Ethical Philosophers and their respective Ethical Philosophies

By Madelle
  • THALES OF MILETUS (620 BC–546 BC)
    620 BCE

    THALES OF MILETUS (620 BC–546 BC)

    “The past is certain, the future obscure.” Thales of Miletus was a pre-Socratic and Ancient Greek philosopher who influenced many people. He was one of the legendary Seven Wise Men, or Sophoi, of antiquity, according to tradition. He is best known for his cosmology, which depicted the Earth as a flat disk floating in a huge sea, with water as the essence of all matter. Thales' hypotheses were novel and daring, and they succeeded in freeing things from divine influence.
  • SOCRATES (469 BC–399 BC)
    469 BCE

    SOCRATES (469 BC–399 BC)

    “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is widely regarded as the father of Western philosophy. Socrates tried to question the core beliefs that were prevalent in Greece at the time, and he urged others to do the same.
  • PLATO (428 BC–348 BC)
    428 BCE

    PLATO (428 BC–348 BC)

    “Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.” Plato was a Greek philosopher and the founder of the Academy at Athens, which is regarded as the world's first university. Plato's philosophy of virtue and human fulfillment is concerned with people's attempts to live happy lives. The wise person, according to Plato, uses the mind to comprehend moral truth and then apply it to her daily life.
  • ARISTOTLE (384 BC–322 BC)
    384 BCE

    ARISTOTLE (384 BC–322 BC)

    “The law is reason, free from passion.” Aristotle was regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of all time, having contributed significantly to logic, mathematics, ethics, and other subjects. Virtues, according to Aristotle, are excellent habits that we establish and that govern our emotions.
  • THOMAS HOBBES (1588–1679)

    THOMAS HOBBES (1588–1679)

    “Words are the money of fools.” Thomas Hobbes was a philosopher from England. His main focus is the issue of social and political order: how humans can coexist peacefully and avoid the risk and fear of civil war. Laws are valid, according to a positivist, not because they are based on natural law, but because they are enacted by legal authority and accepted by society.
  • IMMANUEL KANT (1724–1804)

    IMMANUEL KANT (1724–1804)

    “Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.” Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher who was a key figure in the Enlightenment. He claims that human reason gives itself the moral law, which is our basis for belief in God, freedom, and immortality, and that human knowledge is the source of the basic laws of nature that structure all of our experiences. Kant's thorough and methodical works have made him one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century.
  • GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH HEGEL (1770–1831)

    GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH HEGEL (1770–1831)

    Hegel was a German philosopher and the most important figure in German idealism. “Nothing great in the world was accomplished without passion.” was one of his well-known quotes. Hegel was a German philosopher and the most important figure in German idealism. Essentially, Hegel sees human societies evolving in the same way that an argument might evolve.