Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR)
Vol-2, Issue-2 , 2016
ISSN : 2454-1362 , http://www.onlinejournal.in
Rationality and Ethics in Zara Yacob’s “Hatata”
Teshome Abera
Lecturer at Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, Ethiopia
(PhD) Research Scholar Kerala University
Abstract: Zara Yacob is a prominent Ethiopian
philosopher of the 17th century who transcended the
cultural forces of the time for arguing for the
rationality of the human heart. Through the
rationality of the heart Zara Yacob investigated
truth includes on the methods of knowing God,
discovery of truth, the obligation of human being
and the nature of human. Zara Yacob's “Hatata "
emerged as a critique of conventional beliefs on
religion and the nature of human reason. Such a
position argued for the unique nature of reason
residing in the human heart and the intrinsic
relation between human knowledge and everyday
moral problems. The method involved in this thesis
to study Zara Yacob’s rationality and Ethics in the
“Hatata” is philosophical method which depends on
the analysis of arguments with conceptual clarity,
logical analysis and validity. The study involved the
usage of rational techniques of analysis grounded on
the technique and principles of logic. In Zara
Yacob's philosophical approach, ‘the light of
reason’, ‘the goodness of created nature’ and ‘God
given intelligent’ are the cornerstones for
investigating the relation between rationality and
ethics. The basis of his famous ethical principle is
the ‘principle of harmony’ in which truth revealed in
the light of reason in the heart which is
complementary to the laws of nature. I argued that
Zara Yacob treatise revealed how Africans are
critically engaged with most significant
philosophical questions. Moreover, he is rationalist
philosopher who placed emphasis on reason or
intellect, by contrast with the senses, for acquiring
significant truth.
1. Introduction
For years debates has raged whether
Africa have a distinct written philosophical
tradition. This article will argue that there
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certainly is distinctive written philosophical
reflection in Africa. Zara Yacob’s attempt to
prove the existence of God, a critique of
different religions, the principle of harmony in
his rationality and ethical philosophy are good
examples of literate traditions in Africa.
Zara Yacob continually carried out the
investigation into truth, the existence of God
and ethical issues within the rationality of the
heart. In Zara Yacob’s philosophy the light of
reason in the heart plays decisive role in the
discovery of truth and the moral dimension of
human life.
There is vital evidence that Africa had
its own philosophy even in the ancient times.
Some Western scholars use this as evidence to
prove that Africans are intellectually inferior.
Ethiopia; as a country which is in Africa as a
continent is a cradle of mankind. In similar vein
there are evidence and heritages that suggest
that Africa is also a cradle of philosophy and
human civilization. The real problem that gave
rise to doubt is not because philosophy has not
existed in Africa but because on one hand there
has been no strong effort to bring out the
African oral and written philosophies to light,
and the flourishing and expansion of Western
philosophies and civilization shrouded and
obliterated African civilization including its
philosophy on the other hand. One of the
pressing and outstanding tasks for the
contemporary African scholars is to bring out to
light the oral and written philosophy in different
African cultures. This Article is intended to
explore Zara Yacob’s, Ethiopian philosopher,
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ISSN : 2454-1362 , http://www.onlinejournal.in
the rationality and ethical position as an effort to
add one to the development of African
philosophy.
2. Rationality and Ethics in “Hatata”
Zara Yacob (1599-1692) was born in
august 1599G.C. from a poor farmer family in
Northern Ethiopia; and a special place called
Aksum which was the ancient capital of
Ethiopia. He was educated in the Coptic
Christian faith. He also attended the traditional
school with the support of his father.
In the traditional school, Zara Yacob
became acquainted with Psalms of David. The
book of Psalm in the Bible is a book devoted to
giving praise or thanks to God. Zara Yacob’s
teacher observed that he is clever and
intelligent. He was reported this to his father to
send him for further education. He studied the
“Zema” (sacred music taught in church
schools), the “qene” (“poetry” or “hymns”),
and also the “Sewasew” (“The interpretation of
Scripture”) in Geez.
Zara Yacob lives in the time of civil and
religious unrest in Ethiopia. The main cause of
the unrest during the time was that king
Susenyos was persuaded by the Portuguese
Jesuits to convert from the orthodox to Catholic
religion. Zara Yacob avoided taking sides with
any religious faith. Instead, he tried to
understand things and connect them to the
reality. He reasoned that will is the critical
source of ethics and he concluded that God is
revealed to reason and discredited organized
religion as the way to know God.
Zara Yacob reflected his opinion on
followers of different faiths, because he
witnessed that followers of every religion
claimed as if their faith was correct and the
other’s faith was untrue. They were defending
their own faith is true while refusing other
faiths. Truth for them is interpreted according to
the believers’ individual faith.
Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR)
Once I asked a ‘Frang’ (or foreigner)
scholar many things concerning our faith:
he interpreted them all according to his own
faith. Afterwards I asked a well-known
Ethiopian scholar and he also interpreted
all things according to his own faith. If I had
asked the Mohammedans and the Jews, they
also would have interpreted according to
their own faith; then, where could I obtain a
judge that tells the truth? As my faith
appears to be true to me, so does another
one find his own faith true; but truth is one (
Zara Yacob in Sumner, 1985, 234)
Zara yacob’s intense enquiry confirmed
that truth and morality are universal and cannot
be attained through the directives of organized
religion. Since truth is one, the different "truths"
stated by isolated religions cannot be true. He
examined truth which is universally applicable.
The expression revealed how Zara
Yacob was questioned by the situation of
different people from diverse background.
According to him all are behaving in the way
they experienced life from their community or
faith. The frange (Foreigner) whom he asked
interpreted the Bible from the perspective of
their own faith, so as the Ethiopian scholars.
The same is true of the Mohammedans and the
Jews, because, they all interpreted according to
their own faith. This entire situation helped him
to find the truth by his own means; Zara Yacob
transcended the tradition of the society of his
time, searching for truth through rational
investigation. This is to mean that his rational
investigation of truth includes on the methods of
knowing God, discovery of truth, the obligation
of human being and the nature of human. Zara
Yacocb affirmed that any faith has to be
critically examined by our natural reason or
intelligence (Teodros1994:4). Philosopher Zara
Yacob further emphasized, without God’s
guidance, reason itself is incomplete. Believers
must subject their faith to critical self-
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inspection. Rather than deriving beliefs from
any structured religion. Zara Yacob required
the truth in observing the natural world.
Personal reasoning is prior to faith in God.
Regarding believers ZaraYacob argued that
“their heart is curdled because they assume what
they have heard from their predecessors they do
not inquire whether it is true or false” ( Zara
Yacob in Sumner1985: 234). This is not correct
for Zara Yacob, since, God has given intelligent
to think, we ourselves have to investigate what
is true and what is falsehood. Instead of
believing by what we heard from our father,
mother or other relatives, it is vital to inquire by
our Gods given intelligent through reasoning.
This is a common practice in Ethiopia, if we ask
many believers why you belong to this and that
faith. They reply that they inherited the religion
from their descendants and considered, it is the
mere truth and real as they heard from their
forefather and descended to them. Most people
did not say this is the correct, one because of
this and that factors. The reason is that they did
not investigate the truth by the “light of reason”
given to them by God. They did not search the
truth by their own effort through critical
examination. It is possible to say the majority of
believer even at present believe in faith that they
inherited from their predecessors, and it is this
faith that they consider true. They did not by
themselves critically examined by natural
reason or intelligent. Zara Yacob wrote “God
did not create me intelligent without purpose
…” (Zara Yacob in Sumner1985: 235). God
give intelligent to human being to critically
examine the hidden nature of things. Zara
Yacob is rationalist philosopher because for
him, it is the light of reason, which is vital for
the investigation of truth. In other word
according to him, it is not what we gain through
experiences by inheriting from others which is
true. ZaraYacob rejected approving or validating
truth or religion on the basis of being told by
others. He claimed to believe in following one's
natural reasoning (“light of our heart”) instead
of believing what one is told by others. This
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implies Zara Yacob has recognized that nature
and reason are good because they are created by
God and thus nature and reason would serve as
the criteria for searching truth. According to
ZaraYacob human beings are the master of their
action and can find out what is true from false
hood through reason alone. Zara Yacob
declared that “Nothing should be accepted
without being tested by intelligent or natural
reasoning” (Teodros1994:4). It is reason that
shed light on the mysterious section of human
thought. The good and evil can be revealed for
ZaraYacob when “God indeed has illuminated
the heart of man with understanding by which
he can see the good and evil” ( Zara Yacob in
Sumner 1985:237). It is through this light that is
placed in our heart that we can distinguish what
is true from false hold, it is because this light is
always correct and does not deceives us.
“Moreover there are many other things
which agree with our reason and are
necessary for our life or for the existence
of mankind. We ought to observe them,
because such is the will of our creator,
and we ought to know that God does not
create us perfect but creates us with
such a reason as to know that we are to
strive for perfection as long as we live in
this world, and to be worthy for the
reward that our creator has prepared for
us in his wisdom” ( Zara Yacob in
Sumner1985:242).
There is nothing that can be hidden to
the human being, if they use the light in their
heart. This light has the capacity to know God,
including many other things. It is reason alone
for Zara Yacob that can give human being
access to God (Verharen 2013:71).
Zara Yacob confidently related the capacity of
reason and the will to choice. “..to the person
who seeks it, truth is immediately revealed.
Indeed he who investigates with the pure
intelligence set by the Creator in the heart of
each man and scrutinizes the order and laws of
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creation, will discover the truth.”( Zar aYacob
in Sumner1985:236). It is the responsibility of
each individual to investigate with the pure
intelligence that God places in the heart. It is by
respecting the order and laws of creation that we
can find out truth. Thus, for those who prefer
truth; agree to seek it with our reason which
God has given us, so that with it we may see
that which is needed for us from among all the
provisions of nature. We cannot, however, reach
truth through the dogma of men, because all
men are liars. If, on the opposite, we choose
falsehood, the order of the Architect (God) and
the natural law forced on the whole of nature do
not pass away, but ourselves that pass away by
our own fault. “ZaraYacob has identified that
nature and reason are good because they are
created by God and thus nature and reason
would serve as the criteria for assessing
truth.”(Habte2012:135).
Ethiopia’s philosopher ZeraYacob is,
therefore, a rationalist philosopher, who
advocated reason as the critical resolver of
disputes.
ZaraYacob’ reasoned out that “faith and
rationality are inseparable because God is
personified in absolute reasonableness and the
only everlasting thing in this world is the
knowledge of God (Tassew 2004:5). Zara
Yacob rejected validating truth or religion
because people believe by what is told by others
not by what they get through the “light of
reason” in their heart. Here, Zara Yacob’s
thought help to understand how humanism
failed to think and act in a rational way but
through blind belief, by what is told by others.
In contrary to this popular belief, he explained
that truth is revealed to human being only
through reason because religion is exposed to
reason by following the light of our heart that
we are created with. According to Zara Yacob it
is not correct to accept simply what we heard
from others, we have to make critical
examination “hence people hastily accept what
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they have heard from their fathers and shy from
any (critical) examination (Zara Yacob in
Sumner 1985:235). ZaraYacob required the
need for critical examination for the things that
we heard from others to accept or not accept.
His emphasized the need to investigate the
contents of the Bible and Korean through the
light of reason in our heart. Because there are
many issues that need critical examination in
both the Bible and Korean.“Zar’a Ya’qub go so
far as to claim that reason alone can give access
to God –scripture including the Bible and
Korean contain much that is false in the light of
reason”(Verharen 213.71).
Zara Yacob believe that faith is not
superior to reason but can become superior to
reason, if it is first examined and passed the test
of natural reason. By recognizing ZaraYacob as
inspiring rationalist philosophical figure, we
may more genuinely appreciate his true
philosophical contribution. He is rationalist
because rationalism regards reason as the chief
source and test of knowledge. ZaraYacob also
believes in reason as the chief source of
knowledge. He posits the need for critical
examination to establish truth. According to
Zara Yacob, light of reason, this is vital for
investigating truth. For him, everything,
including belief (faith) must be subjected to
rational inspection before it is accepted.
Rationality is the exercise of reason unlike the
empiricists who holds that all knowledge of
matters of fact ultimately derives from
experience. Unlike empiricists but like
rationalist Zara Yacob holds reason to be a
faculty that can lay hold of truths.
Like any philosophical figure, Zara
Yacob must be understood in light of his time,
meaning in the cultural and religious forces of
the time. Taking this in to consideration, it is
possible to say that Zara Yacob initially and
resourcefully apprehended the culture and
religious forces of the time, and tried to
transform them in to more rationalistic
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philosophical thought. By so doing, he laid the
foundation for rationalistic philosophy. Zara
Yacobs philosophy is a philosophy that created
a rational and critical foundation for concepts
passed down by Ethiopian communities; he
critically examined many issues including ideas
such as the nature of the Supreme Being, the
meaning of equality, and other issues discussed
in his “Hatata”. All the issues that were
discussed by the philosopher in his “Hatata” are
based on reason. I maintained that, Zara Yacobs
work is rational in nature in addition it is ironic,
rhetorical and self-reflexive. Zara Yacob
strongly believes that, the light of reason in our
heart is an authoritative for investigating truth.
The mysterious state of human thinking is
illuminated through reason alone. That is why
Zara Yacob is considered a rationalist
philosopher. For Zara Yacob true faith is always
reasonable or rational or should be reliable with
reason, if reason is also directed at seeking truth.
Refusing to accept the catholic faith,
Zara Yacob fled in to a cave nearby Tekeze
River taking with him some gold, the Book of
Psalms and stayed there for two years in
seclusion. The Book of Psalms helped him for
mediating and praying in the cave. Zara Yacob
stayed in seclusion for two years in the cave. In
the meantime, King Susenyos abdicated because
of his imposition of Catholic religion
(Habte2012:133, Sumner1985:247 and
Daniel1995:31). His son Fasilades reigned in his
place. Fasilades did not harass the Copts and;
this brought peace all over Ethiopia
(Sumner1985:247 and Daniel1995:31). After
the death of King Susenyos, Zara Yacob came
out of the cave, the small town of Enfranze,
nearby Byegamder1(Daniel1995:31).
Byegamder is currently known by the name
Gonder. He found supporter, a rich merchant
named Habte Egziabher (Habtu).
1 Daniel’s book is the Amharic translations of
Zara Yacob work written in Geez
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After spending a day with Habtu,
ZaraYacob asked him a paper to write letter for
his relatives living in Aksum. Habtu asked
ZaraYacob and said that “Are you an expert at
writing?” Zara Yacob answered that: “he is.”
Habtu felt happy and asked Zara Yacob to stay
with him for a few days and to copy Psalter of
Psalms. ZaraYacob agreed and heartily thanked
God for leading him the way by which he could
live from the fruits of his work. It is because
Habtu asked him not for free, but with payment.
This is one of ZaraYacob’s ethical principles,
respecting living by the fruit of work which I
will discuss later. By recognizing Zara Yacob as
inspiring philosophical figure, I may more
genuinely appreciate his true philosophical
contribution, in the traditional classification of
philosophy, one of which is the great
contribution he has made to the knowledge of
ethics.
Zara Yacob wrote of his experience, in
the cave “I have learn more while living alone
in a cave than when I was living with scholars.
What I wrote in this book is very little; but in
my cave I have meditated on many other such
things."(Zara Yacob in Sumner 1985: 244). We
can infer from what he wrote; there are many
things that Zara Yacob mediated while he was
in the cave but what he wrote is only some of
them. I thought he addressed in his treaties only
some of the important points that he may
consider vital for humankind, to live peaceful
life in harmony with the order of nature created
by God.
From what he wrote in “Hatata”, it is possible
to say that parts of them are ethical philosophy.
From these ethical views according to Zara
Yacob there are two kinds of law: The Law of
God and the Law of human. For human beings
to be self-governing in the sphere of moral life,
they have to always check with the law of God.
Truth cannot be reached by affairs of
humankind only. This is one of his ethical
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principles which can be discussed in relation to
human nature. Zara Yacob advised, God has
given human being the right to exercise his own
will power. Then it is up to humankind to
choose from truth over false hood. The problem
is when human beings rely on themselves
leaving aside the law of God; they got confused
of what is true from falsehood. ZaraYacob
wrote “we cannot, however reach truth through
the doctrine of men, for all men are liars” ( Zara
Yacob in Sumner1985:240). Human beings
when they are unassisted by God’s given reason
they are unable to decide on truth over
falsehood (Teodros1994:7). Mankind is liars,
and therefore, it is difficult to reach at truth
through the dogma of humankind. The lies of
man destroy the natural character and the order
of things created by God. If humankind are
guided by the dogma of themselves, they not
only destroy the order of the Creator but also
themselves. Then, to avoid such falsehood God
has given reason to humankind that enables
them to choose and search for truth. It is the
obligation of humankind to respect the order of
God. It is because “God sustains the world by
his order which he himself has established…
because the order of God is stronger than the
order of men” ( Zara Yacob in
Sumner1985:240). “Zera Yacob is well known
for his philosophy on ethics that consider a
universe created by God who is good, as are all
creations including reason and nature. The
criteria used for ethical behavior is then to bring
(ameliorate, nudge) policies to be in harmony
with nature” (Habte2012:134).
Zara Yacob’s ethics dedicated, on
looking for harmony with nature that is created
by God which is good. In this ethical philosophy
for which Zara Yacob is most noted was the
principle of harmony. In this principle his
investigation led him to the description that
there is a need for good practice because good
practice encourages health, stability and
happiness, but lack of good practice results in
instability. So according to Zara Yacob “God
Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR)
created man to be the master of his actions, so
that he will be what he will to be, good or bad”
(Zara Yacob in Sumner1985:235). But if the
action of humankind is conflicting to the law of
God, mankind will receive punishment that he
deserves for his weakness.
He also instructs that all humans are
equal in the face of God. “All men are equal in
the presence of God; and all are intelligent ,
since they are his creatures; he did not assign
one people for life ,another for death, one for
mercy, another for judgment”(Zara Yacob in
Sumner1985:239). God is perfect in His work
and discrimination cannot exist in the sight of
God. Zara Yacob strongly believes that
discrimination among humankind is the work of
humankind not God’s work. All men are equal,
the truth is that all mankind are the creatures of
one God, and in His estimate all are human and
are destined to die. We hold these truths to be
self-evident; it is our reason that tells us, that all
men are created equal. “Our reason teaches us
that this sort of discrimination cannot exist in
the sight of God, who is perfect in all his works”
(Ibid).
The other question that concerns Zara
Yacob is the rights of women and their equality
with men. In his time, it was held that woman
and man were not equal. But for him it is well
established that mankind and womankind as parts
of composite humankind are equal and that no
difference in estimate is acceptable, for all are
human being.
The other ethical principle, which was
dictated by Zara Yacob is respecting living by
the fruit of work. The values of work in both
Zara Yacob and his disciple occupies a large
segments of their respective treaties, and it also
be presented as a reaction against established
custom (Sumner 1978:217). It is a reaction
against the prevalent custom because; in ancient
and medieval Ethiopia manual labor and
technical trade are not respected. Zara Yacob
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arguments to the foundation of wok and
requirements are related to God. In “Enfranze”
while Habtu the rich man gave him to copy the
Plaster of David and teaches his sons Zara
Yacob “He not only praise God to bless his
work, but actually live from the fruit of his
work” (Ibid).
Zara Yacob listed in his treaties those
practices and order by Pentateuch, Christian and
Islam which he consider violates the order of
Creation and the law of God. They are against
his ethical principle of harmony, which violates
the goodness of created being. Such practices
are performed by the religious tents associated
with fasting, sex, and marriage, the idea of
Moses on uncleanness and Mohamed on
slavery.
Zara Yacob indicated that, it has been
ordained by God for man and women to unite
and give birth for the continuation of generation.
This cannot be impure, because it is the work of
God, which willed by Himself in the law of
creation. But God establishes proper way of
dealing with the intercourse. He refused to live
as a monk and stated that "the law of Christians
which propounds the superiority of monastic life
over marriage is false and can’t come from
God"(Zara Yacob in 1985:236). He married the
maidservant of his master’s family. He also
rejected polygamy because he believes that "the
law of creation orders one man to marry one
woman."(ibid).
Other issue which Zara Yacob considers
against the order of Creation; and law of nature
is the idea of impurity by Moses. According to
Zara Yacob menstruation is the creation of God,
it is against the creation of God and the law of
nature to consider all what the women with
menstruation touch is impure. Zara Yacob also
refused Mohamed’s idea of slavery which stated
by Mohammed that, ‘it is correct to buy a man
as animal’. Zara Yacob rejected this idea
because it is to equate human being with animal.
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Hence, Moses and Mohamed idea for Zara
Yacob violates the order of Creation and the law
of nature.
According to Zara Yacob there are those
who recognized by the light of our intelligent
and respect the order of Creation and the law of
nature; like the Golden rule, killing, stealing,
lying and adultery has to be forbidden, but
earning by the fruits of work, monogamous
marriage and educating children are important
in his ethical principle of harmony, they are in
favor of the order of God.
Zara Yacob wrote about the “weakness’’
of the priests as one reason for his refusal of
returning to Aksum; because if they found him
he thought that, they killed him, and he
preferred to go to Enfranze in Gonder to flee
from them . He explained the weakness of the
priest in this way “Moreover our reason says:
Do not do unto others that which you do not like
to be done to you, but do unto others as you
would like others to do unto you” ( Zara Yacob
inSumner 1985:242). This implies that, there is
a need for respecting one another even though
we are different in our faith for Zara Yacob. The
universal values and virtues that contribute to
the good of society and affirm our human
dignity are derived from the value of respect.
Like all other known philosophers, Zara
Yacob looks at the world in wonder. He seeks
the underlying meaning of things; he wants to
understand and codify it into a system of
thought which is “Hatata”. “Hatata” refers “to
question bit by bit, piece-meal; to search into or
through, to investigate accurately; to examine;
to inspect"(Sumner, 1985:225 and
Habte2012:134). It was in 1667 that with Walda
Heywat’s request, Zara Yacob wrote his short
treatise (“Hatata”), which was considered the
first auto-biography and the first philosophical
work in Ethiopia. The work of Zara Yacob is an
absolutely original work (Sumner 1985:224). In
his treatise or “Hatata”, Zara Yacob begins with
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the story of his life. It is the only autobiography
in Ethiopic literature (Sumner 2004: 173). His
work is not translation or adoption from foreign
sources. Through this autobiographical act,
Zara Yacob becomes the first self-conscious
founder of a philosophical tradition in Ethiopia
(Teodros2004, 183).
No doubt, in the time ZaraYacob live,
Ethiopian’s life was a religious dominate life,
but Zara Yacob was living philosophical life,
which must be assumed in light of his own age.
Yet within this realm, Zara Yacob initially and
creatively seized the contingent cultural and
religious forces of his day, and refashioned them,
by transforming them into rationalistic
philosophical system. By so doing, he laid the
basis for a significant historical transition,
fostering the growth of Ethiopian rationalism. He
was philosophizing on many other things but
wrote to us only part of them in his
“Hatata”(Sumner 1985: 244). But what he wrote
in his treatise is rationalistic and ethical
consideration. To conclude, Zara Yacob is an
inspiring symbol, we may genuinely appreciate
his real impact for Ethiopian and African
philosophical thought. I consider Zara Yacob as a
genuine philosopher who transcended the social
setting of his time and laid the foundation for
rational and ethical thinking.
3. Conclusion
Zara Yacob, the subject of this article
lived in the 17th century, in Ethiopia. He has
made great contribution to the comprehension of
ethics and rationality, though there has been
intense academic debate on the question whether
or not philosophy existed in Africa. Some scholars
doubted the existence of philosophy in Africa
before the advent of colonialism in the light of
which Western scholars portrayed Africans as
intellectually inferior and culturally backward on
one hand and ascribed to themselves the mission
of civilizing the latter. Zara Yacob's work
disproved the belief of the Western, which claims
that Africa has no history and philosophy. In the
Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR)
attempt for a cultural supremacy in a world of
globalization where philosophy is the
manifestation of the higher aspects of a given
culture, exposing Zara Yacob’s philosophical
system contributes to self-affirmation. His
treatises reveal that Africa is one part of the
universal dialogue on the human condition.
In the written tradition of Philosophy in
Africa, Zara Yacob is certainly the prominent
symbol. This treatise disproved those who claim
that there is no philosophy in Africa. Zara
Yacob's thought and action are indicative of his
original contribution for philosophy. His thought
represents a systematized account of issue of
reality, knowledge and values, whereas his life as
exhibited in the “Hatata” is one of the dialogue
and mutual search for the truth. Zara Yacob’s
“Hatata” will also be situated in the rationality
debates in African philosophy and in establishing
the existence of Ethiopian philosophy in
particular.
4. References
1. Daniel, W. (1995). "Mesehafe Felsefina
"(Hatata), written by ZeraYacob,
Amharic version), Addis Ababa.
2. Habte, C. (2012). Philosopher
ZereYacob (1599-1692). Ethiopia e-
Journal for Research and Innovation
Foresight Vol. 4, No 2, pp. (131-139).
3. Sumner, C. (1985). “Classical Ethiopian
Philosophy”. Addis Ababa, AA:
Commercial Printing Press,
4. Sumner, C. (2004). The Light and the
Shadow: Zera Yacob and Walda
Heywat: Two Ethiopian Philosophers of
the Seventeenth Century. In Wiredu and
Abraham, (Eds.). A Companion to
African Philosophy (PP.172-182).
Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
5. Tassew Asfaw (2004). The Contribution
of Native Ethiopian Philosophers, Zara
Yacob and Wolde Hiwot, to Ethiopian
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ISSN : 2454-1362 , http://www.onlinejournal.in

Philosophy. Essay Competition. Addis

Ababa: Submitted to Department of
Philosophy, Unpublished manuscript.
6. Teodros Kiros(2004) . “Zera Yacob and
Traditional Ethiopian Philosophy". In K.
Wiredu (Ed.), A Companion to African
Philosophy (PP.183-211). Malden, MA:
Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
7. Verharen C.Charles (2013). “Sage
Philosophy, Rationality and Science:
The case of Ethiopia”. In B. Gu tema
and C. Verharen(Eds.). African
Philosophy, Cultural Heritage and
Contemporary Change Series II. Africa,
Volume 15 (pp. 69-94). USA: The
Council for Research in Values and
Philosophy.

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