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History of Western philosophy
Pre-Socratic philosophy
Ancient philosophy
Medieval philosophy
Renaissance philosophy
17th-century philosophy
18th-century philosophy
19th-century philosophy
20th-century philosophy
Postmodern philosophy
Contemporary philosophy
See also:
Eastern philosophy
Indian philosophy
Chinese philosophy
Christian philosophy
Islamic philosophy
Jewish philosophy

For the book by Bertrand Russell, see History of Western Philosophy (Russell)

Philosophy has a long history conventionally divided into three large eras: the Ancient, Medieval and Modern. The Ancient era runs through the fall of Rome and includes the Greek philosophers such as Plato. The Medieval period runs until roughly the late 1400s and the Renaissance. The "Modern" is a word with more varied use, which includes everything from the late 16th century through the specific period of the early 20th century. Contemporary philosophy encompasses the philosophical developments of the 20th century up to the present day. Image File history File links Cropped version of [1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Pre-Socratic philosophers were active before Socrates or contemporaneously, but expounding knowledge developed earlier. ... This page lists some links to ancient philosophy, although for Western thinkers prior to Socrates, see Pre-Socratic philosophy. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... By region Italian Renaissance Spanish Renaissance Northern Renaissance French Renaissance German Renaissance English Renaissance In his book The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, Jacob Burckhardt argued that, beginning in the 14th century a transformation in outlook and ideas began in Italy which would later cover all of Europe. ... 17th-century philosophy in the West is generally regarded as seeing the start of modern philosophy, and the shaking off of the mediæval approach, especially scholasticism. ... The Age of Enlightenment refers to the 18th century in European philosophy, and is often thought of as part of a period which includes the Age of Reason. ... In the 18th century the philosophies of The Enlightenment would begin to have dramatic effect, and the landmark works of philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and Jean-Jacques Rousseau would have an electrifying effect on a new generation of thinkers. ... The 20th century brought with it upheavals that produced a series of conflicting developments within philosophy over the basis of knowledge and the validity of various absolutes. ... Postmodern philosophy is an eclectic and elusive movement characterized by its criticism of Western philosophy. ... The term contemporary philosopher refers not just to figures who are alive, but also those who died within the past three decades, irrespective of when their major philosophy works were written or when their work was most popular. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The term Indian philosophy may refer to any of several traditions of philosophical thought, including: Hindu philosophy Buddhist philosophy Jain philosophy Carvaka philosophy See also Important publications in Indian philosophy This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Yin/Yang symbol and ba gua poopoo outside of Nanning city, Guangxi province. ... Christian philosophy is a catch-all expression for a two-millennia tradition of rational thought that attempts to fuse the fields of philosophy with the religious teachings of Christianity. ... Islamic philosophy (الفلسفة الإسلامية) is a part of the Islamic studies, and is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between faith, reason or philosophy, and the religious teachings of Islam. ... Jewish philosophy refers to the conjunction between serious study of philosophy and Jewish theology. ... Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970), was a British philosopher, logician, and mathematician, working mostly in the 20th century. ... Bertrand Russells A History of Western Philosophy : And Its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day has the ambitious goal of tracing Western philosophy from the earliest times to Russells modern day, which was the nineteen sixties. ... Philosopher in Meditation (detail), by Rembrandt. ... Plato (Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn, wide, broad-shouldered) (c. ... Events and Trends Categories: 1400s ... In the traditional view, the Renaissance is understood as a historical age that was preceded by the Middle Ages and followed by the Reformation. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

Brief timeline

Ancient philosophy

Philosophy is generally said to begin in the Greek cities of western Asia Minor (Ionia) with Thales of Miletus, who was active around 585 B.C. and left us the opaque dictum, "All is water." His most noted students were Anaximander and Anaximenes of Miletus ("All is air"). Thales of Miletus (ca. ... Anaximander Anaximander (Greek: Αναξίμανδρος)(c. ... Anaximenes (in Greek: Άναξιμένης) of Miletus (585 BC - 525 BC) was a Greek philosopher from the latter half of the 6th century, probably a younger contemporary of Anaximander, whose pupil or friend he is said to have been. ...

Other thinkers and schools appeared throughout Greece over the next couple of centuries. Among the most important were:

• Heraclitus, who stressed the transitory and chaotic nature of all things ("All is fire"; "We cannot step into the same river twice").
• Anaxagoras, who asserted that reality was so ordered that it must be in all respects governed by Mind.
• The Pluralists and Atomists (Empedocles, Democritus) who tried to understand the world as composite of innumerable interacting parts; and the Eleatics Parmenides and Zeno who both insisted that All is One and change is impossible. Parmenides and his school emphasized the enduring, perduring, and absolute character of the world and of truth. ("To be is, to not be is not.")
• The Sophists, traveling professional teachers of varied philosophical affinity, became known (perhaps unjustly) for claiming that truth was no more than opinion and for teaching people to argue fallaciously to prove whatever conclusions they wished.

This whole movement gradually became more concentrated in Athens, which had become the dominant city-state in Greece. Heraclitus by Johannes Moreelse Heraclitus of Ephesus (Greek Herakleitos) (about 535 - 475 BC), known as The Obscure (Greek Ainiktin), was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Ephesus in Asia Minor. ... Anaxagoras Anaxagoras (c. ... Atomism is the theory that all the objects in the universe are composed of very small particles that were not created and that will have no end. ... Empedocles of Agrigentum Empedocles (circa 490 BCE – c. ... Hendrick ter Brugghen, Democritus Laughing (1629) Democritus (Greek: Δημόκριτος) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher (born at Abdera in Thrace around 450 BC; died in about 370 BC). ... The Eleatics were a school of pre-Socratic philosophers at Elea, a Greek colony in Lucania, Italy. ... Parmenides of Elea (early 5th century BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher born in Elea, a Hellenic city on the southern coast of Italy. ... Zeno of Elea (IPA:zɛnoʊ, ɛlɛɑː)(circa 490 BC? – circa 430 BC?) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of southern Italy and a member of the Eleatic School founded by Parmenides. ... Sophism was originally a term for the techniques taught by a highly respected group of philosophy and rhetoric teachers in ancient Greece. ... Athens (Greek: Αθήνα, Athína IPA: ) is the capital of Greece and one of the most famous cities in the world, named after goddess Athena. ...

There is considerable discussion about why Athenian culture encouraged philosophy, but one popular theory says that it occurred because Athens had a direct democracy. It's known from Plato's writings that many sophists maintained schools of debate, were respected members of society, and were well paid by their students. It's also well known that orators had tremendous influence on Athenian history, possibly even causing its failure (See Battle of Miletus). One other theory for the popularity of philosophical debate in Athens was due to the use of slavery there - the workforce, mainly slaves, performed the labour that otherwise would have been taken up by the male population of the city. Freed from working in the fields or in productive activity, they were then free to engage in the assemblies of Athens, and spend long hours discussing popular philosophical questions. The theory fills in the blanks by saying that the Sophists' students wanted to acquire the skills of an orator in order to influence the Athenian Assembly, and thereby grow wealthy and respected. Since winning debates led to wealth, the subjects and methods of debate became highly developed. The Athenian Assembly was created in Athens during Greece’s Golden Age (480-404 BCE). ...

The key figure in transforming Greek philosophy into a unified and continuous project - the one still being pursued today - is Socrates, who studied under several Sophists. He then spent much of his life, we are told, engaging everyone in Athens in discussion trying to determine whether anyone had a very good idea what they were talking about, especially when they talked about important matters like justice, beauty and truth. He wrote nothing, but inspired many disciples. In his old age he became the focus of the hostility of many in the city who saw philosophy and sophistry, interchangeably, as destroying the piety and moral fiber of the city; he was executed in 399 B.C. Socrates (Greek: , invariably anglicized assɔkɹətiːz, Sǒcratēs; 470?–399 BCE) was a ancient Greek philosopher who is widely credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy. ...

Raphael's The School of Athens (1509) with Plato and Aristotle in the centre.

His most important student was Plato, who wrote a number of philosophical dialogues using his master's methods of inquiry to examine problems. The early dialogues demonstrate something like Socrates' own fairly inconclusive style of inquiry. The "middle" ones develop a substantive metaphysical and ethical system to resolve these problems. Central ideas are the Theory of Forms, that the mind is imbued with an innate capacity to understand and apply concepts to the world, and that these concepts are in a significant way more real, or more basically real, than the things of the world around us; the immortality of the soul, and the idea that it too is more important than the body; the idea that evil is a kind of ignorance, that only knowledge can lead to virtue, that art should be subordinate to moral purposes, and that society should be ruled by a class of philosopher kings. In the later dialogues Socrates figures less prominently, and the Theory of Forms is cast in doubt; more directly ethical questions become the focus. Interestingly, in his most famous work, The Republic Plato attacks the system of democracy, blaming it for the defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War - he attributes the indecision of the masses (who voted on everything, including military strategy) as the reason for military defeat. He proposed instead a three tiered structure of society, with workers, guardians and philosophers, in ascending order of importance (convenient for him and his disciples, clearly), citing the philosophers' greater knowledge of the forms as the reason for them being more appropriate in running society. From http://www. ... From http://www. ... Plato (Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn, wide, broad-shouldered) (c. ... Plato spoke of forms (sometimes capitalized: The Forms) in formulating his solution to the problem of universals. ... The Republic is an influential dialogue by Plato, written in the first half of the 4th century BC. This Socratic dialogue mainly is about political philosophy and ethics. ... Combatants Delian League led by Athens Peloponnesian League led by Sparta Commanders Pericles Cleon Nicias Alcibiades Archidamus II Brasidas Lysander The Peloponnesian War began in 431 BC between the Athenian Empire (or The Delian League) and the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta. ...

Plato founded the Academy of Athens, and his most outstanding student there was Aristotle. Possibly Aristotle's most important and long-lasting work was his formalization of logic. It appears that Aristotle was the first philosopher to categorize every valid syllogism. A syllogism is a form of argument that is guaranteed to be accepted, because it is known (by all educated persons) to be valid. A crucial assumption in Aristotelian logic is that it has to be about real objects. Two of Aristotle's syllogisms are invalid to modern eyes. For example, "All A are B. All A are C. Therefore, some B are C." This syllogism fails if set A is empty. Raphaels portrait of Plato, a detail of The School of Athens fresco An an institution for the study of (usually) higher learning. ... Media:Example. ... Logic, from Classical Greek λόγος (logos), originally meaning the word, or what is spoken, (but coming to mean thought or reason) is most often said to be the study of criteria for the evaluation of arguments, although the exact definition of logic is a matter of controversy among philosophers. ... A syllogism (Greek: συλλογισμός — conclusion, inference), more correctly a categorical syllogism, is a kind of logical argument in which one proposition (the conclusion) is inferred from two others (the premises). ... This article discusses validity in logic, for the term in the social sciences see validity (psychometric). ...

Medieval philosophy

Medieval philosophy was greatly concerned with the nature of God, and the application of Aristotle's logic and thought to every area of life. Media:Example. ... Traditional logic, also known as term logic, is a loose term for the logical tradition that originated with Aristotle and survived broadly unchanged until the advent of modern predicate logic in the late nineteenth century. ...

If God exists at all, surely He is the most important feature of the universe, and therefore worthy of study. One continuing interest in this time was to prove the existence of God, through logic alone, if possible.

One early effort was the cosmological argument, conventionally attributed to Thomas Aquinas. The argument roughly, is that everything that exists has a cause. Therefore, there must be an uncaused first cause, and this is God. Aquinas also adapted this argument to prove the goodness of God. Everything has some goodness, and the cause of each thing is better than the thing caused. Therefore, the first cause is the best possible thing. Similar arguments are used to prove God's power and uniqueness. Saint Thomas Aquinas [Thomas of Aquin, or Aquino] (c. ...

Another important argument proof of the existence of God was the Ontological Argument, advanced by St. Anselm. Basically, it says that God has all possible good features. Existence is good, and therefore God has it, and therefore God exists. This argument has been used in different forms by philosophers from Descartes forward. Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033 or 1034 - April 21, 1109), a widely influential medieval philosopher and theologian, held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. ...

The application of Aristotelian logic proceeded by having the student memorize a rather large set of syllogisms. The memorization proceeded from diagrams, or learning a key sentence, with the first letter of each word reminding the student of the names of the syllogisms. Logic, from Classical Greek λόγος (logos), originally meaning the word, or what is spoken, (but coming to mean thought or reason) is most often said to be the study of criteria for the evaluation of arguments, although the exact definition of logic is a matter of controversy among philosophers. ...

Each syllogism had a name, for example "Modus Ponens" had the form of "If A is true, then B is true. A is true, therefore B is true."

Most university students of logic memorized Aristotle's 19 syllogisms of two subjects, permitting them to validly connect a subject and object. A few geniuses developed systems with three subjects, or described a way of elaborating the rules of three subjects.

As well as Aquinas, other important names from the medieval period include Duns Scotus and Pierre Abélard. Blessed John Duns Scotus (c. ... Abaelardus and Heloïse surprised by Master Fulbert, by Romanticist painter Jean Vignaud (1819) Pierre Abélard (in English, Peter Abelard) or Abailard (1079 – April 21, 1142) was a French scholastic philosopher. ...

Modern philosophy

As with many periodizations, there are multiple current usages for the term "Modern Philosophy" that exist in practice. One usage is to date modern philosophy from the "Age of Reason", where systematic philosophy became common, which excludes Erasmus and Machiavelli as, "modern philosophers". Another is to date it, the way the entire larger modern period is dated, from the Renaissance. In some usages, "Modern Philosophy" ended in 1800, with the rise of Hegelianism and Idealism. There is also the lumpers/splitters problem, namely that some works split philosophy into more periods than others: one author might feel a strong need to differentiate between "The Age of Reason" or "Early Modern Philosophers" and "The Enlightenment", another author might write from the perspective that 1600-1800 is essentially one continuous evolution, and therefore a single period. Wikipedia's philosophy section therefore hews more closely to centuries as a means of avoiding long discussions over periods, but it is important to note the variety of practice that occurs. In the traditional view, the Renaissance is understood as a historical age that was preceded by the Middle Ages and followed by the Reformation. ... Lumping and splitting refers to a well known problem in any discipline which has to place individual examples into rigorously defined catagories. ...

A broad overview would then have Erasmus, Francis Bacon, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Galileo Galilei represent the rise of empiricism and humanism in place of scholastic tradition. 17th-century philosophy is dominated by the need to organize philosophy on rational, skeptical, logical and axiomatic grounds, such as the work of René Descartes, Blaise Pascal and Thomas Hobbes, attempting to integrate religious belief into philosophical frameworks, and, often to combat atheism or other unbelief, by adopting the idea of material reality, and the dualism between spirit and material. The extension, and reaction, against this would be the monism of George Berkeley and Benedict de Spinoza. Desiderius Erasmus in 1523 Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (also Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam) (October 27, probably 1466 – July 12, 1536) was a Dutch humanist and theologian. ... Sir Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English astrologer, philosopher, statesman, spy, freemason and essayist. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Portrait of Galileo Galilei by Giusto Sustermans. ... 17th-century philosophy in the West is generally regarded as seeing the start of modern philosophy, and the shaking off of the mediæval approach, especially scholasticism. ... For other things named Descartes, see Descartes (disambiguation). ... Blaise Pascal (June 19, 1623 – August 19, 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher. ... Hobbes redirects here. ... It has been suggested that Combative dualism be merged into this article or section. ... Bishop George Berkeley George Berkeley (British English://; Irish English: //) (12 March 1685 – 14 January 1753), also known as Bishop Berkeley, was an influential Irish philosopher whose primary philosophical achievement is the advancement of what has come to be called subjective idealism, summed up in his dictum, Esse est percipi (To... Baruch Spinoza Benedictus de Spinoza (November 24, 1632 _ February 21, 1677), named Baruch Spinoza by his synagogue elders and known as Bento de Spinoza or Bento dEspiñoza in the community in which he grew up. ...

The 18th-century philosophy article deals with the period often called the early part of "The Enlightenment" in the shorter form of the word, and centers around the rise of systematic empiricism, following after Sir Isaac Newton's natural philosophy. Thus Diderot, Voltaire, Rousseau and culminating with Kant and the political philosophy of the American Revolution are part of The Enlightenment. (Redirected from 18th century philosophy) 17th-century Western philosophy is conventionally seen as being dominated by the coming of symbolic mathematics and rationalism to philosophy, many of the most noted philosophers were also mathematicians. ... Sir Isaac Newton in Knellers portrait of 1689. ... Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (October 5, 1713 - July 31, 1784) was a French writer and philosopher. ... The last of Voltaires statues by Jean-Antoine Houdon (1781). ... Rousseau is a French surname. ... Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (April 22, 1724 – February 12, 1804) was a Prussian philosopher, generally regarded as one of Europes most influential thinkers and the last major philosopher of the Enlightenment. ... The American Revolution was an upheaval that ended British control of middle North America, resulting ultimately in the formation of the United States of America. ... ...

The 19th century took the radical notions of self-organization and intrinsic order from Goethe and Kantian metaphysics, and proceeded to produce a long elaboration on the tension between systematization and organic development. Foremost was the work of Hegel, whose Logic and Phenomenology of Spirit produced a "dialectical" framework for ordering of knowledge. The 19th century would also include Schopenhauer's negation of the will. As with the 18th century, it would be developments in science that would arise from, and then challenge, philosophy: most importantly the work of Charles Darwin, which was based on the idea of organic self-regulation found in philosophers such as Adam Smith, but fundamentally challenged established conceptions. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (August 27, 1770 - November 14, 1831) was a German philosopher born in Stuttgart, Württemberg, in present-day southwest Germany. ... Arthur Schopenhauer (February 22, 1788 – September 21, 1860) was a German philosopher. ... In his lifetime Charles Darwin gained international fame as an influential scientist examining controversial topics: portrait by Julia Margaret Cameron. ... Adam Smith, FRSE, (baptised June 5, 1723 – July 17, 1790) was a Scottish political economist and moral philosopher. ...

Contemporary philosophy

The 20th Century deals with the upheavals produced by a series of conflicts within philosophical discourse over the basis of knowledge, with classical certainties overthrown, and new social, economic, scientific and logical problems. 20th Century philosophy was set for a series of attempts to reform and preserve, and to alter or abolish, older knowledge systems. Seminal figures include Søren Kierkegaard, Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ernst Mach, John Dewey. Epistemology and its basis was a central concern, as seen from the work of Martin Heidegger, Karl Popper, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Phenomenologically oriented metaphysics undergirded existentialism (Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Karl Jaspers, Albert Camus) and finally postmodern philosophy (Jean-François Lyotard, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida). Also notable was the rise of "pop" philosophers who promulgated systems for dealing with the world, including Ayn Rand, C. S. Lewis and others. Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (IPA: ) (5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a 19th-century Danish philosopher and theologian, generally recognized as the first existentialist philosopher. ... Sigmund Freud, around 1921 Sigmund Freud (IPA: []) (May 6, 1856 – September 23, 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology. ... Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (IPA:) (October 15, 1844–August 25, 1900), a German philologist and philosopher, produced critiques of contemporary culture, religion, and philosophy centered around a basic question regarding the positive and negative attitudes toward life of various systems of morality. ... Ernst Mach Ernst Mach (February 18, 1838 – February 19, 1916) was an Austrian-Czech physicist and philosopher and is the namesake for the Mach number and the optical illusion known as Mach bands. ... John Dewey (October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer, whose thought has been greatly influential in the United States and around the world. ... Martin Heidegger (September 26, 1889 – May 26, 1976), German philosopher, attempted to reorient Western philosophy away from metaphysical and epistemological and toward ontological questions, that is, questions concerning the meaning of being, or what it means to be. Heidegger also challenged the idea of phenomenology as defined by his teacher... Sir Karl Raimund Popper, CH, KT, MA, Ph. ... Claude Lévi-Strauss Claude Lévi-Strauss (IPA pronounciation ) born November 28, 1908, is a Belgian anthropologist who became one of the twentieth centurys greatest intellectuals by developing structuralism as a method of understanding human society and culture. ... Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970), was a British philosopher, logician, and mathematician, working mostly in the 20th century. ... Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (IPA: ) (April 26, 1889 – April 29, 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who contributed several ground-breaking works to contemporary philosophy, primarily on the foundations of logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of mind. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (IPA: or or ) (June 21, 1905 – April 15, 1980) was a French existentialist philosopher, dramatist, novelist and critic. ... Simone de Beauvoir (January 9, 1908 – April 14, 1986) was a French author and philosopher. ... Karl Jaspers Karl Theodor Jaspers (February 23, 1883 – February 26, 1969), a German psychiatrist and philosopher, had a strong influence on modern theology, psychiatry and philosophy. ... Albert Camus, in an undated publicity photograph. ... Postmodern philosophy is an eclectic and elusive movement characterized by its criticism of Western philosophy. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Michel Foucault (October 15, 1926 – June 25, 1984) was a French philosopher who held a chair at the Collège de France, which he gave the title The History of Systems of Thought. ... Jacques Derrida (July 15, 1930 – October 8, 2004) was an Algerian-born French literary critic and philosopher of Jewish descent, most often referred to as the founder of deconstruction or, by less sympathetic theorists, deconstructionism. ... Ayn Rand (IPA: , Ayn rhyming with fine; February 2 [O.S. January 20] 1905 – March 6, 1982), born Alisa Zinovevna Rosenbaum (Russian: ), was a Russian-American author and philosopher best known for developing the philosophy of Objectivism and for writing the novels We the Living, Anthem, The Fountainhead, and... C.S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898–22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, and by his friends as Jack, was an Irish author and scholar of mixed Irish, English, and Welsh ancestry. ...

Chronological list of important philosophers

See also: list of philosophers for a more comprehensive list of philosophers. This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

• Thales (620-546 BC), traditionally the first Presocratic philosopher.
• Anaximander (610-540 BC), Ionic Presocratic, the first to write a philosophical treatise (in historical record).
• Anaximenes (fl. 6th cent. BC), Ionic Presocratic, possibly a pupil of Anaximander.
• Heraclitus (540-480 BC), Presocratic philosopher. Credited with the maxim that "one cannot step in the same river twice". All of existence is always in flux.
• Pythagoras (570-497 BC), philosopher-mathematician based in Italy. Invented Pythagorean theorem.
• Theano (fl. 6th cent. BC), female philosopher, pupil of Pythagoras and later his wife.
• Xenophanes (570-475 BC), Presocratic philosopher-poet pre-empting the Eleatic school.
• Parmenides (510-440 BC), Eleatic philosopher of ontology.
• Anaxagoras (500-428 BC), Presocratic, the first philosopher known to have been based in Athens.
• Diogenes Apolloniates (fl. 5th cent. BC), Ionian Presocratic philosopher.
• Empedocles (493-433 BC), Presocratic philosopher and cosmologist.
• Zeno of Elea (fl. 5th cent. BC), Eleatic philosopher famous for his paradoxes of motion.
• Leucippus (fl. 5th cent. BC), Presocratic philosopher, founder of atomism.
• Protagoras (485-415 BC), Sophist known for his relativism.
• Hippias (485-415 BC), Sophist.
• Gorgias (483-376 BC), Sophist and teacher of rhetoric. The first nihilist.
• Antiphon (480-411 BC), Orator and Sophist (if these two are in fact the same person), fragments of whose treatise On Truth were discovered at Oxyrhynchus.
• Aspasia (fl. 5th cent. BC), female philosopher and rhetorician, companion of Socrates.
• Socrates (469-399 BC), Athenian philosopher. Put to death on charges of corrupting the youth.
• Prodicus (fl. 5th cent. BC), Sophist contemporary with Socrates.
• Democritus (460-370 BC), famous atomic philosopher.
• Euclid of Megara (450-380 BC), associate of Socrates and founder of the Megarian school.
• Antisthenes (445-360 BC), companion of Socrates, often associated with the later Cynic movement.
• Aristippus (435-356 BC), companion of Socrates, traditionally the founder of the Cyrenaic school devoted to hedonism.
• Plato (429-347 BC), younger associate of Socrates, founder of the Academy, teacher of Aristotle.
• Xenophon (427-355 BC), historian and philosophical author, famous for his accounts of Socrates.
• Speusippus (407-339 BC), pupil of Plato who succeeded him as second head of the Academy.
• Diogenes of Sinope (400-325 BC), Cynic philosopher.
• Xenocrates (396-314 BC), follower of Plato and third head of the Academy.
• Aristotle (384-322 BC), pupil of Plato, founder of the Lyceum and the Peripatetic tradition.
• Arete of Cyrene (fl. 4th cent. BC), daughter of Aristippus and his successor as head of the Cyrenaic school.
• Stilpo (380-300 BC), Megarian philosopher, influenced by Cynicism and an influence on Stoicism.
• Theophrastus (370-288 BC), pupil of Aristotle and his successor as head of the Lyceum.
• Pyrrho (365-275 BC), founder of the sceptical philosophy named after him.
• Epicurus (341-270 BC), atomist and hedonist philosopher, founder of school named after him.
• Zeno of Citium (335-263 BC), founder of the Stoic school.
• Cleanthes (331-232 BC), second head of the Stoic school.
• Aristo (fl. 3rd cent. BC), Stoic philosopher, a pupil of Zeno, focused primarily on ethics.
• Timon (320-230 BC), sceptical philosopher, pupil of Pyrrho.
• Arcesilaus (316-242 BC), head of Plato's Academy, perhaps responsible for its turn towards scepticism.
• Menippus (fl. 250 BC), Cynic philosopher and famous as a satirist.
• Chrysippus (280-207 BC), third (and probably most important) head of the Stoic school.
• Diogenes of Babylon (240-152 BC), Stoic philosopher, member of the famous embassy of philosophers to Rome.
• Carneades (214-129 BC), head of the Academy and founder of the 'New Academy', member of the famous embassy of philosophers to Rome.
• Panaetius (185-109 BC), Stoic philosopher with eclectic tendencies, pupil of Diogenes of Babylon and Antipater, influence upon Cicero.
• Philo of Larissa (160-80 BC), head of the Academy, teacher of Cicero.
• Zeno of Sidon (150-70 BC), Epicurean philosopher.
• Posidonius (135-51 BC), Stoic philosopher and historian, often characterised as an eclectic representative of the 'Middle Stoa'.
• Antiochus of Ascalon (130-68 BC), pupil of Philo of Larissa, head of the Academy turning it away from the scepticism of the 'New Academy' and back to the 'Old Academy'. An important influence upon Cicero.
• Philodemus (110-40 BC), Epicurean philosopher, many of whose works were buried at Herculaneum.
• Cicero (106-43 BC), Roman philosophical author.
• Aenesidemus (fl. 1st cent. BC), sceptical philosopher who attempted to revive Pyrrhonism.
• Lucretius (94-55 BC), Epicurean philosopher-poet. Atomist.
• Philo of Alexandria (30 BC - 45 AD), Jewish Hellenistic philosopher and prolific author based in Alexandria.
• Seneca (4 BC - 65 AD), Latin Stoic author, onetime tutor to the Emperor Nero.
• Musonius Rufus (30-100 AD), Stoic philosopher-preacher.
• Plutarch (45-120 AD), biographer and author of an important collection of philosophical essays, the Moralia.
• Epictetus (55-135 AD), Stoic philosopher, pupil of Musonius Rufus and founder of a school in Nicopolis.
• Demonax (fl. 2nd cent. AD), Cynic philosopher, pupil of Epictetus.
• Diogenes of Oenoanda (fl. 2nd cent. AD), author of Epicurean inscription at Oenoanda.
• Alcinous (fl. 2nd cent. AD), Platonist and author of the Handbook of Platonism.
• Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD), Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher.
• Galen of Pergamum (129-199 AD), philosopher-doctor influenced by Platonism. Physician to Marcus Aurelius. Prolific author.
• Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD), Christian Church Father. Heavily influenced by Greek philosophy.
• Sextus Empiricus (fl. 200 AD), sceptical philosopher and author.
• Alexander of Aphrodisias (fl. 200 AD), Aristotelian commentator.
• Julia Domna (170-217 AD), female philosopher and wife of the Emperor Septimius Severus. Included Galen and Philostratus in her philosophical circle.
• Diogenes Laertius (fl. 3rd cent. AD), famous biographer of ancient philosophers.
• Plotinus (205-270 AD), Platonic philosopher and founder of Neoplatonism.
• Porphyry (233-309 AD), Neoplatonist, pupil and biographer of Plotinus.
• Iamblichus (242-327 AD), important Neoplatonic philosopher.
• Calcidius (fl. 4th cent. AD), Platonist and author of an important Latin translation and commentary on the Timaeus.
• Themistius (317-388 AD), Aristotelian commentator based in Constantinople.
• Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD), Christian philosopher and Church father, influenced by Neoplatonism.
• Hypatia (370-415 AD), famous female Neoplatonist and mathematician. Based in Alexandria. Murdered by a Christian mob.
• Proclus (411-485 AD), Athenian Neoplatonist and head of the Academy.
• Ammonius (440-521 AD), Alexandrian Neoplatonist, a pupil of Proclus and teacher of Damascius and Simplicius.
• Damascius (462-540 AD), Neoplatonist and head of the Athenian school.
• Boethius (475-524 AD), Latin Neoplatonist and translator of Aristotle.
• Simplicius of Cilicia (490-560 AD), Aristotelian commentator, pupil of Damascius.
• John Philoponus (490-570 AD), Christian Aristotelian commentator based in Alexandria; pupil of Ammonius.
• Johannes Scotus Eriugena (810-877 AD) Also called "John the Scot".
• Anselm (11th century) Posed the ontological argument for the existence of God.
• Pierre Abélard (1079-1142 AD) Aristotelian (nominalist) and logician. Lived a great love story similar to Romeo and Juliet.
• Roger Bacon (1220-1292 AD) He believed there could and should be a unified science based on observation, experiment and abstract reasoning.
• Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274 AD) Tried to merge the already Platonized Christianity with the philosophy of Aristotle maintaining a distinction between philosophy and religion.
• Duns Scotus (1266-1308 AD) Franciscan theologian. Was a critic of Thomas Aquinas.
• William of Ockham (1285-1347 AD) Observed that nature and reason can only provide us with reliable knowledge about the world; famous for his principle of accepting the simplest of alternatives as the best one (Ockham's Razor).
• Copernicus (1473-1543 AD) Polish churchman who hypothesized that many mathematical difficulties of the time would disappear if we assumed sun was at the center of our planetary system instead of earth (and flatly contradicting the Bible).
• Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527 AD) Studied politics and government in an objective (scientific) manner.
• Tycho Brahe (1546-1601 AD) Astronomer. Made a vast body of measured astronomical observations, which he passed on to Johannes Kepler.
• Francis Bacon (1561-1626 AD) Believed that scientific knowledge could give power of man over nature. He also believed that the notion that definitions advance knowledge was an illusion.
• Galileo Galilei (1564-1642 AD) Widely considered to be founding father of modern science with study of projectiles, pendulum, gravity. Invented the thermometer. Asserted that earth revolves around its axis.
• Johannes Kepler (1571-1630 AD) Studied theology but he showed that planets move in elliptical motion around the sun (not circular as previously thought by Copernicus).
• Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679 AD) Believed that only matter existed, everything could be explained in terms of matter in motion. The whole universe he considered a giant machine. In politics he claimed it is the fear of death that forces humans to form societies. Proposed that everyone should agree to hand power to a central authority, the Sovereign, whose job is to impose law and punish lawbreakers (police state).
• Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655 AD) An advocate of the experimental approach to science.
• René Descartes (1596-1650 AD) Metaphysical dualist. Invented analytic geometry, the graph, and Cartesian coordinate system. Often thought to be the first "early modern" philosopher. Famous for a doggedly skeptical methodology which began by wondering whether there was something that we could know for certain. Famous for his conclusion, "I think therefore I am".
• John Locke (1632-1704 AD) Classical empiricist. Famous for his division between primary and secondary qualities. Secularized the notion that there are limits to what humans can apprehend by arguing (in his "Essays concerning Human Understanding") that if we could analyze our own mental faculties and find out what we are capable of and what not we should have discovered the limits of what is knowable by us. He never married.
• Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677 AD) Believed that physical body and soul is one entity. Believed that for the most part we are not aware of the real causes of our actions. Being deprived of freedom of speech himself he was from the first to proclaim its importance.
• Isaac Newton (1642-1727 AD) Accurately analyzed the constituents of light, invented calculus, formulated the gravitational theory in physics, and provided an accurate account of movements of planets through space.
• Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716 AD) Rationalist. Invented calculus independently of Newton. Was offered professorship at 21 which he turned down. Claimed that truths belong in two categories: ones that can be verified with just examining them with logical statements, and the ones that need further observation and application of logic.
• George Berkeley (1685-1753 AD) Classical empiricist. Believed all that exists is the mind and its ideas.
• Voltaire (1694-1778 AD) Writer and satirist. Crusader against tyranny, bigotry and cruelty. He subscribed to Locke's idea that the confidence we have in our beliefs needs to relate to the evidence in their support.
• David Hume (1711-1776 AD) Classical empiricist. Believed that the self consists of continuous conscious sensation. Advocated a political-philosophical outlook that emphasized public utility in a state's legitimacy.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778 AD) Democratic political philosopher. Advocate of a theory of the "general will". Argued against the position that civilization was a good thing.
• Denis Diderot (1713-1784 AD) As author and editor of the Encyclopédie he admitted that his aim was to change the common way of thinking.
• Adam Smith (1723-1790 AD) Economist and philosopher.
• Edmund Burke (1729-1797 AD) Conservate political philosopher. Believed that the wisdom and experience of many generations is likely to be a more reliable guide to action than any one person's opinion.

Thales of Miletus (ca. ... Anaximander Anaximander (Greek: Αναξίμανδρος)(c. ... Anaximenes (in Greek: Άναξιμένης) of Miletus (585 BC - 525 BC) was a Greek philosopher from the latter half of the 6th century, probably a younger contemporary of Anaximander, whose pupil or friend he is said to have been. ... Heraclitus by Johannes Moreelse Heraclitus of Ephesus (Greek Herakleitos) (about 535 - 475 BC), known as The Obscure (Greek Ainiktin), was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Ephesus in Asia Minor. ... Bust of Pythagoras, Vatican Museum, Rome Pythagoras (approximately 582 BC–507 BC, Greek: Πυθαγόρας) was an Ionian (Greek) mathematician and philosopher, founder of the mystic, religious and scientific society called Pythagoreans, and is known best for the Pythagorean theorem which bears his name. ... This article is about the mythological Theano. ... Xenophanes of Colophon (Greek: Ξενοφάνης, 570 BC-480 BC) was a Greek philosopher, poet, and social and religious critic. ... Parmenides of Elea (early 5th century BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher born in Elea, a Hellenic city on the southern coast of Italy. ... Anaxagoras Anaxagoras (c. ... Diogenes Apolloniates or Diogenes of Apollonia (c. ... Empedocles of Agrigentum Empedocles (circa 490 BCE – c. ... Zeno of Elea (IPA:zÉ›noÊŠ, É›lɛɑː)(circa 490 BC? – circa 430 BC?) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of southern Italy and a member of the Eleatic School founded by Parmenides. ... This article is about the philosopher. ... Protagoras (in Greek Πρωταγόρας) was born around 481 BC in Abdera, Thrace in Ancient Greece. ... Hippias can also refer to a son of Pisistratus and a tyrant of Athens. ... Gorgias (in Greek Γοργἰας, circa 483-376 BC) // Introduction Due to his ushering in of rhetorical innovations involving structure and ornamentation and his introduction of paradoxologia – the idea of paradoxical thought and paradoxical expression – Gorgias of Leontini has been labeled the ‘father of sophistry’ (Wardy 6). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Sophism was originally a term for the techniques taught by a highly respected group of philosophy and rhetoric teachers in ancient Greece. ... Aspasia Aspasia (c. ... Socrates (Greek: , invariably anglicized assÉ”kɹətiːz, SÇ’cratÄ“s; 470?–399 BCE) was a ancient Greek philosopher who is widely credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy. ... Prodicus of Ceos (Πρόδικος Pródikos, born c. ... Hendrick ter Brugghen, Democritus Laughing (1629) Democritus (Greek: Δημόκριτος) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher (born at Abdera in Thrace around 450 BC; died in about 370 BC). ... Euclid of Megara, a Greek Socratic philosopher who lived around 400 BC, was the follower of Socrates. ... Antisthenes (c. ... Aristippus (c. ... Plato (Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn, wide, broad-shouldered) (c. ... Xenophon, Greek historian Xenophon (In Greek , c. ... Speusippus was an ancient Greek philosopher, nephew and successor of Plato. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Xenocrates of Chalcedon (396 - 314 BC) was a Greek philosopher and scholarch or rector of the Academy from 339 to 314 BC. Removing to Athens in early youth, he became the pupil of the Socratic Aeschines, but presently joined himself to Plato, whom he attended to Sicily in 361. ... Media:Example. ... Arete of Cyrene (fl. ... Stilpo (Stilpon), Greek philosopher of the Megarian school, was a contemporary of Theophrastus and Crates. ... Statue of Theophrastus Theophrastus, a native of Eressos in Lesbos born c. ... Pyrrho (c360 BC - c270 BC), a Greek philosopher from Elis, is usually credited as being the first skeptic philosopher and is the founder of the school known as Pyrrhonism. ... Bust of Epicurus Epicurus (Epikouros or Ἐπίκουρος in Greek) (341 BC, Samos – 270 BC, Athens) was an ancient Greek philosopher, the founder of Epicureanism, one of the most popular schools of Hellenistic Philosophy. ... Zeno of Citium Zeno of Citium (The Stoic) (sometime called Zeno Apathea) (333 BC-264 BC) was a Hellenistic philosopher from Citium, Cyprus. ... Cleanthes (c. ... The Ancient Greek term aristocracy meant a system of government with rule by the best. This is the first definition given in most dictionaries. ... Timon (c. ... Arcesilaus (Ἀρκεσίλαος) (316_241 BC) was a Greek philosopher and founder of the New, or Middle, Academy. ... Menippus, of Gadara in Coele-Syria, Greek cynic and satirist, lived during the 3rd century BC. According to Diogenes Laërtius (vi. ... Chrysippus of Soli (279-207 BC) was Cleanthess pupil and eventual successor to the head of the stoic philosophy (232-204 BC). ... Carneades (c. ... Panaetius of Rhodes (c. ... PHILO OF LARISSA, Greek philosopher of the first half of the ist century B.C. During the Mithradatk wars he left Athens and took up his residence in Rome. ... Zeno of Sidon, Epicurean philosopher of the 1st century BC and contemporary of Cicero. ... The bust of Posidonius as an older man depects his character as a Stoic philosopher. ... Antiochus of Ascalon (c. ... Philodemus was an Epicurean philosopher and poet, was born at Gadara in Coele-Syria early in the 1st century B.C., and settled in Rome in the time of Cicero. ... Marcus Tullius Cicero (IPA: ;) (January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was an orator and statesman of Ancient Rome, and is generally considered the greatest Latin orator and prose stylist. ... Aenesidemus, Greek philosopher, was born at Cnossus in Crete and taught at Alexandria, probably during the first century BC. He was the leader of what is sometimes known as the third scepticismal school and revived to a great extent the doctrine of Pyrrho and Timon. ... Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus (ca. ... Philo (20 BCE - 40 CE) was an Alexandrian Jewish philosopher born in Alexandria, Egypt. ... Bust, traditionally thought to be Seneca, now identified by some as Hesiod. ... Musonius Rufus, a Roman Stoic philosopher of the 1st century AD, was born in Volsinii, Etruria about AD 20-30. ... Plutarch Mestrius Plutarchus (c. ... Epictetus (c. ... Demonax (born in Cyprus) was a Greek philosopher of the 2nd century BC. He tried to revive the philosophy of the Cynic school. ... In Greek mythology, Alcinous (sometimes with the diacritical mark Alcinoüs; also transliterated as Alkínoös) was a son of Nausithous and father of Nausicaa and Laodamas with Arete. ... Marcus Aurelius Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (April 26, 121 – March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death. ... Claudius Galenus of Pergamum (131-201 AD), better known as Galen, was an ancient Greek physician. ... Clement of Alexandria (Titus Flavius Clemens), was the first member of the Church of Alexandria to be more than a name, and one of its most distinguished teachers. ... Sextus Empiricus (fl. ... Alexander of Aphrodisias, pupil of Aristocles of Messene, the most celebrated of the Greek commentators on the writings of Aristotle, and styled, by way of pre-eminence, o exegetes (the expositor), was a native of Aphrodisias in Caria. ... Julia Domna ( 170-217) was member of the Severan dynasty of the Roman Empire. ... Diogenes Laërtius, the biographer of the Greek philosophers, is supposed by some to have received his surname from the town of Laerte in Cilicia, and by others from the Roman family of the Laërtii. ... Plotinus Plotinus ( Greek: Πλωτίνος)(ca. ... Porphyry (c. ... Iamblichus (ca. ... Calcidius was a 4th- or 5th-century Christian who translated the first part (to 53c) of Platos Timaeus from Greek into Latin and provided with it an extensive commentary. ... Themistius (317 - c. ... Aurelius Augustinus, Augustine of Hippo, or Saint Augustine (November 13, 354 – August 28, 430) was one of the most important figures in the development of Western Christianity. ... Hypatia could refer to: Hypatia of Alexandria (?370–415), a neo-Platonic philosopher, mathematician, and teacher. ... Proclus Lycaeus (February 8, 412 – April 17, 485), surnamed The Successor or diadochos (Greek Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος Próklos ho Diádokhos), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major Greek philosophers (see Damascius). ... A commentary written on Ptolemys Almagest. ... Damascius, the last of the Neoplatonists, was born in Damascus about AD 480. ... Boethius teaching his students (initial from a 1385 Italian manuscript of the Consolation of Philosophy) Boethius redirects here. ... Simplicius, a native of Cilicia, a disciple of Ammonius and of Damascius, was one of the last of the Neoplatonists. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Joannes Philoponus. ... J. Scotus Eriugena commemorated on a Irish banknote, issued 1976-1993 Johannes Scotus Eriugena (ca. ... Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033 or 1034 – April 21, 1109), a widely influential medieval philosopher and theologian, held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. ... Abaelardus and Heloïse surprised by Master Fulbert, by Romanticist painter Jean Vignaud (1819) Pierre Abélard (in English, Peter Abelard) or Abailard (1079 – April 21, 1142) was a French scholastic philosopher. ... Statue of Roger Bacon in the Oxford University Museum Roger Bacon (c. ... Saint Thomas Aquinas [Thomas of Aquin, or Aquino] (c. ... Blessed John Duns Scotus (c. ... William of Ockham William of Ockham (also Occam or any of several other spellings) (c. ... Nicolaus Copernicus (in Latin; Polish Mikołaj Kopernik, German Nikolaus Kopernikus - February 19, 1473 – May 24, 1543) was a Polish astronomer, mathematician and economist who developed a heliocentric (Sun-centered) theory of the solar system in a form detailed enough to make it scientifically useful. ... The Gutenberg Bible owned by the United States Library of Congress The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hÄ“ biblos) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Work of God, The Word, The Good Book or Scripture), from Greek (τα) βίβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, is the name used by Jews and Christians for their... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Tycho Brahe Monument of Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler in Prague , born Tyge Ottesen Brahe (December 14, 1546 – October 24, 1601), was a Danish (Scanian) nobleman astronomer as well as an astrologer and alchemist. ... Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler (December 27, 1571 – November 15, 1630), a key figure in the scientific revolution, was a German mathematician, astrologer, astronomer, and an early writer of science fiction stories. ... Sir Francis Bacon For other people named Francis Bacon, see Francis Bacon (disambiguation). ... Portrait of Galileo Galilei by Giusto Sustermans. ... Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler (December 27, 1571 – November 15, 1630), a key figure in the scientific revolution, was a German mathematician, astrologer, astronomer, and an early writer of science fiction stories. ... Nicolaus Copernicus (in Latin; Polish Mikołaj Kopernik, German Nikolaus Kopernikus - February 19, 1473 – May 24, 1543) was a Polish astronomer, mathematician and economist who developed a heliocentric (Sun-centered) theory of the solar system in a form detailed enough to make it scientifically useful. ... Hobbes redirects here. ... Pierre Gassendi (January 22, 1592 – October 24, 1655) was a French philosopher, scientist and mathematician, best known for attempting to reconcile Epicurean atomism with Christianity. ... For other things named Descartes, see Descartes (disambiguation). ... Table of Geometry, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... John Locke (August 29, 1632 – October 28, 1704) was an influential English philosopher. ... Baruch Spinoza Benedictus de Spinoza (November 24, 1632 _ February 21, 1677), named Baruch Spinoza by his synagogue elders and known as Bento de Spinoza or Bento dEspiñoza in the community in which he grew up. ... Sir Isaac Newton, President of the Royal Society, (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727) [OS: 25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727] was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, chemist, inventor, and natural philosopher who is generally regarded as one of the most influential scientists and mathematicians in history. ... Calculus is a central branch of mathematics, developed from algebra and geometry. ... A planet (from the Greek πλανήτης, planetes or wanderers) is a body of considerable mass that orbits a star and that produces very little or no energy through nuclear fusion. ... Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (also Leibnitz or von Leibniz)[1] (July 1 (June 21 Old Style) 1646, Leipzig – November 14, 1716, Hanover) was a German polymath of Sorbian origin, deemed a universal genius in his day and since. ... Calculus is a central branch of mathematics, developed from algebra and geometry. ... Bishop George Berkeley George Berkeley (British English://; Irish English: //) (12 March 1685 – 14 January 1753), also known as Bishop Berkeley, was an influential Irish philosopher whose primary philosophical achievement is the advancement of what has come to be called subjective idealism, summed up in his dictum, Esse est percipi (To... The last of Voltaires statues by Jean-Antoine Houdon (1781). ... David Hume (April 26, 1711 – August 25, 1776)[1] was a Scottish philosopher, economist, and historian who is one of the most important figures of Western philosophy and of the Scottish Enlightenment. ... Jean-Jacques Rousseau (June 28, 1712 – July 2, 1778) was a Genevan philosopher of the Enlightenment whose political ideas influenced the French Revolution, the development of socialist theory, and the growth of nationalism. ... Portrait of Diderot by Louis-Michel van Loo, 1767 Denis Diderot (October 5, 1713 – July 31, 1784) was a French philosopher and writer. ... Fig. ... Adam Smith, FRSE, (baptised June 5, 1723 – July 17, 1790) was a Scottish political economist and moral philosopher. ... Edmund Burke The Right Honourable Edmund Burke (January 12, 1729 – July 9, 1797) was an Anglo-Irish statesman, author, orator and political philosopher, who served for many years in the British House of Commons as a member of the Whig party. ...

See also

• List of philosophers
• Philosophy

This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Philosopher in Meditation (detail), by Rembrandt. ...

References