Prof. Abraham Olivier
Short-Term Fellow
March 2025
Bio
Abraham Olivier is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Fort Hare and the Founder and Chair of the Centre for African Phenomenology (CAP). He obtained his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tübingen. His research focuses on phenomenology, the philosophy of mind, and African philosophy, with a regional emphasis on South Africa. His research explores topics related to pain, contingency, recognition, and enactivist African philosophy.
Olivier is the author of Being in Pain and has edited works such as Phenomenology in an African Context (2023) and Social and Political Theories of Recognition (2024). He has also contributed to special issues in prominent journals, including The Southern Journal of Philosophy, The Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology, Angelaki and Theoria. He also served as the Editor-in-Chief of the South African Journal of Philosophy (2011–2014). He has played a significant role in advancing phenomenology in Africa and is the founder and main organizer of the annual Wild Coast Philosophy Symposium.
Research
Phenomenology, Philosophy of Mind, African Philosophy
Regions
South Africa
Languages
English, German
books
Existence and Crisis (co-edited with J. Sands and A. Chimakonam), Journal of World Philosophies, forthcoming.
Social and Political Theories of Recognition (co-edited with C. Allsobrook), Theoria, 181, Vol. 71, No. 4 (December 2024), pp. 136-160.
Phenomenology in an African Context, (co-edited with M.J. Lamola and J. Sands), Albany: SUNY PRESS, 2023.
Philosophy and Laughter, special issue of Southern Journal of Philosophy, Volume 58, Issue 4 (Dec 2020), pp. 487-672.
The African Other: Philosophy, Justice and the Self, New York / London: Routledge, 2020.
Being in Pain, Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2007.
Articles
“Phenomenology of Contingency: Reflections on More’s African Phenomenology,” South African Journal of Philosophy (forthcoming).
“Nietzsche on the communal power of suffering,” in Building Africa’s Future on African Philosophy, Lauer, H., Yitah, H. (eds), special issue of UTAFITI (forthcoming).
“The Recognition of Animal Pain: Phenomenological Reflections,” Theoria 181, Vol. 71, No. 4 (December 2024): pp. 136-160.
“Enactivist African Philosophy: A Response,” in Philosophia Africana, Vol. 22:1 (2023), pp. 10-22.
“The Social Dimension of Pain,” in Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 23 (2024), pp. 375–408.
Journals
South African Journal of Philosophy (Editor-in-Chief, 2011-2014)
Links
