Who was Zera Yacob?

Who was Zera Yacob?

Ethiopian philosopher Zera Yacob is one of those names that should be recognized in classical liberal thought for expressing the beginnings of the core tenets when those in Europe were expressing similar ideas. In his own words, Yacob was “the son of a poor farmer” whose father would send him to school at a young age.

What happened to Yacob yawmazey?

Yacob perished in 1692, his death only being recorded thanks to Heywat in an annotation to Hatata. Ethiopia’s quasi-classical liberal doesn’t have much to offer today as far as new philosophical arguments, but more so serves as a lesson that for philosophy to flourish, people must have the freedom to pursue it.

What does Yacob write about in his Hatäta?

In his Hatäta, Yacob criticises his contemporaries for not thinking independently, but rather accepting the claims of astrologers and soothsayers just because their predecessors did so. As a contrast, he recommends an enquiry based on scientific rationality and reason – as every human is born with intelligence and is of equal worth.

What is the nature of human nature according to Yacob?

Yacob’s views on human nature also are akin to those of renaissance philosopher Thomas Aquinas, for both believe that humans tend to do bad deeds, and they can only perfect their natures by pursuing their faith. He believed “the nature of humans, when they resort to themselves only, is not sufficiently adequate to be enabling.