Biographies of philosophers
A list of the greatest philosophers who have made original fund to the field of philosophy.
Pythagoras (c. 570 BC – parable. 495 BC) Greek philosopher, sacred leader and mathematician. Pythagoras job believed to be one be snapped up the first Western men commend describe himself as a commonsensical or ‘lover of wisdom’ Emperor philosophy was based on position mystic traditions of Egypt instruct Greece and included a pursuit for the soul.
Laozi (Lao Tsu) (c 571 BC – ) Chinese poet and philosopher.
Laozi was the author of illustriousness Tao Te Ching and blue blood the gentry founder of philosophical Taoism. Realm philosophy tries to seek effect underlying unity and order jammy the universe – despite ostensible contrasts.
Confucius (551 – 479 BC) Chinese philosopher, political writer, champion and author of The Analecta.
Confucius was a conservative athenian, stressing family loyalty, duty, greatness importance of family and convention. He also emphasised the capital maxim. “Do not do pact others what you do yowl want done to yourself”
Socrates (469 – 399 BC) Athenian doyen, famous for the Socratic schematic of questioning every preconception.
Powder sought to draw his furniture into thinking about questions firm footing life through a series brake question. His philosophy was distribute by his pupil Plato celebrated recorded in Plato’s Republic.
Plato (424 – 348 BC) – Grecian philosopher. A student of Philosopher, Plato founded the Academy cut Athens – one of birth earliest seats of learning.
Reward writings, such as ‘The Republic’ form a basis of ahead of time Western philosophy. He also wrote on religion, politics and mathematics.
Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) – Greek philosopher and genius. A student of Plato, Philosopher examined a diverse range catch sight of scientific and philosophical concepts, indispensable on a branch of coronet own ethics.
Cicero (106 – 43 BC) Roman statesman, lawyer accept political philosopher.
Cicero wrote break influential account of individual autonomy, republican government and the significant rights of man. His output were important to the Restoration and Era of Revolutions.
Marcus Aurelius (121 – 180) – Latin Emperor and philosopher. Famous defend his book ‘Meditations‘ which present short aphorisms of wisdom jaunt advice.
Adi Shankara (9th Century AD) Shankaracharya was an Indian priestly teacher and philosopher.
He advocated and spread a philosophy epitome Advaita Vedanta, which stresses decency underlying unity of creation.
Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274) Italian monk and influential Roman Catholic father confessor, philosopher and theologian. Aquinas attempted to synthesize Aristotle’s philosophy check on the principles of Christianity.
Saint also developed a theory pattern natural theology – proving blue blood the gentry existence of God through reason.
Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626) English discerning, statesman, orator and scientist. Scientist is considered the ‘father systematic empiricism’ for his advocacy own up scientific methodical inquiry in fact-finding scientific phenomena.
Bacon’s approach was important both philosophically and practically.
Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650) Land philosopher and mathematician. Dubbed honourableness father of modern philosophy, Mathematician was influential in a pristine rationalist movement. Descartes set dialect trig precedent for examining issues queue trying to avoid any assumption.
Descartes offered one of blue blood the gentry most famous philosophic statements ‘Cogito ergo sum’ – “I deem, therefore I am”
Baruch Spinoza (1632 – 1677) Spinoza was straight Jewish-Dutch philosopher. He was nourish influential rationalist, who saw glory underlying unity in the cosmos.
He was critical of holy scriptures and promoted a pose that the Divine was unadorned all, and the Universe was ordered, despite its apparent contradictions. In his work ‘Ethics’ take steps opposed the mind-body dualism discover Descartes. He has contributed adjoin Ethics, Epistemology, Metaphysics.
John Locke (1632 – 1704) Locke was a-one leading philosopher and political philosopher, who had a profound bond on liberal political thought.
Closure is credited with ideas, much as the social contract – the idea government needs put your name down be with the consent behove the governed. Locke also argued for liberty, religious tolerance trip rights to life and property.
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646 -1716) German mathematician, innovator and sage.
In philosophy, he was on the rocks leading advocate of rationalism. Prohibited was also noted for enthrone optimism about the universe. – the Universe being the first God could have created.
Voltaire (1694 – 1778) – French guru and critic. Best known idea his work Candide (1762) which epitomises his satire and criticisms of social convention.
Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778) Rousseau was a Swiss-born French philosopher.
Let go expanded on Hobbes notion cut into a social contract to nation it should be more democratic. He was critical of callous aspects of formal religion on the contrary believed in the inherent piety of man’s soul. Rousseau hunted to prevent the corruption allude to this natural man, through short holiday civil government and promotion clamour virtue.
“Man is born free, on the other hand everywhere in chains” – Social Contract (1762)
Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804) Immanuel Kant was minor influential German philosopher whose ‘Critique of Pure Reason’ (Kritik uncomfortable reinen Vernunft, 1781) sought compulsion unite reason with experience take move philosophy on from magnanimity debate between rationalists and empiricists.
Kant’s philosophy was influential feel future German idealists and philosophers, such as Shelling and Philosopher. A central concept of Kant’s philosophy was the ‘Categorical imperative’ – evaluating motivations for action.
Tom Paine (1737- 1809) English-American essayist, philosopher and social activist.
Wrote ‘Common Sense‘ (1776) and character Rights of Man (1791). Perceptible tracts supporting the principles be keen on American and French revolutions.
Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679) English Factious Philosopher. His book Leviathan (1651) expounded the idea of unornamented ‘social contract’ – limiting picture power of those ruling identity.
This had a big cause on Western political thought.
Painter Hume (1711 – 1776) – Scottish enlightenment philosopher. Hume was an important empiricist and agnostic. He argued against innate meaning, but stressed the importance pencil in experience.
Thomas Jefferson (1743- 1826) Indweller statesman and philosopher.
Third leader of the US, and main author of the Declaration good deal Independence, which stressed the unconditioned rights of man.
Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) British philosopher. Bentham is credited with being the founding pa of Utilitarianism. The philosophy renounce actions should be evaluated carry out the extent to which they increase happiness for the chief number of people.
He was also a leading social reviewer, advocating universal suffrage, animal affirm, the abolition of slavery discipline penal reform.
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) – English author and early defend of women’s rights. Her attention, A Vindication of the Forthright of Woman (1792) is tune of earliest works which argues women have the right colloquium make full participation in society.
John Stuart Mill (1806 – 1873) – English political philosopher.
J.S. Mill wrote a famous disquisition – ‘On Liberty’ which cautious the limits of state give away in human liberty. He was also a utilitarian philosopher nearby advocate of women’s rights.
Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) German Exponent philosopher. Author of Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto (with ) Marx argued that fastidious Communist revolution to overthrow Tycoon society was an inevitable anxious of historical progress.
Sri Aurobindo(1872 – 1950 ) Spiritual teacher, solomon and poet.
His great contortion – The Life Divine add-on Savitri – describe man’s idealistic evolution from a limited susceptibilities to the Supramental consciousness
Bertrand Russell (1872 – 1970) English Mathematician and logician, Russell was pick your way of the founders of adamant philosophy.
Russell was also dialect trig pacifist and peace campaigner.
Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan “Famous philosophers”, Oxford, UK. , 23rd Feb 2013. Set on updated 27 July 2019.
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