SH1905

The Philosophies of Philosophers

PHILOSOPHER WHY IS PHILOSOPHY IMPORTANT

"We are born capable of sensation and from birth

are affected in diverse ways by the objects
around us. As soon as we become conscious of
our sensations we are inclined to seek or to avoid
the objects which produce them: at first, because
they are agreeable or disagreeable to us, later
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau because we discover that they suit or do not suit
us, and ultimately because of the judgements we
Jean-Jacques Rousseau pass on them by reference to the idea of
happiness of perfection we get from reason.
Date of Birth: June 28, 1712 These inclinations extend and strengthen with
Philosophical School: the growth of sensibility and intelligence, but
Social Contract, Romanticism under the pressure of habit they are changed to
Prime Focus: some extent with our opinions. The inclinations
Politics, Music, Education, Literature, Autobiography before this change are what I call our nature. In
Notable Ideas: my view everything ought to be in conformity with
General will, moral simplicity of mankind, child-centered these original inclinations."
learning, amour de soi (primitive and pure self-love),
amour-propre (self-love that can be corrupted)

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke

John Locke “Knowledge then seems to me to be nothing but

the perception of the connection and agreement,
Date of Birth: August 29, 1632 or disagreement and repugnancy of any of our
Philosophical School: Ideas. Where this Perception is, there is
Social Contract, Liberalism, Empiricism, Knowledge, and where it is not, there, though we
Foundationalism, Conceptualism, Indirect Realism, may fancy, guess, or believe, yet we always
Correspondence theory of truth, Ideational theory of come short of Knowledge.”
meaning, Corpuscularianism, Natural Law
Prime Focus:
Metaphysics, Epistemology, Politics, Mind, Education,
Economics
Notable Ideas:
Consciousness, Consent of the governed, Labor theory
of property, Law of Opinion, Natural Rights (Rights of
Life, Liberty, Property), State of Nature, Social Contract,
Tabula Rasa (knowledge is not inherent), Molyneux's
Problem, Lockean Proviso

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montesquieu

Charles-Louis de Secondat "I have always observed that to succeed in the

Baron de la Brede world one should appear like a fool but be
"Montesquieu" wise."

Date of Birth: January 18, 1689

Philosophical School:
Enlightenment, Classical Liberalism
Prime Focus: Politics
Notable Ideas:
Separation of political state powers, classification of
government systems based on principles

Source: https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-should-know-about-voltaire

François-Marie Arouet
"Voltaire" "The true triumph of reason is that it enables us
to get along with those who do not possess it."
Date of Birth: November 21, 1694
Philosophical School:
Lumières (Enlighteners), Philosophes (Philosophers),
Deism, Classical liberalism
Prime Focus:
Politics, Literature, Historiography, Biblical Criticism
Notable Ideas:
Philosophy of History, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of
Speech, Separation of church and state

"Scientia potentia est. Knowledge is power."

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes

Date of Birth: April 5, 1588

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Philosophical School:
Social Contract, Classical Liberalism, Empiricism,
Deterrminism, Nominalism, Materialism,
Corpuscularianism, Ethical Egoism
Prime Focus:
Politics, History, Ethics, Geometry
Notable Ideas:
Inherent selfishness of humans, "Absolute" monarchy as
the true and correct form of government

"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing

yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is
Source: https://soulanalyse.com/2016/11/14/10-greatest-taoism-quotes-lao-tzu
strength; mastering yourself is true power."
Laozi

Date of Birth: 601 BC

Philosophical School: Taoism
Prime Focus: none
Notable Ideas:
Tao (Way, Doctrine), Wu wei (Without Exertion)

“A good statement of an inherently imprecise

concern – and most important concerns in the
world are imprecise – must capture that
imprecision, and not replace it by a precise
statement about something else. You should
learn to speak in an articulate way about ideas
Source: https://asiafoundation.org/2017/10/04/conversation-nobel-laureate-lotus-leadership-
honoree-amartya-sen that are inescapably imprecise (as a man called
Aristotle explained more than two millennia ago).
Amartya Kumar Sen And that is one of the reasons why the
humanities are important. A novel can point to a
Date of Birth: November 3, 1933 truth without pretending to capture it exactly in
Philosophical School: Capability Approach some imagined numbers and formulae.”
Prime Focus:
Welface Economics, Development Economics, Ethics
Notable Ideas: Human development theory

References
Amartya Sen quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved May 3, 2019 from https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/82531.Amartya_Sen
Connolly, P. J. (n.d.). John Locke. Lifted and modified May 3, 2019, from https://www.iep.utm.edu/locke/#SH2e
Doyle, M. E. & Smith, M. K. (2007). Jean-Jacques Rousseau on education. Retrieved May 3, 2019, from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-rous.htm
Lao Tzu quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved May 3, 2019 from https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2622245.Lao_Tzu
Thomas Hobbes quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved May 3, 2019 from https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/10122.Thomas_Hobbes
Voltaire quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved May 3, 2019, from https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/voltaire
34 notable quotes by Montesquieu. (n.d.). Retrieved May 3, 2019, from https://quotes.thefamouspeople.com/montesquieu-4010.php

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