Jonathan Egid taught philosophy at SOAS, University of London and received his PhD in Philosophy from King’s College London in June 2024, writing a thesis on a 17th century Ethiopian philosopher named Zärʾa Yaʿǝqob and the question of whether or not he existed. His research focuses on the connections between philosophy in Africa, Asia and Europe in the early modern period, as well as questions of the translation and the historiography of philosophy. He has held research fellowships at the Freie Universität in Berlin and Addis Ababa University. His first edited volume (with Lea Cantor of Cambridge and Fasil Merawi of Addis Ababa), In Search of Zärʾa Yaʿǝqob was published by De Gruyter in September, and a second volume is under contract with Oxford University Press. 

Research interests and PhD supervision

• Ge'ez Literature
• Ethiopian Philosophy
• The Connected History of Philosophy
• The Philosophy of Translation
• Literature in Modern Languages of the Horn of Africa

Teaching

I teach broadly across the history of philosophy and literature, focusing especially here at King's on Ethiopian literature in Ge'ez and literatures in other languages of the Horn of Africa: Amharic, Tigrinya and Somali. 

Expertise and public engagement

I regularly publish essays on philosophy, art and politics in the Times Literary Supplement, Literary Review and elsewhere. Many of them can be found here.

I was a BBC New Generation Thinker for 2024, and feature on BBC Radio programs like Free Thinking and The Essay, including this, on my doctoral research.

I also run a podcast and interview series on philosophy in lesser studied languages at Philosophising In.

Selected publications

• In Search of Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob: On the Authenticity and Authorship of the Ḥatäta Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob & the Ḥatäta Walda Heywat. Co-edited with Lea Cantor (Cambridge) and Dr. Fasil Merawi (Addis Ababa). De Gruyter. 2024
• Hegel and the Hatäta Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob: Africa in the Philosophy of History and the History of Philosophy. Hegel Bulletin. Published online: 1-24, 2024
• How does Philosophy Learn to Speak a New Language? Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice. 31:1, 104-118. 2023
• Neoplatonic Voyaging – Essay on the Global Journey of Neoplatonism. The Philosopher. Spring 2025
• ‘An Ethiopian Lucretius’: Giusto da Urbino and the Origins of the Ḥatäta Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob Controversy. Forthcoming in the Journal of the History of Ideas with Lea Cantor