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.
2 / 61
Portrait of Laozi

Portrait: Unknown artist · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Ancient · Chinese

Laozi

c. 571–471 BCE

By tradition born in Ku, State of Chu (now China)

See others like Laozi

  • Ancient20
  • Chinese7
  • How should I live?37
  • What exists?33
  • How should we be ruled?24
  1. i

    Traditionally credited with the Tao Te Ching, Daoism’s founding text.

  2. ii

    He may be legendary; the text likely had several authors.

  3. iii

    “The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.”

  4. iv

    Taught wu wei: effortless action that flows with nature.

  5. v

    Legend: wrote his book for a border guard, then vanished west.

Use ← → to move through time · Esc to return