Greetings friends,
I want to share something that has brought me a lot of joy and quiet pride. Over the past few years, it seems I may have helped inspire a new literary and philosophical genre — what I call Ubuntu Stoicism, and what others refer to as Afro-StoicismorAfrican Stoicism.
I first used the phrase Ubuntu Stoicism in an article I wrote some years back. Later, I expanded that thinking into my book Introducing Ubuntu Stoicism. What I didn’t expect was how widely the idea would resonate.
And just to be clear: I don’t claim to be the first person to view Stoicism through an African lens. Our ancestors lived with discipline, courage, restraint, and meaning — they were warriors who practiced their own forms of stoic philosophy long before it had a name. My work simply gives modern language to something I believe is deeply rooted in our cultures.
A Book That Grew Without Promotion
When Introducing Ubuntu Stoicism: Gain Joy, Resilience, Productivity, and Defuse Anxiety came out in 2022, I did no launch tour or marketing push. Yet the book kept selling — quietly, steadily, every week.
Three years later, it’s still being discovered globally on Amazon and across online spaces like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit, where quotes from the book circulate on their own.
The book blends:
- the internal resilience of Greek Stoicism, and
- the communal humanity of Ubuntu
…into a distinctly African approach to living well.
Unexpected Global Attention
The philosophy has been cited by lifestyle, business, leadership, academic and Stoicism publications, and even reached the Obama Foundation.
Professor Letlhokwa Mpedi, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg, wrote about the book in Forbes Africa.
Writers like Kwame Otieno Bala have referenced it, and according to the Global Philosophy Trends Report (2025), global interest in Ubuntu-Stoic practices has grown by 150%.
I also released an NFT edition during launch — my way of experimenting with digital publishing — and was later invited to speak at the Plato’s Academy Centre. Anya Leonard from Classical Wisdom eventually wrote the book’s Foreword.
Why Ubuntu Stoicism Resonates
For me, Ubuntu Stoicism is simple:
- It’s the balance between inner calm and communal contribution.
- It’s harmonizing self-discipline with shared humanity.
- It’s intentional living rooted in dignity.
- A philosophy that is at once modern and ancient.