Zera Yacob (philosopher)

Zera Yacob (/ˈzɛrə ˈjækoʊb/; Ge'ez: ዘርዐ ያዕቆብ; 28 August 1600 – 1693) was an Ethiopian philosopher best known for his treatise, Hatata ("The Inquiry"), which explores themes of reason, morality, and religious tolerance. Forced into exile, he wrote Hatata while living in a cave, where he reflected on questions of faith, ethics, and the nature of truth. Yacob was educated in the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian tradition but developed a distinct philosophical approach that emphasized rational inquiry over religious dogma.

For centuries, Geʽez texts had been written in Ethiopia. Around 1510, Abba Mikael translated and adapted the Arabic Book of the Wise Philosophers, a collection of sayings from the early Greek Pre-Socratics, Plato, and Aristotle via the neo-Platonic dialogues, also influenced by Arab philosophy and the Ethiopian discussions.

Zera Yacob's Inquiry goes further than these former texts, as he argues for following one's natural reasoning instead of believing what one is told by others. He was a contemporary of the female activist Walatta Petros, whose biography was written in 1672.