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551 BCE
CONFUCIUS
Confucius was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who was traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. -
470 BCE
SOCRATES
Socrates was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as a founder of Western philosophy and the first moral philosopher of the Western ethical tradition of thought. -
384 BCE
ARISTOTLE
"The Golden Mean Principle" states that to be happy, live a life of moderation. -
348 BCE
PLATO
Plato was an Athenian philosopher during the Classical period in Ancient Greece, founder of the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. -
341 BCE
EPICURUS
Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy. He was born on the Greek island of Samos to Athenian parents. -
1274
SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS
Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church. An immensely influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism, he is also known within the latter as the Doctor Angelicus, the Doctor Communis, and the Doctor Universalis. -
THOMAS HOBBES
Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book Leviathan, in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. -
RENΈ DESCARTES
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. -
DAVID HUME
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. -
IMMANUEL KANT
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics have made him one of the most influential figures in modern Western philosophy. -
RALPH WANDO EMERSON
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. -
JOHN STUART MILL
John Stuart Mill, usually cited as J. S. Mill, was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament, and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to social theory, political theory, and political economy. -
KARL MARX
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 -
MICHEL FOUCAULT
Historian, social theorist, and philosopher Michel Foucault, born in the riverfront city of Poitiers, France, dedicated much of his teaching and writing to the examination of power and knowledge and their connection to social control. Believed oppressed humans are entitled to rights and they have a duty to rise up against the abuse of power to protect these rights and held the conviction that the study of philosophy must begin through a close and ongoing study of history.
