His five constant virtues that are most referred to are benevolence, righteousness, trustworthiness, propriety, and wisdom. His thought has influenced academics, especially those working in communication studies, anthropology, psychology, sociology, criminology, cultural studies, literary theory, feminism, Marxism and critical theory. Thomas Hobbes(c. 1669 1670) by John Michael Wright, located in the National Portrait Gallery in London, United Kingdom;John Michael Wright, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. David Hume was a Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, historian, economist, librarian and essayist, who is best known today for his highly influential system of philosophical empiricism, skepticism, and naturalism. We shall be exploring the important philosophers from antiquity as well as modern philosophers. As a consequence of these ideas, Hume would be among the first major thinkers to refute dogmatic religious and moral ideals in favor of a more sentimentalist approach to human nature. Thats why we call this a Study Starter. Today we will be discovering the philosophers names that have left their mark on the school of philosophy. David Hume is regarded as one of historys most important philosophers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Sir Francis Bacon, Locke is equally important to social contract theory. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. In this essay, he maintained that society, like the material realm, has its own set of rules. Whether or not his thought led to the terrible Campaign of Terror that succeeded the French Revolution remains a question. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the late nineteenth century, one of the most influential philosophers of the United States, and the Father of American psychology. And ideas expressed just by those included here fill untold volumes of writing. Nietzsches writing spans philosophical polemics, poetry, cultural criticism, and fiction while displaying a fondness for aphorism and irony. Leibniz was a prolific author, and his whole writings have yet to be fully gathered. In fact, one version of his biography implies he may well have been a direct mentor to the Buddha (or, in some versions, was the Buddha himself). Mill was also a proponent of utilitarianism, which holds that the best action is one that maximizes utility, or stated more simply, one that provide the greatest benefit to all. He was also a diplomat, politician, political theorist, historian, dramatist, and humanist writer. From its ashes would rise a new socialist system, a classless society where all participants (as opposed to just wealthy private owners) have access to the means for production. There are lot of colorful narratives surrounding Lao-Tzu, some of which are almost certainly myth. Upon arriving in London, Marx took up work with fellow German Friedrich Engels. 12 Jean-Jacques Rousseau 13 John Locke 14 Thomas Hobbes 15 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon He was a great influence for Marx, and yet Proudhon's ideas were even better. In short, it consolidates a dualist vision of reality. Confucianism would engage in historic push-pull with the philosophies of Buddhism and Taoism, experiencing ebbs and flows in influence, its high points coming during the Han (206 BCE220 CE), Tang (618907 CE), and Song (9601296 CE) Dynasties. He was regarded as the smartest man on earth because he did not profess to know anything important. There is controversy as to the relationship between his philosophy and his Nazism. Portrait of John Locke(1697) by Godfrey Kneller, located in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia; Godfrey Kneller, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Leibniz 6. Many of the Chinese classic literature, including all of the Five Classics, is generally attributed to Confucius, although current academics are wary of attributing particular pronouncements to Confucius himself. J.S. Julien Josset, founder. While it is sometimes noted in his defense that Machiavelli himself did not live according to these principles, this Machiavellian philosophy is often seen as a template for tyranny and dictatorship, even in the present day. Aristotle is among the most important and influential thinkers and teachers in human history, often considered alongside his mentor, Plato to be a father of Western Philosophy. Born in the northern part of ancient Greece, his writings and ideas on metaphysics, ethics, knowledge, and methodological inquiry are at the very root of human thought. Confucius saw himself as a broadcaster of ideals from past eras that he felt had been forgotten in his own. He proposed a notion of the self as a blank page, with understanding and character developing only from collected experience, in his works. And because Socrates is best known as a teacher of thought and insight, it is perhaps appropriate that his most widely recognized contribution is a way of approaching education that remains fundamentally relevant even today. The name Aquinas identifies his ancestral origins in the county of Aquino in present-day Lazio, Italy. In his theology, he insists on the absolute freedom of Gods act of creation. Writing on an enormous breadth of subjects, from history, religion and science to art, culture and the tragedies of Greek and Roman Antiquity, Nietzsche wrote with savage wit and a love of irony. He is one of the major figures associated with post-structuralism and postmodern philosophy. Advocated a view called historical materialism, arguing for the demystification of thought and idealism in favor of closer acknowledgement of the physical and material actions shaping the world; Argued that societies develop through class struggle, and that this would ultimately lead to the dismantling of capitalism; Characterized capitalism as a production system in which there are inherent conflicts of interest between the bourgeoisie (the ruling class), and the proletariat (the working class), and that these conflicts are couched in the idea that the latter must sell their labor to the former for wages that offer no stake in production. It does not store any personal data. Argued that conceptual confusion about language is the basis for most intellectual tension in philosophy; Asserted that the meaning of words presupposes our understanding of that meaning, and that our particular assignment of meaning comes from the cultural and social constructs surrounding us; Resolved that because thought is inextricably tied to language, and because language is socially constructed, we have no real inner-space for the realization of our thoughts, which is to say that the language of our thoughts renders our thoughts inherently socially constructed. The book had a huge impact, paving the way for the next wave of feminism in Canada, North America, Australia, and other parts of the world. His inclinations, on the other hand, were toward the arts, and in his adolescence, he penned plays and maybe poems. Cropped by User:Tomisti, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. But what follows is your introduction, a rapid-fire look at 20 Major Philosophers, their Big Ideas, and their most important written works. Alfred North Whitehead once noted: the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato. Unlike the work of nearly all of his contemporaries, Platos entire body of work is believed to have survived intact for over 2,400 years. He was a fervent believer in the historical importance of philosophy, and he scorned the postmodernist and poststructuralist labels affixed to him by American academics. Often referred to as the founder of Western philosophy, Socrates was a Greek philosopher from Athens. Born in Austria to a wealthy family, Wittgenstein is one of philosophys more colorful and unusual characters. Karl Popper - signature thesis: science is not about finding confirming evidence for a theory, but about striving hard to find disconfirming evidence. Pascals intended audience was the educated nobility and bourgeoisie, which he traveled among. He is considered one of the fundamental figures of modern Western philosophy, with his influence extending to the entire range of contemporary philosophical issues, from aesthetics to ontology to politics, both in the analytic and continental tradition. Together, they devised an assessment of class, society, and power dynamics that revealed deep inequalities, and exposed the economic prerogatives for state-sponsored violence, oppression, and war. A German-born economist, political theorist, and philosopher, Karl Marx wrote some of the most revolutionary philosophical content ever produced. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". This position of influence gave Aristotle the means to establish the library at Lyceum, where he produced hundreds of writings on papyrus scrolls. As a result of his writing, his influence spread widely during his lifetime. This and other ideas found in Mills works have been essential to providing rhetorical basis for social justice, anti-poverty, and human rights movements. Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi Christian Friedrich Tieck, Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, 1809, via Sammlung German philosopher Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi made his name in the late 18th and early 19th century. Some people are drowning in their grief, while others are hopeful despite their grief. Discover schools with the programs and courses youre interested in, and start learning today. Lao-Tzu espoused an ideal life lived through the Dao or Tao (roughly translated as the way). Aristotle Aristotle, one of the most famous Greek philosophers, was also a polymath who lived in Ancient Greece in 384-322 BC. What makes this earth a pit of pain, and will always make it a valley of misery, Voltaire said, are mens ravenous greediness and invincible pride.. He not only gave voice to his nations growing lay culture, but Italian also became the written language of Western Europe for the next several centuries. He authored the main book on Taoism around 500 BCE in Ancient China. Argued that Athenians were wrong-headed in their emphasis on families, careers, and politics at the expense of the welfare of their souls; Is sometimes attributed the statement I know that I know nothing, to denote an awareness of his ignorance, and in general, the limitations of human knowledge; Believed misdeeds were a consequence of ignorance, that those who engaged in nonvirtuous behavior did so because they didnt know any better. This brief work was poorly welcomed by Italian audiences in the 16th century, and it was heavily attacked and subsequently forbidden by the Catholic Church, who eventually damned him as the Devils student. This, therefore, seems an appropriate starting point for the period under investigation. The columns of the site are open to external contributions. Voltaires criticisms were so relentless, and he was so adept at using both wit and reason, that we cant help but love him today, and he is revered as a renowned thinker from the era known as the Age of Enlightenment. John Locke, an English philosopher, and social critic, established much of the foundation for the Enlightenment and was a key figure in the development of liberalism. He was not, however, a well-liked thinker during his lifetime, and it was only after his passing that the profundity of his work became widely recognized. Aristotle. Hobbes, Montesquieu, Spinoza, Hume, Locke, Rousseau, and Francis Bacon were among the great thinkers who were influenced by his works. A Boston-born writer, philosopher, and poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson is the father of the transcendentalist movement. Immanuel Kants philosophy may be classified into two primary divisions. Since 2008, The-Philosophy.com acts for the diffusion of the philosophical thoughts. This article maps some of Nietzsche's most famous ideas and unfolds the complex relationship between them. He is considered by some to be the greatest philosopher of the 20th century. John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873) - English political philosopher. Defined the Categorical imperative, the idea that there are intrinsically good and moral ideas to which we all have a duty, and that rational individuals will inherently find reason in adhering to moral obligation; Argued that humanity can achieve a perpetual peace through universal democracy and international cooperation; Asserted that the concepts of time and space, as well as cause and effect, are essential to the human experience, and that our understanding of the world is conveyed only by our senses and not necessarily by the underlying (and likely unseen) causes of the phenomena we observe. Jaegwon Kim (September 12, 1934 - November 27, 2019) was a Korean-American philosopher. As a result, if a monarch loses the approval of the governed, a community has the power to depose him. As a result, he tried to defend himself, but the jury (made up of hundreds of male Athenian residents) found him guilty of all charges. Descartes has often been called the father of modern philosophy, and is largely seen as responsible for the increased attention given to epistemology in the 17th century. West was the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University in 1980. The-Philosophy helps high-school & university students but also curious people on human sciencesto quench their thirst for knowledge. Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher and a seminal thinker in the Continental tradition of philosophy. She went to North America after finishing university in Russia in 1905. Cornel West (b. Moreover, during his life, he wrote voluminously but published only a single manuscript. A man that gained prominence during the Enlightenment period, Locke influenced the idea of natural rights and the social contract theory. He has no texts and is remembered mostly for his posthumous accounts of Xenophon and Plato, his students. Then, philosophy related to the activity of argue rationally about astonishment. Along with his famous student Aristotle and equally famous teacher Socrates, Plato is considered one of the founders of spirituality and Western religion. Powered by WordPress. [15] Dasein has been translated as being there. Simone de Beauvoir (1908 - 1986) Aristophanes, a playwright, is the main contemporary author to have written plays mentioning Socrates during Socrates lifetime, though a fragment of Ion of Chios Travel Journal provides important information about Socrates youth. She was a true child of the French Revolution, anticipating a new era of reason and charity. Aristotles enormous impact was a consequence both of the breadth of his writing and his personal reach during his lifetime. And yet, this is by no means a comprehensive discussion. 2022 TheBestSchools.org, a Red Ventures Company. His worldview was unique, and it is still employed in current politics. As the pupil of Socrates and the mentor to Aristotle, Plato is the connecting figure in what might be termed the great triumvirate of Greek thought in both philosophy and science. The idea that the mind and body are distinct is intriguing. Aristotles intellectual understanding embraced every known field of the sciences and arts, leading him to adore the Aristotelian syllogistic, which holds that rational argument uses the deductive approach to come to conclusions based on two or more premises considered to be true. Aristotle also considers cause, shape, substance, and a logical justification for Gods existence. Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist and socialist revolutionary. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. For Beuchot the equivocality is the difference between the application and the meaning of things. Ogy Sorai ( ) (March 21, 1666 - February 28, 1728), pen name Butsu Sorai, was a Japanese Confucian philosopher. He was a significant proponent of the Scientific Revolutions empirical techniques, despite his medical training. This denotes a clear evolution in an academic field that, for all of its insight and illumination, also has a deep-seated history of Eurocentrism. His writing coincided with, and contrasted, the sweep of fascism through Europe, the rise of authoritarian regimes, and the spread of Nazism. As a result, his philosophy has exerted a unique influence on almost every form of knowledge in the West and it continues to be a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion. Famously asserted that while it would be best to be both loved and feared, the two rarely coincide, and thus, greater security is found in the latter; Identified as a humanist, and believed it necessary to establish a new kind of state in defiance of law, tradition and particularly, the political preeminence of the Church; Viewed ambition, competition and war as inevitable parts of human nature, even seeming to embrace all of these tendencies. Well, consider us your fool, because thats exactly what weve set out to do. Find out where this influencer ranks among philosophys major branches and subdisciplines. The Il Principe, a contentious political treatise regarded as one of the oldest notable works of contemporary political theory, is most usually linked with Machiavellis name. Bust of Socrates carved by Victor Wager from a model by Paul Montford, located at the University of Western Australia in Crawley, Western Australia;Photograph by Greg OBeirne. He promoted stable family loyalty, ancestor reverence, and reverence for seniors by children and spouses by wives, suggesting family as the foundation for perfect governance. Despite spending a lengthy period in the hospital, he was nevertheless able to complete one of his main works. Rene Descartes 4. She had a considerable effect on both existentialism in feminists and feminist philosophy, despite not considering herself a philosopher and not being regarded as one at the time of her death. In the opening section of the Passions of the Soul, an early modern treatise on emotions, Descartes goes so far as to assert that he will write on this topic as if no one had written on these matters before. His best known philosophical statement is cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am; French: Je pense, donc je suis), found in Discourse on the Method (1637; in French and Latin) and Principles of Philosophy (1644, in Latin). He was also in a unique position to prevail directly over thinking throughout the known world, tutoring a young Alexander the Great at the request of the future conquerors father, Phillip II of Macedon. Aphorisms about his teachings were gathered in the Analects only after his death, several years later. Rousseaus ideas had a significant impact on the overthrow of the tyrannical monarchy that controlled France in the 18th century. It was above all from his teachings that the West inherited its intellectual lexicon, as well as problems and methods of inquiry. He began his career as a classical philologist before turning to philosophy. From ancient Greece to the present day, philosophy has played an important role in the development of civilizations. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 82) . And if this birds eye view of the philosophy discipline has sparked your interest, consider diving a little deeper with a look at: Want to leave a comment? Before we get to some of the most famous philosophers, lets look at what philosophy entails. Epicurus (341-270 BC) 10. Michels primary philosophical writings are concerned with the complicated relationships that exist between two distinct elements, namely power and knowledge, and their function in the formation of social discourse. Paul-Michel Foucault was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, social theorist, and literary critic. The existentialist and surrealist movements that followed his time were also built on the aforementioned idea. But Aristotle is the most famous student of Plato. She penned mainstream and scientific philosophy, which she presented in both fictional and non-fictional formats. Advocated strongly for the human right of free speech, and asserted that free discourse is necessary for social and intellectual progress; Determined that most of history can be understood as a struggle between liberty and authority, and that limits must be placed on rulership such that it reflects societys wishes; Stated the need for a system of constitutional checks on state authority as a way of protecting political liberties. Beginning with A Treatise of Human Nature, Hume strove to create a naturalistic science of man that examined the psychological basis of human nature. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. However, in most traditional tellings, Lao-Tzu was the living embodiment of the philosophy known as Taoism and author of its primary text, the Tao Te Ching. Published by the Bobbs-Merrill Company., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Because our influence rankings measure the raw permeation of citations, writing, and ideas originating with each of these thinkers, the rigid prejudices that have persisted throughout history are also reflected on our list. Plato said that there was one fundamental truth that every human being should acknowledge and aspire to live by. Her opinions were divisive during her lifetime and remain so today. Some of the most important philosophers, their systems of thought, and what we may learn from their foresight are included below. Locke, who rejected monarchs divine prerogative, claimed that communities build governments via mutual consent. Portrait of Niccol Machiavelli(some time between 1500 and 1600) by Santi di Tito, located at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy; Santi di Tito, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. His writings influenced Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American Revolutionaries. Copyright 2018-2022 AcademicInfluence.com | AllRightsReserved | v25. (It looks like the University of the People and Confucius have something in common: we both believe in making education accessible for all). You can also click on the profile link for each philosopher to see where they rank in specific philosophy subdisciplines, such as logic, ethics, and metaphysics. Some, like Socrates, are just like wine: the older, the finer. The notion of Cartesianism holds that the universe is divided into three domains of existence. One of the most notable intellectual figures of the Dutch Golden Age, Descartes is also widely regarded as one of the founders of modern philosophy. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate us. His work dealt largely with the idea of the single individual. This is what Kant refers to as a truth of reason, and it is the foundation for his belief in human liberty. Plato was one of the most important Ancient Greek philosophers, who contributed greatly to the fields of mathematics, metaphysics, politics, art, and poetry. The overriding theme of Deweys works was his profound belief in democracy, be it in politics, education, or communication and journalism. Within this construct, he viewed personal choice and commitment as preeminent. Ren Descartes is credited with establishing the foundations of modern philosophy. Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. She met an American explorer in Paris in 1792 while celebrating the French Revolution, and their liberal and unmarried escapades together resulted in her first daughter. Let's take a look at some memorable teachings and background information about some of the greatest philosophers of all time. And yet, he was recognized by his contemporaries as a genius. Plato is famous for teaching that peace will only be achievable, and evil consequently banished, when the world is ruled by philosophers, people with .
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