Philosophers

Philosophers:: Peter Abelard(French)
French name Pierre Abélard. 1079–1142, French scholastic philosopher and theologian whose works include Historia Calamitatum and Sic et Non (1121). His love for Héloïse is recorded in their correspondence
Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno(German)
1903–69, German philosopher, sociologist, and music critic. His writings include The Philosophy of the New Music (1949) and Negative Dialectics (1966)
Maria Gaetana Agnesi(Italian)
1718–99, Italian mathematician and philosopher, noted for her work on differential calculus
Albertus Magnus(German)
Jean Le Rond d'Alembert(French)
1717–83, French mathematician, physicist, and rationalist philosopher, noted for his contribution to Newtonian physics in Traité de dynamique (1743) and for his collaboration with Diderot in editing the Encyclopédie
Mohammed ibn Tarkhan al-Farabi(Arabian)
died 950, Muslim philosopher, physician, and mathematician, of central Asian origin
Louis Althusser(French)
1918–90, French Marxist philosopher, author of For Marx (1965) and Reading Capital (1965): committed to a psychiatric hospital (1981) after killing his wife
Anaxagoras(Greek)
?500–428 bc, Greek philosopher who maintained that all things were composed of minute particles arranged by an eternal intelligence
Anaximander(Greek)
611–547 bc, Greek philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician who believed the first principle of the world to be the Infinite
Anaximenes(Greek)
6th century bc, Greek philosopher who believed air to be the primary substance
Antisthenes(Greek)
?445–365 bc, Greek philosopher, founder of the Cynic school, who taught that the only good was virtue, won by self-control and independence from worldly needs
Thomas Aquinas(Italian)
1225–74, Italian theologian, scholastic philosopher, and Dominican friar, whose works include Summa contra Gentiles (1259–64) and Summa Theologiae (1267–73), the first attempt at a comprehensive theological system. Feast day: Jan 28
Hannah Arendt(U.S.)
1906–75, US political philosopher, born in Germany. Her publications include The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951) and Eichmann in Jerusalem (1961)
Aristippus(Greek)
?435–?356 bc, Greek philosopher, who believed pleasure to be the highest good and founded the Cyrenaic school
Aristotle(Greek)
384–322 bc, Greek philosopher; pupil of Plato, tutor of Alexander the Great, and founder of the Peripatetic school at Athens; author of works on logic, ethics, politics, poetics, rhetoric, biology, zoology, and metaphysics. His works influenced Muslim philosophy and science and medieval scholastic philosophy
St Augustine of Hippo(Italian)
354–430 ad, one of the Fathers of the Christian Church; bishop of Hippo in North Africa (396–430), who profoundly influenced both Catholic and Protestant theology. His most famous works are Confessions, a spiritual autobiography, and De Civitate Dei, a vindication of the Christian Church. Feast day: Aug 28
J(ohn) L(angshaw) Austin(English)
1911–60, English philosopher, whose lectures Sense and Sensibilia and How to do Things with Words were published posthumously in 1962
Averroës(Arabian)
Arabic name ibn-Rushd. 1126–88, Arab philosopher and physician in Spain, noted particularly for his attempts to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy with Islamic religion, which profoundly influenced Christian scholasticism
Avicenna(Arabian)
Arabic name ibn-Sina. 980–1037, Persian philosopher and physician whose philosophical writings, which combined Aristotelianism with neo-Platonist ideas, greatly influenced scholasticism, and whose medical work Qanun was the greatest single influence on medieval medicine
A(lfred) J(ules) Ayer(English)
1910–89, English positivist philosopher, noted particularly for his antimetaphysical work Language, Truth, and Logic (1936)
Francis Bacon(English)
Baron Verulam, Viscount St Albans. 1561–1626, English philosopher, statesman, and essayist; described the inductive method of reasoning: his works include Essays (1625), The Advancement of Learning (1605), and Novum Organum (1620)
Roger Bacon(English)
?1214–92, English Franciscan monk, scholar, and scientist: stressed the importance of experiment, demonstrated that air is required for combustion, and first used lenses to correct vision. His Opus Majus (1266) is a compendium of all the sciences of his age
Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten(German)
1714–62, German philosopher, noted for his pioneering work on aesthetics, a term that he originated
Pierre Bayle(French)
1647–1706, French philosopher and critic, noted for his Dictionnaire historique et critique (1697), which profoundly influenced Voltaire and the French Encyclopedists
Julien Benda(French)
1867–1956, French philosopher and novelist, who defended reason and intellect and attacked the influence of Bergson: author of La Trahison des clercs (1927)
Jeremy Bentham(English)
1748–1832, British philosopher and jurist: a founder of utilitarianism. His works include A Fragment on Government (1776) and Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789)
Nikolai Aleksandrovich Berdyayev(Russian)
1874–1948, Russian philosopher. Although he was a Marxist, his Christian views led him to criticize Soviet communism and he was forced into exile (1922)
Henri Louis Bergson(French)
1859–1941, French philosopher, who sought to bridge the gap between metaphysics and science. His main works are Memory and Matter (1896, trans. 1911) and Creative Evolution (1907, trans. 1911): Nobel prize for literature 1927
George Berkeley(Irish)
1685–1753, Irish philosopher and Anglican bishop, whose system of subjective idealism was expounded in his works A Treatise concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710) and Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous (1713). He also wrote Essay towards a New Theory of Vision (1709)
Isaiah Berlin(British)
1909–97, British philosopher, born in Latvia, historian, and diplomat. His books include Historical Inevitability (1954) and The Magus of the North (1993)
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius(Roman)
480–?524 ad, Roman philosopher and statesman, noted particularly for his work De Consolatione Philosophiae. He was accused of treason and executed by Theodoric
Bonaventura(Italian)
Saint, called the Seraphic Doctor. 1221–74, Italian Franciscan monk, mystic, theologian, and philosopher; author of a Life of St Francis and Journey of the Soul to God. Feast day: July 14
F(rancis) H(erbert) Bradley(English)
1846–1924, English idealist philosopher and metaphysical thinker; author of Ethical Studies (1876), Principles of Logic (1883), and Appearance and Reality (1893)
Giordano Bruno(Italian)
1548–1600, Italian philosopher, who developed a pantheistic monistic philosophy: he was burnt at the stake for heresy
Martin Buber(Austrian-Israeli)
1878–1965, Jewish theologian, existentialist philosopher, and scholar of Hasidism, born in Austria, whose works include I and Thou (1923), Between Man and Man (1946), and Eclipse of God (1952)
Jean Buridan(French)
Edmund Burke(Irish)
1729–97, British Whig statesman, conservative political theorist, and orator, born in Ireland: defended parliamentary government and campaigned for a more liberal treatment of the American colonies; denounced the French Revolution
Tommaso Campanella(Italian)
1568–1639, Italian philosopher and Dominican friar. During his imprisonment by the Spanish (1599–1626) he wrote his celebrated utopian fantasy, La città del sole
Rudolf Carnap(German-U.S.)
1891–1970, US logical positivist philosopher, born in Germany: attempted to construct a formal language for the empirical sciences that would eliminate ambiguity
Ernst Cassirer(German)
1874–1945, German neo-Kantian philosopher. The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms (1923–29) analyses the symbols that underlie all manifestations, including myths and language, of human culture
Marcus Porcius Cato(Roman)
known as Cato the Younger or Uticensis. 95–46 bc, Roman statesman, general, and Stoic philosopher; opponent of Catiline and Caesar
Paul Churchland(U.S.)
Chu Xi(Chinese)
1130–1200, Chinese philosopher, known for his neo-Confucian commentaries, the Ssu shu or Four Books
Cleanthes(Greek)
?300–?232 bc, Greek philosopher: succeeded Zeno as head of the Stoic school
Auguste Comte(French)
1798–1857, French mathematician and philosopher; the founder of positivism
Étienne Bonnot de Condillac(French)
1715–80, French philosopher. He developed Locke's view that all knowledge derives from the senses in his Traité des sensations (1754)
Marie Jean Antoine Nicholas de Caritat Condorcet(French)
1743–94, French philosopher and politician. His works include Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind (1795)
Confucius(Chinese)
Chinese name Kong Zi or K'ung Fu-tse. 551–479 bc, Chinese philosopher and teacher of ethics (see Confucianism). His doctrines were compiled after his death under the title The Analects of Confucius
Frederick (Charles) Copleston(English)
Victor Cousin(French)
1792–1867, French philosopher and educational reformer
Benedetto Croce(Italian)
1866–1952, Italian philosopher, critic, and statesman: an opponent of Fascism, he helped re-establish liberalism in postwar Italy
Ralph Cudworth(English)
1617–88, English philosopher and theologian. His works include True Intellectual System of the Universe (1678) and A Treatise concerning Eternal and Immutable Morality (1731)
Richard Cumberland(English)
1631–1718, English theologian and moral philosopher; bishop of Peterborough (1691–1718)
Donald Davidson(U.S.)
Simone de Beauvoir(French)
1908–86, French existentialist novelist and feminist, whose works include Le Sang des autres (1944), Le Deuxième Sexe (1949), and Les Mandarins (1954)
Democritus(Greek)
?460–?370 bc, Greek philosopher who developed the atomist theory of matter of his teacher, Leucippus
Jacques Derrida(French)
1930–2004, French philosopher and literary critic, regarded as the founder of deconstruction: author of L'Écriture et la différence (1967)
René Descartes(French)
1596–1650, French philosopher and mathematician. He provided a mechanistic basis for the philosophical theory of dualism and is regarded as the founder of modern philosophy. He also founded analytical geometry and contributed greatly to the science of optics. His works include Discours de la méthode (1637), Meditationes de Prima Philosophia (1641), and Principia Philosophiae (1644)
John Dewey(U.S.)
1859–1952, US pragmatist philosopher and educator: an exponent of progressivism in education, he formulated an instrumentalist theory of learning through experience. His works include The School and Society (1899), Democracy and Education (1916), and Logic: the Theory of Inquiry (1938)
Denis Diderot(French)
1713–84, French philosopher, noted particularly for his direction (1745–72) of the great French Encyclopédie
Dio Chrysostom(Greek)
2nd century ad, Greek orator and philosopher
Diogenes(Greek)
?412–?323 bc, Greek Cynic philosopher, who rejected social conventions and advocated self-sufficiency and simplicity of life
John Duns Scotus(Scottish)
?1265–1308, Scottish scholastic theologian and Franciscan priest: opposed the theology of St Thomas Aquinas
Johann August Eberhard(German)
1739–1809, German philosopher and lexicographer, best known for his German dictionary (1795–1802)
Empedocles(Greek)
?490–430 bc, Greek philosopher and scientist, who held that the world is composed of four elements, air, fire, earth, and water, which are governed by the opposing forces of love and discord
Friedrich Engels(German)
1820–95, German socialist leader and political philosopher, in England from 1849. He collaborated with Marx on The Communist Manifesto (1848) and his own works include Condition of the Working Classes in England (1844) and The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (1884)
Epictetus(Greek)
?50–?120 ad, Greek Stoic philosopher, who stressed self-renunciation and the brotherhood of man
Epicurus(Greek)
341–270 bc, Greek philosopher, who held that the highest good is pleasure and that the world is a series of fortuitous combinations of atoms
Desiderius Erasmus(Dutch)
real name Gerhard Gerhards. ?1466–1536, Dutch humanist, the leading scholar of the Renaissance in northern Europe. He published the first Greek edition of the New Testament in 1516; his other works include the satirical Encomium Moriae (1509); Colloquia (1519), a series of dialogues; and an attack on the theology of Luther, De Libero Arbitrio (1524)
John Scotus Erigena(Irish)
?800–?877 ad, Irish Neo-Platonist philosopher
Rudolph Christoph Eucken(German)
1846–1926, German idealist philosopher: Nobel prize for literature 1908
Gustav Theodor Fechner(German)
1801–87, German physicist, philosopher, and psychologist, noted particularly for his work on psychophysics, Elemente der Psychophysik (1860)
Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach(German)
1804–72, German materialist philosopher: in The Essence of Christianity (1841), translated into English by George Eliot (1853), he maintained that God is merely an outward projection of man's inner self
Johann Gottlieb Fichte(German)
1762–1814, German philosopher: expounded ethical idealism
Marsilio Ficino(Italian)
1433–99, Italian Neoplatonist philosopher: attempted to integrate Platonism with Christianity
Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle(French)
1657–1757, French philosopher. His writings include Digressions sur les anciens et les modernes (1688) and Éléments de la géométrie de l'infini (1727)
Michel Foucault(French)
1926–84, French philosopher and historian of ideas. His publications include Histoire de la folie (1961) and Les Mots et les choses (1966)
Gottlob Frege(German)
1848–1925, German logician and philosopher, who laid the foundations of modern formal logic and semantics in his Begriffsschrift (1879)
Erich Fromm(German-U.S.)
1900–80, US psychologist and philosopher, born in Germany. His works include The Art of Loving (1956) and To Have and To Be (1976)
Pierre Gassendi(French)
1592–1655, French physicist and philosopher, who promoted an atomic theory of matter
Giovanni Gentile(Italian)
1875–1944, Italian Idealist philosopher and Fascist politician: minister of education (1922–24)
Kurt Godel(U.S.)
1906–78, US logician and mathematician, born in Austria-Hungary. He showed (Gödel's proof) that in a formal axiomatic system, such as logic or mathematics, it is impossible to prove consistency without using methods from outside the system
Gorgias(Greek)
?485–?380 bc, Greek sophist and rhetorician, subject of a dialogue by Plato
T(homas) H(ill) Green(English)
1836–82, British idealist philosopher. His chief work, Prolegomena to Ethics, was unfinished at his death
Ernst Heinrich Haeckel(German)
1834–1919, German biologist and philosopher. He formulated the recapitulation theory of evolution and was an exponent of the philosophy of materialistic monism
William Hamilton(Scottish)
Han Fei Zu(Chinese)
died 233 bc, Chinese diplomat and philosopher of law
David Hartley(English)
1705–57, English philosopher and physician. In Observations of Man (1749) he introduced the theory of psychological associationism
Friedrich August von Hayek(Austrian-British)
1899–1992, British economist and political philosopher, born in Austria: noted for his advocacy of free-market ideas; shared the Nobel prize for economics 1974
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel(German)
1770–1831, German philosopher, who created a fundamentally influential system of thought. His view of the human mind as the highest expression of the Absolute is expounded in The Phenomenology of Mind (1807). He developed his concept of dialectic, in which the contradiction between a proposition (thesis) and its antithesis is resolved at a higher level of truth (synthesis), in Science of Logic (1812–16)
Martin Heidegger(German)
1889–1976, German existentialist philosopher: he expounded his ontological system in Being and Time (1927)
Claude Adrien Helvétius(French)
1715–71, French philosopher. In his chief work De l'Esprit (1758), he asserted that the mainspring of human action is self-interest and that differences in human intellects are due only to differences in education
Heracleides(Greek)
?390–?322 bc, Greek astronomer and philosopher: the first to state that the earth rotates on its axis
Heraclitus(Greek)
?535–?475 bc, Greek philosopher, who held that fire is the primordial substance of the universe and that all things are in perpetual flux
Edward Herbert(English)
1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury. 1583–1648, English philosopher and poet, noted for his deistic views
Johann Gottfried von Herder(German)
1744–1803, German philosopher, critic, and poet, the leading figure in the Sturm und Drang movement in German literature. His chief work is Outlines of a Philosophy of the History of Man (1784–91)
Aleksandr Ivanovich Herzen(Russian)
1812–70, Russian socialist political philosopher: best known for his autobiography My Past and Thoughts (1861–67)
Thomas Hobbes(English)
1588–1679, English political philosopher. His greatest work is the Leviathan (1651), which contains his defence of absolute sovereignty
David Hume(Scottish)
1711–76, Scottish empiricist philosopher, economist, and historian, whose sceptic philosophy restricted human knowledge to that which can be perceived by the senses. His works include A Treatise of Human Nature (1740), An Enquiry concerning the Principles of Morals (1751), Political Discourses (1752), and History of England (1754–62)
Edmund Husserl(German)
1859–1938, German philosopher; founder of phenomenology
Francis Hutcheson(Scottish)
1694–1746, Scottish philosopher: he published books on ethics and aesthetics, including System of Moral Philosophy (1755)
Hypatia(Alexandrian)
died 415 ad, Neo-Platonist philosopher and politician, who lectured at Alexandria. She was murdered by a Christian mob
Solomon ibn-Gabirol(Spanish)
?1021–?58, Jewish philosopher and poet, born in Spain. His work The Fountain of Life influenced Western medieval philosophers
ibn-Khaldun(Arabian)
1332–1406, Arab historian and philosopher. His Kitab al-`ibar (Book of Examples) is a history of Islam
Muhammad Iqbal(Indian)
1875–1938, Indian Muslim poet, philosopher, and political leader, who advocated the establishment of separate nations for Indian Hindus and Muslims and is generally regarded as the originator of Pakistan
William James(U.S.)
brother of Henry James. 1842–1910, US philosopher and psychologist, whose theory of pragmatism is expounded in Essays in Radical Empiricism (1912). His other works include The Will to Believe (1897), The Principles of Psychology (1890), and The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902)
Karl Jaspers(German)
1883–1969, German existentialist philosopher
Judah hah-Levi(Spanish)
?1075–1141, Jewish poet and philosopher, born in Spain; his major works include the collection in Diwan and the prose work Sefer ha-Kuzari, which presented his philosophy of Judaism in dialogue form
Immanuel Kant(German)
1724–1804, German idealist philosopher. He sought to determine the limits of human knowledge in Critique of Pure Reason (1781) and propounded his system of ethics as guided by the categorical imperative in Critique of Practical Reason (1788)
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard(Danish)
1813–55, Danish philosopher and theologian. He rejected organized Christianity and anticipated the existentialists in emphasizing humankind's moral responsibility and freedom of choice. His works include Either/Or (1843), The Concept of Dread (1844), and The Sickness unto Death (1849)
Suzanne Langer(U.S.)
Lao Zi(Chinese)
?604–?531 bc, Chinese philosopher, traditionally regarded as the founder of Taoism and the author of the Tao-te Ching
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz(German)
1646–1716, German rationalist philosopher and mathematician. He conceived of the universe as a hierarchy of independent units or monads, synchronized by pre-established harmony. His works include Théodicée (1710) and Monadologia (1714). He also devised a system of calculus, independently of Newton
Giacomo Leopardi(Italian)
1798–1837, Italian poet and philosopher, noted esp for his lyrics, collected in I Canti (1831)
Leucippus(Greek)
5th century bc Greek philosopher, who originated the atomist theory of matter, developed by his disciple, Democritus
Lucien Lévy-Bruhl(French)
1857–1939, French anthropologist and philosopher, noted for his study of the psychology of primitive peoples
John Locke(English)
1632–1704, English philosopher, who discussed the concept of empiricism in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690). He influenced political thought, esp in France and America, with his Two Treatises on Government (1690), in which he sanctioned the right to revolt
Lucretius(Roman)
full name Titus Lucretius Carus. ?96–55 bc, Roman poet and philosopher. In his didactic poem De rerum natura, he expounds Epicurus' atomist theory of the universe
Georg Lukács(Hungarian)
original name György. 1885–1971, Hungarian Marxist philosopher and literary critic, whose works include History and Class Consciousness (1923), Studies in European Realism (1946), and The Historical Novel (1955)
Ramón Lully(Spanish)
?1235–1315, Spanish philosopher, mystic, and missionary. His chief works are Ars generalis sive magna and the Utopian novel Blaquerna
Ernst Mach(Austrian)
1838–1916, Austrian physicist and philosopher. He devised the system of speed measurement using the Mach number. He also founded logical positivism, asserting that the validity of a scientific law is proved only after empirical testing
Niccolò Machiavelli(Italian)
1469–1527, Florentine statesman and political philosopher; secretary to the war council of the Florentine republic (1498–1512). His most famous work is Il Principe (The Prince, 1532)
Maimonides(Spanish)
also called Rabbi Moses ben Maimon. 1135–1204, Jewish philosopher, physician, and jurist, born in Spain. He codified Jewish law in Mishneh Torah (1180)
Nicolas Malebranche(French)
1638–1715, French philosopher. Originally a follower of Descartes, he developed the philosophy of occasionalism, esp in De la recherche de la vérité (1674)
Gabriel Marcel(French)
1889–1973, French Christian existentialist philosopher and dramatist, whose philosophical works include Being and Having (1949) and The Mystery of Being (1951)
Herbert Marcuse(German-U.S.)
1898–1979, US philosopher, born in Germany. In his later works he analysed the situation of humankind under monopoly capitalism and the dehumanizing effects of modern technology. His works include Eros and Civilization (1958) and One Dimensional Man (1964)
Jacques Maritain(French)
1882–1973, French neo-Thomist Roman Catholic philosopher
Marsilius of Padua(Italian)
Italian name Marsiglio dei Mainardini. ?1290–?1343, Italian political philosopher, best known as the author of the Defensor pacis (1324), which upheld the power of the temporal ruler over that of the church
Karl Marx(German)
1818–83, German founder of modern communism, in England from 1849. With Engels, he wrote The Communist Manifesto (1848). He developed his theories of the class struggle and the economics of capitalism in Das Kapital (1867; 1885; 1895). He was one of the founders of the International Workingmen's Association (First International) (1864)
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk(Czech)
1850–1937, Czech philosopher and statesman; a founder of Czechoslovakia (1918) and its first president (1918–35)
Mencius(Chinese)
Chinese name Mengzi or Meng-tze. ?372–?289 bc, Chinese philosopher, who propounded the ethical system of Confucius
Maurice Merleau-Ponty(French)
1908–61, French phenomenological philosopher
James Mill(Scottish)
1773–1836, Scottish philosopher, historian, and economist. He expounded Bentham's utilitarian philosophy in Elements of Political Economy (1821) and Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind (1829) and also wrote a History of British India (1817–18)
John Stuart Mill(British)
1806–73, English philosopher and economist. He modified Bentham's utilitarian philosophy in Utilitarianism (1861) and in his treatise On Liberty (1859) he defended the rights and freedom of the individual. Other works include A System of Logic (1843) and Principles of Political Economy (1848)
Baron de la Brède et de Montesquieu(French)
title of Charles Louis de Secondat. 1689–1755, French political philosopher. His chief works are the satirical Lettres persanes (1721) and L'Esprit des lois (1748), a comparative analysis of various forms of government, which had a profound influence on political thought in Europe and the US
G(eorge) E(dward) Moore(British)
1873–1958, British philosopher, noted esp for his Principia Ethica (1903)
Henry More(English)
Mo-Zi(Chinese)
?470–?391 bc, Chinese religious philosopher; his teaching, expounded in the book Mo-Zi, emphasizes love, frugality, avoidance of aggressive war, and submission to Heaven
(Jean) Iris Murdoch(Irish)
1919–99, British writer. Her books include The Bell (1958), A Severed Head (1961), The Sea, The Sea (1978), which won the Booker Prize, The Philosopher's Pupil (1983), and Existentialists and Mystics (1997)
Isaac Newton(English)
1642–1727, English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, and philosopher, noted particularly for his law of gravitation, his three laws of motion, his theory that light is composed of corpuscles, and his development of calculus independently of Leibnitz. His works include Principia Mathematica (1687) and Opticks (1704)
Nicholas of Cusa(German)
1401–64, German cardinal, philosopher, and mathematician: anticipated Copernicus in asserting that the earth revolves around the sun
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche(German)
1844–1900, German philosopher, poet, and critic, noted esp for his concept of the superman and his rejection of traditional Christian values. His chief works are The Birth of Tragedy (1872), Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883–91), and Beyond Good and Evil (1886)
William of Ockham(English)
died ?1349, English nominalist philosopher, who contested the temporal power of the papacy and ended the conflict between nominalism and realism
José Ortega y Gasset(Spanish)
1883–1955, Spanish essayist and philosopher. His best-known work is The Revolt of the Masses (1930)
William Paley(English)
1743–1805, English theologian and utilitarian philosopher. His chief works are The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (1785), Horae Paulinae (1790), A View of the Evidences of Christianity (1794), and Natural Theology (1802)
Parmenides(Greek)
5th century bc, Greek Eleatic philosopher, born in Italy. He held that the universe is single and unchanging and denied the existence of change and motion. His doctrines are expounded in his poem On Nature, of which only fragments are extant
Blaise Pascal(French)
1623–62, French philosopher, mathematician, and physicist. As a scientist, he made important contributions to hydraulics and the study of atmospheric pressure and, with Fermat, developed the theory of probability. His chief philosophical works are Lettres provinciales (1656–57), written in defence of Jansenism and against the Jesuits, and Pensées (1670), fragments of a Christian apologia
Charles Sanders Peirce(U.S.)
1839–1914, US logician, philosopher, and mathematician; pioneer of pragmatism
Philo Judaeus(Alexandrian)
?20 bc–?50 ad, Jewish philosopher, born in Alexandria. He sought to reconcile Judaism with Greek philosophy
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola(Italian)
1463–94, Italian Platonist philosopher. His attempt to reconcile the ideas of classical, Christian, and Arabic writers in a collection of 900 theses, prefaced by his Oration on the Dignity of Man (1486), was condemned by the pope
Plato(Greek)
?427–?347 bc, Greek philosopher: with his teacher Socrates and his pupil Aristotle, he is regarded as the initiator of western philosophy. His influential theory of ideas, which makes a distinction between objects of sense perception and the universal ideas or forms of which they are an expression, is formulated in such dialogues as Phaedo, Symposium, and The Republic. Other works include The Apology and Laws
Plotinus(Roman)
?205–?270 ad, Roman Neo-Platonist philosopher, born in Egypt
Plutarch(Greek)
?46–?120 ad, Greek biographer and philosopher, noted for his Parallel Lives of distinguished Greeks and Romans
Jules Henri Poincaré(French)
1854–1912, French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher. He made important contributions to the theory of functions and to astronomy and electromagnetic theory
Karl Popper(Austrian-British)
1902–94, British philosopher, born in Vienna. In The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1934), he proposes that knowledge cannot be absolutely confirmed, but rather that science progresses by the experimental refutation of the current theory and its consequent replacement by a new theory, equally provisional but covering more of the known data. The Open Society and its Enemies (1945) is a critique of dogmatic political philosophies, such as Marxism. Other works are The Poverty of Historicism (1957), Conjectures and Refutations (1963), and Objective Knowledge (1972)
Porphyry(Greek)
original name Malchus. 232–305 ad, Greek Neo-Platonist philosopher, born in Syria; disciple and biographer of Plotinus
Proclus(Greek)
?410–485 ad, Greek Neo-Platonist philosopher
Protagoras(Greek)
?485–?411 bc, Greek philosopher and sophist, famous for his dictum "Man is the measure of all things."
Samuel von Pufendorf(German)
1632–94, German jurist and philosopher, who lived in Sweden and Denmark. His De Jure naturae et gentium (1672) was an important contribution to the philosophy of natural and international law
Pyrrho(Greek)
?365–?275 bc, Greek philosopher; founder of scepticism. He maintained that true wisdom and happiness lie in suspension of judgment, since certain knowledge is impossible to attain
Pythagoras(Greek)
?580–?500 bc, Greek philosopher and mathematician. He founded a religious brotherhood, which followed a life of strict asceticism and greatly influenced the development of mathematics and its application to music and astronomy
Willard van Orman Quine(U.S.)
1908–2000, US philosopher. His works include Word and Object (1960), Philosophy of Logic (1970), The Roots of Reference (1973), and The Logic of Sequences (1990)
Ramanuja(Indian)
11th century ad, Indian Hindu philosopher and theologian
John Rawls(U.S.)
Hans Reichenbach(German)
Thomas Reid(Scottish)
1710–96, Scottish philosopher and founder of what came to be known as the philosophy of common sense
(Joseph) Ernest Renan(French)
1823–92, French philosopher, theologian, and historian; best known for his Life of Jesus (1863), which discounted the supernatural aspects of the Gospels
Paul Ricoeur(French)
1913–2005, French philosopher, noted for his work on theories of interpretation. His books include Philosophy of the Will (3 vols, 1950–60), Freud and Philosophy (1965), and The Living Metaphor (1975)
Jean Jacques Rousseau(French)
1712–78, French philosopher and writer, born in Switzerland, who strongly influenced the theories of the French Revolution and the romantics. Many of his ideas spring from his belief in the natural goodness of humankind, whom he felt was warped by society. His works include Du contrat social (1762), Émile (1762), and his Confessions (1782)
Josiah Royce(U.S.)
1855–1916, US philosopher of monistic idealism. In his ethical studies he emphasized the need for individual loyalty to the world community
Bertrand Russell(English)
3rd Earl. 1872–1970, British philosopher and mathematician. His books include Principles of Mathematics (1903), Principia Mathematica (1910–13) with A. N. Whitehead, Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy (1919), The Problems of Philosophy (1912), The Analysis of Mind (1921), and An Enquiry into Meaning and Truth (1940): Nobel prize for literature 1950
Gilbert Ryle(English)
1900–76, British philosopher. His works include The Concept of Mind (1949)
Comte de Saint-Simon(French)
title of Claude Henri de Rouvroy. 1760–1825, French social philosopher, generally regarded as the founder of French socialism. He thought society should be reorganized along industrial lines and that scientists should be the new spiritual leaders. His most important work is Nouveau Christianisme (1825)
Sankara(Indian)
8th century ad, Hindu philosopher, the leading exponent of the Vedantic school: noted for his commentaries on the great Hindu texts
George Santayana(U.S.)
1863–1952, US philosopher, poet, and critic, born in Spain. His works include The Life of Reason (1905–06) and The Realms of Being (1927–40)
Jean-Paul Sartre(French)
1905–80, French philosopher, novelist, and dramatist; chief French exponent of atheistic existentialism. His works include the philosophical essay Being and Nothingness (1943), the novels Nausea (1938) and Les Chemins de la liberté (1945–49), a trilogy, and the plays Les Mouches (1943), Huis clos (1944), and Les Mains sales (1948)
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling(German)
1775–1854, German philosopher. He expanded Fichte's idea that there is one reality, the infinite and absolute Ego, by regarding nature as an absolute being working towards self-consciousness. His works include Ideas towards a Philosophy of Nature (1797) and System of Transcendental Idealism (1800)
Friedrich von Schlegel(German)
1772–1829, German philosopher and critic; a founder of the romantic movement in Germany
Friedrich Ernst Daniel Schleiermacher(German)
1768–1834, German Protestant theologian and philosopher. His works include The Christian Faith (1821–22)
Moritz Schlick(German)
1882–1936, German philosopher, working in Austria, who founded (1924) the Vienna Circle to develop the doctrine of logical positivism. His works include the General Theory of Knowledge (1918) and Problems of Ethics (1930)
Arthur Schopenhauer(German)
1788–1860, German pessimist philosopher. In his chief work, The World as Will and Idea (1819), he expounded the view that will is the creative primary factor and idea the secondary receptive factor
Albert Schweitzer(Franco-German)
1875–1965, Franco-German medical missionary, philosopher, theologian, and organist, born in Alsace. He took up medicine in 1905 and devoted most of his life after 1913 to a medical mission at Lambaréné, Gabon: Nobel peace prize 1952
Lucius Annaeus Seneca(Roman)
called the Younger. ?4 bc–65 ad, Roman philosopher, statesman, and dramatist; tutor and adviser to Nero. He was implicated in a plot to murder Nero and died by suicide. His works include Stoical essays on ethical subjects and tragedies that had a considerable influence on Elizabethan drama
Shankaracharya or Shankara (Indian)
9th century ad, Hindu philosopher and teacher; chief exponent of Vedanta philosophy
Adam Smith(Scottish)
1723–90, Scottish economist and philosopher, whose influential book The Wealth of Nations (1776) advocated free trade and private enterprise and opposed state interference
Socrates(Greek)
?470–399 bc, Athenian philosopher, whose beliefs are known only through the writings of his pupils Plato and Xenophon. He taught that virtue was based on knowledge, which was attained by a dialectical process that took into account many aspects of a stated hypothesis. He was indicted for impiety and corruption of youth (399) and was condemned to death. He refused to flee and died by drinking hemlock
Georges Sorel(French)
1847–1922, French social philosopher, who advocated revolutionary syndicalism and preached the creative role of violence and myth
Herbert Spencer(English)
1820–1903, English philosopher, who applied evolutionary theory to the study of society, favouring laissez-faire doctrines
Oswald Spengler(German)
1880–1936, German philosopher of history, noted for The Decline of the West (1918–22), which argues that civilizations go through natural cycles of growth and decay
Baruch Spinoza(Dutch)
1632–77, Dutch philosopher who constructed a holistic metaphysical system derived from a series of hypotheses that he judged self-evident. His chief work is Ethics (1677)
Rudolf Steiner(Austrian)
1861–1925, Austrian philosopher, founder of anthroposophy. He was particularly influential in education
Peter Strawson(British)
1919–2006, British philosopher. His early work deals with the relationship between language and logic, his later work with metaphysics. His books include The Bounds of Sense (1966) and Freedom and Resentment (1974)
Francisco de Suárez(Spanish)
1548–1617, Spanish theologian, considered the leading scholastic philosopher after Aquinas and the principal Jesuit theologian. His works include Disputationes Metaphysicae (1597) and De Legibus (1612)
Rabindranath Tagore(Indian)
1861–1941, Indian poet and philosopher. His verse collections, written in Bengali and English, include Gitanjali (1910; 1912): Nobel prize for literature 1913
Alfred Tarski(Polish)
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin(French)
1881–1955, French Jesuit priest, palaeontologist, and philosopher. His book The Phenomenon of Man (1938–40) uses scientific evolution to prove the existence of God
Thales(Greek)
?624–?546 bc, Greek philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer, born in Miletus. He held that water was the origin of all things and he predicted the solar eclipse of May 28, 585 bc
Theophrastus(Greek)
?372–?287 bc, Greek Peripatetic philosopher, noted esp for his Characters, a collection of sketches of moral types
Paul Johannes Tillich(German-U.S.)
1886–1965, US Protestant theologian and philosopher, born in Germany. His works include The Courage to Be (1952) and Systematic Theology (1951–63)
Leo Tolstoy(Russian)
Russian name Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy. 1828–1910, Russian novelist, short-story writer, and philosopher; author of the two monumental novels War and Peace (1865–69) and Anna Karenina (1875–77). Following a spiritual crisis in 1879, he adopted a form of Christianity based on a doctrine of nonresistance to evil
Miguel de Unamuno(Spanish)
1864–1936, Spanish philosopher and writer
Giovanni Battista Vico(Italian)
1668–1744, Italian philosopher. In Scienza Nuova (1721) he postulated that civilizations rise and fall in evolutionary cycles, making use of myths, poetry, and linguistics as historical evidence
Voltaire(French)
pseudonym of François Marie Arouet. 1694–1778, French writer, whose outspoken belief in religious, political, and social liberty made him the embodiment of the 18th-century Enlightenment. His major works include Lettres philosophiques (1734) and the satire Candide (1759). He also wrote plays, such as Zaïre (1732), poems, and scientific studies. He suffered several periods of banishment for his radical views
Simone Weil(French)
1909–43, French philosopher and mystic, whose works include Waiting for God (1951), The Need for Roots (1952), and Notebooks (1956)
A(lfred) N(orth) Whitehead(English)
1861–1947, English mathematician and philosopher, who collaborated with Bertrand Russell in writing Principia Mathematica (1910–13), and developed a holistic philosophy of science, chiefly in Process and Reality (1929)
Bernard Williams(English)
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein(Austrian-British)
1889–1951, British philosopher, born in Austria. After studying with Bertrand Russell, he wrote the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921), which explores the relationship of language to the world. He was a major influence on logical positivism but later repudiated this, and in Philosophical Investigations (1953) he argues that philosophical problems arise from insufficient attention to the variety of natural language use
Xenocrates(Greek)
?396–314 bc, Greek Platonic philosopher
Xun Zi(Chinese)
original name Hsun Kuang. c. 300 bc–c. 230 bc, Chinese philosopher, who systematized Confucian teaching
Zeno of Citium(Greek)
?336–?264 bc, Greek philosopher, who founded the Stoic school in Athens
Zeno of Elea(Greek)
?490–?430 bc, Greek Eleatic philosopher; disciple of Parmenides. He defended the belief that motion and change are illusions in a series of paradoxical arguments, of which the best known is that of Achilles and the tortoise
Zhuangzi or Chuang-tzu (Chinese)
?369–286 bc, Chinese philosopher, who greatly influenced Chinese religion through the book of Taoist philosophy that bears his name
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/word-lists/philosophy-philosophers