Major Ethical Philosophies

Karl Marx

1818 BCE

A German-born economist, political theorist, and philosopher, Karl Marx wrote some of the most revolutionary philosophical content ever produced. He 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

Ralph Waldo Emerson

1803 BCE

A Boston-born writer, philosopher, and poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson is the father of the transcendentalist movement. He wrote on the importance of subjects such as self-reliance, experiential living, and the preeminence of the soul

Immanuel Kant

1724 BCE

He is considered among the most essential figures in modern philosophy, an advocate of reason as the source for morality, and a thinker whose ideas continue to permeate ethical, epistemological, and political debate. He 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.

David Hume

1711 BCE

A Scottish-born historian, economist, and philosopher. He articulated the “problem of induction,” suggesting we cannot rationally justify our belief in causality, that our perception only allows us to experience events that are typically conjoined, and that causality cannot be empirically asserted as the connecting force in that relationship

René Descartes

1596 BCE

Father of analytical geometry, a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist, Descartes was born in France but spent 20 years of his life in the Dutch Republic. He discards belief in all things that are not absolutely certain, emphasizing the understanding of that which can be known for sure.

Saint Thomas Aquinas

1225 BCE

Thomas Aquinas was a 13th century Dominican friar, theologian and Doctor of the Church, born in what is known today as the Lazio region of Italy. His most important contribution to Western thought is the concept of natural theology (sometimes referred to as Thomism in tribute to his influence). This belief system holds that the existence of God is verified through reason and rational explanation, as opposed to through scripture or religious experience