SODUSTA, JOHN RAY S.

3-ARGON NGEC10 September 4, 2020

PHILOSOPHER DATE/YEAR ACCOMPLISHMENTS/CONTRIBUTION

Confucius 551-479 BC *The Golden Rule and Confucianism.
*Writer of Five Classics in Chinese
literature.
Parmenides c. 515-450 BC *Eleatic School of Philosophy
*presents us with two view of reality,
“what is” and “the way of opinion.”
*a quote how he affected western
philosophy, “Thought and being are the
same.”
Mozi c. 470-391 BC *Mohism.
*encouraged self-reflection and being
real, not just obedience and ceremony
Socrates c. 469-399 BC *The Socratic Method of logic and a
founder of western philosophy
*Introduced a concept that has been
dubbed as elenchus, or the Socratic
method
contributed much to the field of logic and
epistemology
Plato c. 428-348 BC *Platonic Idealism & The Theory of
Forms
*Founded the Academy in Athens
Aristotle 384-322 BC *Aristotelian Logic & Theory of Soul
*writer of Nicomachean Ethics
*Believed that ethics should be applied
practically, not merely theorizing it
Epicurus 341-270 BC * Epicurianism & Materialism
*Philosophy centered on two things,
“peace and freedom from fear” known as
Ataraxia and “the absence of pain”,
aponia.
*In his view, pain and pleasure are
barometers of good and evil
Origen c. 185-253 *One of the early Church Father and
theologian Origen
*Wrote several treatises that covered
philosophical theology, exegisis of the
bible and textual criticism.
*influenced by both Plato and Aristotle
* allude to scripture, which he believed is
divinely inspired by God
Saint Augustine of 354-430 *Catholic Church & City of God
Hippo *writer of City of God and Confessions
that influenced western philosophy and
are still read today
*believed that man is the unity of soul
and body, a perfect combination
Avicenna c. 980-1037 *The Book of Healing
SODUSTA, JOHN RAY S. 3-ARGON NGEC10 September 4, 2020

*proponent of Islamic philosophy on

which the Avicennian philosophy is
based
*in that book, The Book of Healing he
discussed the philosophy of science
Thomas Aquinas 1225-1274 *Thomism and Summa Theologica
*Father of Thomism, he believed that the
truth is true regardless of the source.
*his work in Summa Theologica and
Summa con Gentiles are important
source of discourse that continue to
used today
Niccolò Machiavelli 1469-1527 *Machiavellianism & The Prince
*Founder of political science and an
expert in political ethics
*Main contribution include political
philosophy and realism.
*His book, The Prince has been viewed
as a masterpiece that deals with political
philosophy
John Calvin 1509--1564 *Calvinism & Doctrine of Predestination
*Developed a point of reference in
Christianity that has been known as
Calvinism
*Attempt to explain the “doctrine of
predestination” as the pertains of God
and salvation continues to be debated to
this day.
*The Congregational, Presbyterian, and
Reformed Church base their tenets on
the teaching of John Calvin
Francis Bacon 1561-1626 *The “Baconian” method of scientific
investigation and creator of empiricism
*Advocating the use of the “inductive”
method when it came to scientific
matters, this scientific method was called
“Baconian Method”
Thomas Hobbes 1588-1679 *Absolutism for the sovereign & political
philosophy
*Dubbed as the founder of the “social
contract” tradition
*English philosopher wrote on the mid
17th century, Leviathan, which laid the
groundwork for the introduction of social
contract theory
*Advocate of liberal thought and
“absolutism for the sovereign.”
René Descartes 1596-1650 *Being the Father of Modern Philosophy,
“Cartesian” coordinate system & “I think,
therefore I am”
SODUSTA, JOHN RAY S. 3-ARGON NGEC10 September 4, 2020

*Influence on the world of philosophy is

evident at today’s universities.
*His book Meditations of First
Philosophy is still being used, statement
attributed to Descartes will ring a bell,
“I think, therefore I am.”
Blaise Pascal 1623-1662 *Pascal’s law in mathematics & Pascal’s
wager in philosophy
*He proposed what we know as Pascal’s
wager, in which people, in general, will
bet their life on the existence or non
existence of God
John Locke 1632-1704 *Theory of mind & Father of Classical
Liberalism
*His part on the idea of social contract
theory was one he shared with Sir
Francis Bacon
*he also offered the theory of mind
where in he states that knowledge is
something you are not born with, but
learn and experience
Gottfried Leibniz 1646-1716 *Law of Continuity, Monads, and
Transcendental Law of Homogeneity
*He refined the use of infinitesimal
calculus
*He also presented the Law of Continuity
Voltaire 1694-1778 *His philosophical wit French
philosopher Francois-Marue Aroute was
well known during the 18th century
*Advocate of some of the most basic
freedoms, he believed in the freedom of
expression, religion and voiced this
through his witty writing
David Hume 1711-1776 *Problem of causation & his book of
Treatise of Human Nature
*Pillars of the Scottish Enlightenment,
philosopher David Hume is credited with
the “founding document of cognitive
science” in his book A Treatise of
Human Nature
*Establish a naturalistic approach in
understanding “man”
*One of his arguments, “Reason is, and
ought only to be slave of the passions,”
is a longstanding idea that says, “allow
desires to dictate reason”
Jean-Jacques 1712-1778 *General Will and the moral simplicity of
Rousseau humanity
*The political philosophy of Rousseau
became the basis of he French
SODUSTA, JOHN RAY S. 3-ARGON NGEC10 September 4, 2020

Revolution
*His works reflected in the modern
thinking in regards to education, political,
and sociological matters.
*Two of his books, Discourse on the
Origin of Inequality and On the Social
Contract have had its effect on social
and political thinking
Adam Smith 1723-1790 *Father of modern economics
*An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes
of the Wealth of Nations and The Theory
of Moral Sentiments
*Scottish philosopher Adam Smith was a
pioneer in the field of political economy
*Ideas in the areas of moral philosophy
and economics have been studied
throughout the years, and still is
Immanuel Kant 1724-1804 *Transcendental idealism & metaphysics
*18th century German philosopher,
contends that “reason is the source of
morality”
*influence of these ideas is evident in
present day thinking on the subject of
ethics, epistemology, aesthetics, politics,
and metaphysics
*In his publication of Critique of Pure
Reason, was his attempt to combine
reason with experience to prove failures
of “traditional philosophy”
Thomas Paine 1737-1809 *Writing Common Sense during
American Revolution
*A pamphlet he wrote in 1776, entitled
Common Sense was instrumental in
igniting the fires of freedom and a
reason to revolt during the American
Revolution.
*he wrote Rights of Man that justified the
French Revolution, years later
Mary Wollstonecraft 1759-1797 *Feminist philosophy & A Vinidication of
the Rights of Woman
*women should be treated equally the
same way that the social order should be
based on reason.
*earliest of feminist philosopher
*Her book A Vinidication of the Rights of
Woman speaks of women not being
inferior to men
Auguste Comte 1798-1857 *Altruism & positivism
*One of the founders of sociology and
principle of positivism, better known as
SODUSTA, JOHN RAY S. 3-ARGON NGEC10 September 4, 2020

the positive philosophy

*First of the scientific philosophers
*conceived the word altruism, a doctrine
that says people have an obligation to
help or serve others
John Stuart Mill 1806-1873 *Being the “most influential English
speaking philosopher of the 19th century”
*Defender of political philosophy and he
comes from the school of utilitarianism
*He played a role highlighting “liberal
political philosophy”
Soren Kierkegaard 1813-1855 *Father of Existentialism, the philosophy
of religion and the idea of existentialism
are two schools of thought that has been
linked to Kierkegaard
*Ideas revolve on the issue on how a
person lives as an individual
Henry David 1817-1862 *His books Walden & Civil Disobedience
Thoreau *the book Walden was Thoreau’s
attempt to express a desire towards
living simple life in nature
*Because of another book he wrote, Civil
Disobedience, he had been viewed as
an anarchist
*idea of giving up illusory ideas in
exchange for the true needs of life was
something he advocated throughout his
life
Karl Marx 1818-1883 *The Communist Manifesto, co-founder
and father of Socialism & Communism
*Labeled as a “revolutionary socialist” for
his belief in what has been called
dictatorship of the proletariat
Leo Tolstoy 1828-1910 *War and Peace and Anna Karenina
*Helped shape the idea of Christian
anarchist thinking and even pushed the
idea of anarcho pacifism
William James 1842-1910 *The philosophy of religion and theory of
emotion
*Attempted to explain why, if we see a
snake, we fear the snake and run. In his
theory of emotion, James contends that
we see a snake, we run; therefore, we
fear the snake
Friedrich Nietzsche 1844-1900 *Life-affirmation & statement “God is
dead”
*German philosopher Friedrich
Nietzsche and his ideas covered a lot
ground and as a result, people began to
raise questions they normally would not
SODUSTA, JOHN RAY S. 3-ARGON NGEC10 September 4, 2020

*He also presented ideas such as Will to

power, perspectivism, master-slave
morality, and the Apollonian/Dionysian
dichotomy
John Dewey 1859-1952 *For his ideas on pragmatism &
educational progressivism
*One of the first men to present the idea
of pragmatism as philosophical concept
*Espoused Reflective Thinking
*Views education as a “social continuity
of life”
*He championed Educational
Progressivism
Emma Goldman 1869-1940 *Anarchist political philosophy
*She was a vocal supporter of women
rights and other social issues
*the school of anarchism believes a
state is harmful, unnecessary, and
undesirable, making Goldman, anti-state
the philosophical school where Goldman
come from
Bertrand Russell 1872-1970 *Being one of the founders of analytic
philosophy
*Remembered in the field of philosophy
as a proponent of analytic philosophy
*One of his essays has been labeled as
the ideal philosophy, the essay is
entitled On Denoting.
*The British wanted to go against
idealism, Russell was the leader
Albert Schweitzer 1875-1965 *The idea of the Reverence for Life
*Man with many facets
*Goal and philosophy of life was to have
a “Reverence for Life”. He believed that
civilization had cast aside its foundation
in ethics
Ludwig Wittgenstein 1889-1951 *Philosophical Investigations & fideism
*A man who buried him self in
philosophy of language, philosophy of
mathematics, and philosophy of mind
*His ideas include the “picture theory of
language” and “logical necessity” to
name a few
C. S. Lewis 1898-1963 *The Chronicle of Narnia, “Screwtape
Letters” & “Mere Christianity”
*works are well known, these include,
The Chronicles of Narnia, The
Screwtape Letters and the Problem of
Pain
Erich Fromm 1900-1980 *Orientation of character
SODUSTA, JOHN RAY S. 3-ARGON NGEC10 September 4, 2020

*He has been linked to the school of

critical theory
*Some of his exemplary ideas include
“being and having modes of existence”
*Escape from Freedom is one of
Fromm’s books which tries to explain
man’s changing view of freedom
Jean-Paul Sartre 1905-1980 *The philosophy of existentialism
*He applied his ideals on the other areas
of his life
Hannah Arendt 1906-1975 *Being a political theorist & concept of
“Homo faber”
*Hanna’s passion involved work in the
fields of authority, democracy, the nature
of power, politics, and totalitarianism
Simone de Beauvoir 1908-1986 *Existential feminism & ethics of
ambiguity
*She authored numerous books which
include The Second Sex, The
Mandarins, and She Came to Stay
Albert Camus 1913-1960 *Absurdism & 1957 Nobel Prize for
Literature
*Received a Nobel Prize for literature in
1967. The award was given in
recognition for his attempt to create
awareness of the plight of “the human
conscience”
Michel Foucault 1926-1984 *Structuralism and Genealogy
*Most of his theories touched on the
topic of the “nature of power” and its
Purpose
*His published works, The Birth of the
Clinic and The Order of Things helped
highlight his view on “structuralism”