Quick Reference

Philosophers

The main ideas of history’s greatest philosophers.

Which of them think like you?Takes ~ 3 minutes
61 philosophers

Ancient

before 500 CE

  • ThalesThales

    c. 624–546 BCE

  • LaoziLaozi

    c. 571–471 BCE

  • ConfuciusConfucius

    c. 551–479 BCE

  • HeraclitusHeraclitus

    c. 535–475 BCE

  • ParmenidesParmenides

    c. 515–450 BCE

  • BuddhaSiddhartha Gautama

    the Buddha · c. 480–400 BCE

  • SocratesSocrates

    c. 470–399 BCE

  • MoziMozi

    c. 470–391 BCE

  • PlatoPlato

    c. 428–348 BCE

  • DiogenesDiogenes

    c. 412–323 BCE

  • AristotleAristotle

    384–322 BCE

  • MenciusMencius

    c. 372–289 BCE

  • ZhuangziZhuangzi

    c. 369–286 BCE

  • EpicurusEpicurus

    341–270 BCE

  • ZenoZeno of Citium

    c. 334–262 BCE

  • SenecaSeneca

    c. 4 BCE–65 CE

  • EpictetusEpictetus

    c. 50–135 CE

  • MarcusMarcus Aurelius

    121–180 CE

  • NāgārjunaNāgārjuna

    c. 150–250 CE

  • AugustineAugustine of Hippo

    354–430 CE

Medieval

500–1500

  • BoethiusBoethius

    c. 477–524 CE

  • ShankaraAdi Shankara

    c. 700–750 CE

  • AvicennaAvicenna

    Ibn Sīnā · c. 980–1037

  • Al-GhazaliAl-Ghazali

    c. 1058–1111

  • AverroesAverroes

    Ibn Rushd · 1126–1198

  • Zhu XiZhu Xi

    1130–1200

  • MaimonidesMaimonides

    c. 1138–1204

  • AquinasThomas Aquinas

    c. 1225–1274

  • OckhamWilliam of Ockham

    c. 1287–1347

Early Modern

1500–1800

  • MachiavelliNiccolò Machiavelli

    1469–1527

  • Wang YangmingWang Yangming

    1472–1529

  • MontaigneMichel de Montaigne

    1533–1592

  • BaconFrancis Bacon

    1561–1626

  • HobbesThomas Hobbes

    1588–1679

  • DescartesRené Descartes

    1596–1650

  • SpinozaBaruch Spinoza

    1632–1677

  • LockeJohn Locke

    1632–1704

  • LeibnizGottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

    1646–1716

  • BerkeleyGeorge Berkeley

    1685–1753

  • HumeDavid Hume

    1711–1776

  • RousseauJean-Jacques Rousseau

    1712–1778

  • KantImmanuel Kant

    1724–1804

  • WollstonecraftMary Wollstonecraft

    1759–1797

Modern

1800–1900

  • HegelG. W. F. Hegel

    1770–1831

  • SchopenhauerArthur Schopenhauer

    1788–1860

  • MillJohn Stuart Mill

    1806–1873

  • KierkegaardSøren Kierkegaard

    1813–1855

  • MarxKarl Marx

    1818–1883

  • William JamesWilliam James

    1842–1910

  • NietzscheFriedrich Nietzsche

    1844–1900

  • FregeGottlob Frege

    1848–1925

Contemporary

1900–

  • HusserlEdmund Husserl

    1859–1938

  • RussellBertrand Russell

    1872–1970

  • WittgensteinLudwig Wittgenstein

    1889–1951

  • HeideggerMartin Heidegger

    1889–1976

  • SartreJean-Paul Sartre

    1905–1980

  • ArendtHannah Arendt

    1906–1975

  • BeauvoirSimone de Beauvoir

    1908–1986

  • QuineW. V. O. Quine

    1908–2000

  • RawlsJohn Rawls

    1921–2002

  • FoucaultMichel Foucault

    1926–1984

Portraits from Wikimedia Commons, public domain or Creative Commons licensed; credits on each page. Facts are compressed for skimming — follow your curiosity to the sources.
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Portrait of Thales

Portrait: Wilhelm Meyer · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Ancient · Greek

Thales

c. 624–546 BCE

Born in Miletus, Ionia (now Turkey)

See others like Thales

  • Ancient20
  • Greek8
  • What exists?33
  1. i

    Often called the first philosopher of the Western tradition.

  2. ii

    Held that the basic stuff of everything is water.

  3. iii

    Sought natural causes where others saw the work of gods.

  4. iv

    Reportedly predicted a solar eclipse, traditionally dated 585 BCE.

  5. v

    Legend says he fell into a well while gazing at the stars.

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