Paul-Michel Foucault was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, social theorist, and literary critic. Ren Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. Much of his philosophical work deals with the issues of how one lives as a single individual, giving priority to concrete human reality over abstract thinking and highlighting the importance of personal choice and commitment. Portrait ofJean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 1778) (third quarter of the 18th century) by Maurice Quentin de La Tour, located in the Muse Antoine-Lcuyer in Saint-Quentin, France; Maurice Quentin de La Tour, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. thebestschools.org is an advertising-supported site. He promoted stable family loyalty, ancestor reverence, and reverence for seniors by children and spouses by wives, suggesting family as the foundation for perfect governance. Descartes lived from 1596 to 1650, and today he is referred to as the "Father of Modern Philosophy." He created analytical geometry, based on his now immortal Cartesian coordinate system, immortal in the sense that we are all taught it in school and that it is still perfectly up-to-date in almost all branches of mathematics. Viewed as a divine figure in traditional Chinese religions, his ideas and writings would form one of the major pillars (alongside Confucius and the Buddha) for Eastern thought. As a student of Socrates, who was a key player in writing down his teachings, Plato also founded the Academy of Athens. Google's Terms of Service apply. It is because of these philosophers that we have been able to really study humanity and the way we communicate with ourselves, each other, nature, and God. Plato was one of the most important Ancient Greek philosophers, who contributed greatly to the fields of mathematics, metaphysics, politics, art, and poetry. The most famous living philosophers include Hossein Nasr and Abdolkarim Soroush. His practical philosophy, which includes morals and political philosophy, is founded on the notion of liberty. Rene Descartes 4. Rousseau was a writer, philosopher, and unique among entrants on this list a composer of operas and classical compositions. Nietzsche's philosophy is a latticework of recurring ideas and radical rejections. Aristotle is one of the most famous and influential philosophers and naturalists in history. A Danish theologian, social critic, and philosopher, Kierkegaard is viewed by many as the most important existentialist philosopher. They include: justice, beneficence, non-maleficence, and respect for autonomy. The first and best-known of this posthumous series is the 1953 book Philosophical Investigations. Mill was also a proponent of utilitarianism, which holds that the best action is one that maximizes utility, or stated more simply, one that provide the greatest benefit to all. Aristotle 3. The posthumous publication of his many volumes confirmed this view for future generations, ultimately rendering Wittgenstein a towering figure in the areas of logic, semantics, and the philosophy of mind. Leibniz 6. This orientation played a major part in his theology as well. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. His ideas on human morality, inequality, and most importantly, on the right to rule, would have an enormous and definable impact not just on thinking in Europe, but on the actual power dynamics within Western Civilization. Thus, the body of his thoughts and ideas is left to be deciphered through the works of his two most prominent students, Plato and Xenophon, as well as to the legions of historians and critics who have written on him since. Also notable, Sartre was supportive of the Soviet Union throughout his lifetime. His main research field was being qua being, which looked at what can be stated about being based on what it is rather than any specific traits it may possess. He was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology and the father of Thomism; of which he argued that reason is found in God. Because Kierkegaards work was at first only available in Danish, it was only after his work was translated that his ideas proliferated widely throughout Western Europe. He contributed a critical body of work to the school of thought called liberalism, an ideology founding on the extension of individual liberties and economic freedoms. Benedict Spinoza 5. Know first of all that there is no single answer to this question. Philosophers, also known as thinkers, seek out the underlying meaning of phenomena and then develop them in a system of thinking. Sajjad H. Rizvi has called Avicenna arguably the most influential philosopher of the pre-modern era. Sartres ideas took on increased importance during this time, as did his actions. In fact, his involvement earned Sartre two near-miss bomb attacks at the hands of French paramilitary forces. Due to his political publications, Marx became stateless and lived in exile with his wife and children in London for decades, where he continued to develop his thought in collaboration with German thinker Friedrich Engels and publish his writings, researching in the reading room of the British Museum. Heideggers later work includes criticism of the view, common in the Western tradition, that all of nature is a standing reserve on call, as if it were a part of industrial inventory. Moreover, our rankings are limited to those thinkers whose work has enjoyed extensive translation in the English-speaking world. Heidegger believes that Dasein already has a pre-ontological and non-abstract understanding that shapes how it lives. His ideas also remain central to theological debate, discourse, and modes of worship. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Aristophanes, a playwright, is the main contemporary author to have written plays mentioning Socrates during Socrates lifetime, though a fragment of Ion of Chios Travel Journal provides important information about Socrates youth. The columns of the site are open to external contributions. His contributions to the philosophy of language, philosophy of mind and social philosophy. In fact, one version of his biography implies he may well have been a direct mentor to the Buddha (or, in some versions, was the Buddha himself). *There is limited consensus about the exact publication date for each of these works. Aristotle holds hisNicomachean Ethicsand gestures to the earth, representing his view in immanent realism, whilst Plato gestures to the heavens, indicating his Theory of Forms, and holds hisTimaeus;Raphael, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. His moral concept is one of liberation. One of his most popular phrases is cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am), with which he argues that the world is composed of two separate substances: the mind and the body. Karl Marx (1818 - 1883) German Marxist philosopher. The-Philosophy.com - 2008-2022, Presocratic Philosophy of Heraclitus and Parmenides, Stuart Mill Philosophy: Interest, Economics and Politics. His five constant virtues that are most referred to are benevolence, righteousness, trustworthiness, propriety, and wisdom. Find out where Plato among philosophys major branches and subdisciplines. For Beuchot the equivocality is the difference between the application and the meaning of things. Active in movements against racism, human rights abuses, prisoner abuses, and marginalization of the mentally ill, he is often cited as a major influence in movements for social justice, human rights, and feminism. Upon arriving in London, Marx took up work with fellow German Friedrich Engels. This gave him access to an extensive body of writing and artifacts, which he synthesized into his own poetry and prose. Adhered to the Platonic/Aristotelian principle of realism, which holds that certain absolutes exist in the universe, including the existence of the universe itself; Focused much of his work on reconciling Aristotelian and Christian principles, but also expressed a doctrinal openness to Jewish and Roman philosophers, all to the end of divining truth wherever it could be found; The Second Vatican Council (196265) declared his Summa Theolgoiae a compendium of all the teachings of the Catholic Church to that point Perennial Philosophy.. The four main principles of Confucianism are referred to as his ethics. Let's take a look at some memorable teachings and background information about some of the greatest philosophers of all time. Although Socrates is often considered the founder of thought in the West, much of what we know about him comes from Plato. John Locke, who lived in Europe in the 17th century, was an Oxford academic who also researched medicine. Things you'll find in this article. Portrait of Niccol Machiavelli (some time between 1500 and 1600) by Santi di Tito, located at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy; Santi di Tito, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The intellect, body, and Gods kingdom would all be included inside these three realms. Gottfried Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. 6 Confucius Possibly the most important philosopher in eastern history, Master Kong Qiu pushed specific principles of ethics and politics, including the principles of democracy. That concludes our look at the most famous philosophers through the ages and their various philosophical beliefs. The classical Greek thinker is best known through Platos dialogues, which reveal a key contributor to the fields of ethics and education. On 15 lists. Confucianism, his philosophical principles, stressed individual and political morality, social connection accuracy, fairness, compassion, and sincerity. Socrates factuality has never been called into question, but what he advocated is as mysterious as Pythagoras philosophical beliefs or Christs later doctrines in that none of these men recorded anything themselves. This was the first institution of higher learning in the region. (2016). More broadly speaking, his examination of power and social control has had a direct influence on the studies of sociology, communications, and political science. A philosophers views are occasionally expressed in ways that make millions of peoples lives simpler. Portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft (c. 1790 1791) by John Opie, located in the Tate Britain in London, United Kingdom;John Opie, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Ren Descartes is credited with establishing the foundations of modern philosophy. Whether or not his thought led to the terrible Campaign of Terror that succeeded the French Revolution remains a question. His writings, and Aquinas himself, are still considered among the preeminent models for Catholic priesthood. In addition to being a philosopher, Aristotle was also a scientist, which led him to consider an enormous array of topics, and largely through the view that all concepts and knowledge are ultimately based on perception. Pantheon has 18 people classified as philosophers born between 450 and 1974. His trial was conducted in 399 BC and he was accused of impiety and corrupting youth. As a representative of the seventeenth-century tradition of rationalism, Leibniz developed, as his most prominent accomplishment, the ideas of differential and integral calculus, independently of Isaac Newtons contemporaneous developments. 2. Moral assessment and moral duty would be inconceivable without human freedom, Kant believed. He was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism and phenomenology, and one of the leading figures in 20th-century French philosophy and Marxism. Leibniz was a prolific author, and his whole writings have yet to be fully gathered. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Nonetheless, Leibnizs later years were overshadowed by a bitter feud with Isaac Newton about who invented calculus first, and he was frequently mocked in court for his old-fashioned garb. 96 Popular Indian Philosophers 6 Friedrich Nietzsche 78 Votes Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche ( 15 October 1844 - 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, and philologist whose work has exerted a profound influence on modern intellectual history. With its focus on naturalistic, practical reason, and self-realization, Rands philosophy is Aristotelian. Asserted the use of logic as a method of argument and offered the basic methodological template for analytical discourse; Espoused the understanding that knowledge is built from the study of things that happen in the world, and that some knowledge is universal a prevailing set of ideas throughout Western Civilization thereafter; Defined metaphysics as the knowledge of immaterial being, and used this framework to examine the relationship between substance (a combination of matter and form) and essence, from which he devises that man is comprised from a unity of the two. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence. From Kants time onward, his idea of moral freedom and ethical beliefs has been essential to debates on morality. Painting of Pascal made by Franois II Quesnel for Grard Edelinck in 1691, located in the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France; Photo portrait of Russian-American writerAyn Rand used for the first-edition back cover of her novel. The existentialist and surrealist movements that followed his time were also built on the aforementioned idea. He never wrote anything and most of his philosophical contributions come through his students, mainly Plato. Photo portrait of Russian-American writerAyn Rand used for the first-edition back cover of her novel,The Fountainhead (1943);English: Photo portrait credited to Talbot (though not on original dust jacket). He later became a mentor to Alexander the Great. Although a degree does not necessarily make a person a philosopher, many people do obtain one. Since 2008, The-Philosophy.com acts for the diffusion of the philosophical thoughts. His views on physical science shaped medieval scholarship. Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) He argued that the domain of Forms embodied this fact. You can also click on the profile link for each philosopher to see where they rank in specific philosophy subdisciplines, such as logic, ethics, and metaphysics. Higher Ed Thats Affordable! He was a sage and Greek philosopher who was highly influential. Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church. Nietzsche: A Guide to His Most Famous Works and Ideas. Find out where this influencer ranks among philosophys major branches and subdisciplines. He advocated for resistance to oppressive social constructs and argued for the importance of achieving an authentic way of being. He was taught by another famous philosopher, Plato. Many elements of Descartess philosophy have precedents in late Aristotelianism, the revived Stoicism of the 16th century, or in earlier philosophers like Augustine. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Since philosophers take into consideration human existence, their lessons last beyond their time. His philosophy was that happiness was the highest good of human living and that it was defined by the pursuit of pleasure, not the pure exercise of reason. In his theology, he insists on the absolute freedom of Gods act of creation. Rousseau was not a big fan of philosophers. His name has been used as an adjective, a noun and a school of social theory. In short, it consolidates a dualist vision of reality. Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist and socialist revolutionary. Let's have a look at 8 of the most famous French philosophers who have changed the world. Averroes was a strong proponent of Aristotelianism; he attempted to restore what he considered the original teachings of Aristotle and opposed the Neoplatonist tendencies of earlier Muslim thinkers, such as Al-Farabi and Avicenna. Below are some of the most influential philosophers, their schools of thought, and what we can learn from their forward-thinking approach. He was focused on creating a naturalistic science of man that delves into the psychological conditions defining human nature. Taoism is also where the balancing of forces, known as the yin and yang, is derived from; this idea focuses on matching forces, such as light and dark, hot and cold, and action and inaction, portraying how the opposites work together to make sense of the world. He came from an aristocratic family. Given the ramifications of the phrase in his day, he would have most likely responded no. Voltaire is one of those philosophers names that you might recognize. He was the first to be considered a moral philosopher of ethical tradition of thought. Published by the Bobbs-Merrill Company., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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