

by the way Zera Yakob is so famous here in Ethiopia, the pictures you use in the video are from ethiopian churches, that is very nice!!

[abeldegefu]

its a surprise for me because i am a university student from Ethiopia...u inspire me to do more on zera yacob, and i have no words to thank u, i will arrange a program for the students to see this video in a Hall.

[Kangaru]

Zera Yacob was not born in the Kingdom of Aksum! He was born in Abyssinia (the Ethiopian Empire), but near the city of Aksum. The kingdom of Aksum collapsed in the 10th century.

[ericvilas]

I hope Yacob gets the Tesla treatment and in upcoming years gets his work recognized by society at large.

[BRDSQUAD]

You know if you want to continue on this then I read a bit about Nana Asma’u, who was kind of like a 18th century suffragette. Advocating for women's rights to be educated. It was kinda cool and it shows once more how Europe isn't the only place with good philosophy.

[Zefal]

Very nice video, but there is one thing that is bothering me in the title. Why would you name the video "African philosophy" while only talking about one philosopher? It feels like this title is reducing African philosophy to Zera Yacob, who, however brilliant he may have been, does not represent all the traditions found in an entire continent.
But this is a small detail, the video itself is still a very nice insight into this thinker!

[borggus]

A slight error in history. Yacob was not from the kingdom of Axum he was from the city of axum. The kingdom had been gone centuries before Yacob was born. Saying Yacob is from the kingdom of axum is like saying Michelangelo lived in the roman empire.

[bgiv]

I've been looking for series about African philosophy, in the same capacity that European, Asian, and even Aboriginal American philosophies are explored, for years. Thank you for bringing this to the larger stage. Hopefully others will follow suit.

[SeanTheDon]

Amazing video Ollie. In the top 5 for me, being an African American creates the feeling of Double Consciousness in many situations including philosophical. I’ve faced many criticism on focusing only on European enlightenment thinkers. You’ve opened my eyes to someone new and refreshing.

[Xidnaf]

I would very much like to know if or to what extent Zera Yacob is currently read and studied in Ethiopia and Africa in general. I always thought that what was important about Descartes and Hume and Locke wasn't the ideas they had or when they had them, but the quantity of people who came to share their ideas and their impact on their cultures. Hence, of course the most widely studied philosophers would be white and European. Colonialism's tendency to spread European ideas would inevitably make it the case that the many of the most important philosophers would be European. But like I said, I honestly don't know how much of people's thought in Ethiopia is derived from European philosophers and how much comes from philosophers from the region. It turned out not to be an easy thing to google just now.

[phil_]

Aaah! It's amazing to finally see Zera Yacob getting the recognition he deserves. Amazing thinker. Still trying to find a copy of the Hatata though...

[wordsofdv]

"Morally speaking, they were impoverished." That was the most savage thing someone has said about European Philosophers. Love!

[Anele]

As an African and casual lover of philosophy, that last line brought tears to my eyes. I feel challenged.

[stefanlamb]

This is why PhilosophyTube is so important. I'd have never encountered Yacob without this video.

[lizucavictoria]

This is a welcome department from euro-centric philosophy. I hope we'll see more international philosophers.

[ane]

I’d just like to thank you for making this video. I’m Zimbabwean and black and went to a predominantly white university in South Africa for two years. I loved philosophy as a module but it mainly focused on Western philosophers. It was alright but it does make you feel like “so my people weren’t THIS smart? So I’m not THIS smart?” That sort of thing. And now I’m at a university in Zimbabwe and being forced to also look at African philosophers. I feel so empowered and... smart😂.
But yes- thank you. You’re needed in the world:)

[Q-BOT]

Thanks for shining some light on Zera Yacob. Like so many others, I've never heard of him before.