Brief History of Philosophy

2000 BC 1000 BC 0 AD 1000 2000

Epochs

Mythology

Natural Philosophers/Pre-Socratics

Big Three Greek Philosophers

Hellenism

Medieval Age

Renaissance

The Scientific Revolution

Baroque

The Enlightenment

Romanticism

The Modern Wo

People

Moses

Thales of Miletus

Siddhārtha Gautama

Heraclitus

Parmenides

Empedocles

Socrates

Democritus

Plato

Diogenes of Sinope

Aristotle

Alexander the Great

Epicurus

Zeno of Citium

Jesus of Nazareth

Plotinus

Augustine of Hippo

Muhammad

Averroes

Thomas Aquinas

Nicolaus Copernicus

Sir Francis Bacon

Galileo Galilei

Thomas Hobbes

Descartes

John Locke

Isaac Newton

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 George Berkeley
Voltaire

David Hume

Immanuel Kant

Karl Marx

Sigmund Freud

Epochs
Mythology The beliefs of many cultures/people characterized by their uncritical acceptance of
1800 bc - 300 bc stories that explain natural phenomena. Written mythologies date back to 2800
bc.

Natural Philosophers/Pre-Socratics These early philosophers helped to transition from unchecked mythology to
600 bc - 370 bc critical thought emphasizing reason.

Big Three Greek Philosophers The most important philosophers of the ancient world came from this short time
430 bc - 322 bc period in Athens.

Hellenism A period of time marked be the decline of Greek culture and a fusion of the
323 bc - 420 ad cultures/beliefs of a multitude of kingdoms.

Medieval Age A time period marked by the emphasis on Christian theology and some
400 ad - 1400 ad remaining/selected Greek philosophy/thought.

Renaissance The years following the Medieval age, known as a "rebirth" of many of the cultural
1400 ad - 1600 ad influences of the Hellenistic age. A time of rapid cultural, religious, political
evolution.

The Scientific Revolution The period of time where the intellectual emphasis on rationalism transfers to
1543 - 1727 empiricism. Discoveries are made primarily through the sense and induction.

Baroque A period of time developed after the Renaissance known for a unique
1600 - 1725 development of the arts.

The Enlightenment
1650 - 1789

Romanticism
1770 - 1848

The Modern World

1850 - 1970

People
Moses The cultural father of the Jewish people (and ultimately Christian and Muslim). His
1391 bc - 1271 bc writings stand as the basis for Jewish culture, history and spirituality - comprised
as the Torah.

Thales of Miletus Studied the earth and it's processes. He asked: "What is the basic substance of the
624 bc - 546 bc cosmos?" He reasoned: "It must be a few things: essential to life, capable of
motion, and capable of change." He thus concluded water was the basic element.

Siddhārtha Gautama
563 bc - 483 bc
Also known as the Buddha, Siddhārtha offered enlightenment by freeing oneself
from the desire which will ultimately leads to suffering. The Buddha also uniquely
challenged authority in demanding the fallibility of scriptures. Truth was
determined by experience and praise from the wise - which was a step away from
mythology.

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Heraclitus Heraclitus trusted his senses and used reason to explain why things change when
535 bc - 475 bc they come from a common root. He determined that "everything flows" or is in a
constant state of change.

Parmenides Parmenides realized that his reason can come in conflict with his senses. He was
515 bc - 445 bc the earliest to choose his reason over the senses. Thus he determines that they
world is not in change - our sense are deceiving.

Empedocles Empedocles solves the dilemma created by Heraclitus and Parmenides: The world
490 bc - 430 bc is made of something, yet the world changes. How can something randomly
change? Empedocles determines that there must be more than one (four) root
elements.

Socrates Socrates takes speculative reasoning to new levels. He determines that he is the
469 bc - 399 bc wisest man because he knows what everyone else does not, that we (he) know(s)
nothing. At the core of his contribution is his belief that all people have common
ability to apply reason to discover truth. Thus, he spent his life asking questions
and allowing this common reasoning to discover truths through conversation.
Socrates ultimately dies for his ideas which were deemed dangerous by the
politicians of Athens. His legacy lived on through his students, including Plato and
the early Cynics and Stoics.

Democritus Democritus takes Empedocles one step further. He determines that the universe is
460 bc - 371 bc made up of small, indivisible building blocks - like legos. These building blocks
come together to create material things. This is the early birth of the "atom" (Greek
for "uncuttable").

Plato Plato was the greatest philosopher-student of Socrates. His impact was vast and
427 bc - 347 bc was one of the main authors of Socrates' ideas. He started the greatest school of
philosophy in Athens, the Academy. In addition to his scholastic contributions, he
answered the question of what is temporal and what is eternal. To Plato, all
material is finite and thus "flows" or changes (i.e. dies, decomposes, etc). What we
sense then "flows". He determined that material things must come from
"something" that reminds material to compose in one way and not another (e.g. a
horse and not a crocodile). This "something" must be eternal and Plato called it the
form. Thus, a pine cone is finite/temporary while the concept of the circle that it
mimics is eternal. We sense such concepts with our reason, making reason
eternal. The eternal was more important to Plato than the things that "flow" or
change. Reason is how we access the eternal. Thus, reason is more important
sense perception - this belief is the core of "rationalism". Plato's legacy was
continued by the advancements of his student, Aristotle.

Diogenes of Sinope Diogenes is probably the most apparent example of Cynic philosophy. Stories
404 bc - 323 bc recall that Diogenes lived in a ceramic bin on the side of the road with very few
material possessions. Cynics held that happiness is not found in power, materials
or wealth. This stance caused cynics to become calloused to the pains and
pleasures of life. It was Diogenes who was offered anything he desired from
Alexander the Great, he replied with the request the Alexander steps to the right
so the sun would shine on him.

Aristotle
384 bc - 322 bc

Alexander the Great The Macedonian king and student of Aristotle known for expanding the Greek
356 bc - 323 bc kingdom to it's greatest reach. His death signals the beginning of Hellenism.

Epicurus Father of the Epicureans (or hedonists) and focused on how to achieve true
341 bc - 270 bc happiness. Epicurus agreed with Democritus that we are made of atoms that will
be returned to the earth when we die. Thus, he decide that living for pleasure was
the meaning of life. This is concisely summed in the statement, "The gods aren’t to
be feared. Death is nothing to worry about. Good is easy to attain. The fearful is
easy to endure."

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Zeno of Citium
332 bc - 265 bc

Jesus of Nazareth Jewish teacher who claimed deity. Transformed the Jewish belief in a king that
5 bc - 33 ad would restore the Jewish state into a distinctly spiritual message. Political
restoration or salvation was exchanged for a spiritual restoration. The teaching of
Jesus would be combined with a set of Greek philosophers to develop Christian
theology in the Medieval years and beyond.

Plotinus
205 ad - 270 ad

Augustine of Hippo
354 ad - 430 ad

Muhammad
570 ad - 632 ad

Averroes
1126 ad - 1198 ad

Thomas Aquinas
1225 ad - 1274 ad

Nicolaus Copernicus Developed the most advanced heliocentric description of our solar system.
1473 - 1543

Sir Francis Bacon Among other things, Bacon made new developments for Aristotle's logic and the
1561 - 1626 scientific method.

Galileo Galilei Among other things, Galileo developed theories about celestial bodies that upset
1564 - 1642 the social and religious establishment.

Thomas Hobbes
1588 - 1679

Descartes
1596 - 1650

John Locke
1632 - 1704

Isaac Newton By building on the findings of previous thinkers (especially Kepler and Galileo),
1643 - 1727 Newton developed basic formulaic laws for the both planetary science and the
universe. Contributed a work ethic of rigorous experimentation.

George Berkeley
1685 - 1753

Voltaire
1694 - 1778

David Hume
1711 - 1776

Immanuel Kant
1724 - 1804

Karl Marx
1818 - 1883

Sigmund Freud
1856 - 1939

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