- Empirical observation - Four Causes (material, formal, efficient, final) - Virtue Ethics - Rejection of Plato’s Theory of Forms
- Everything has a purpose (teleology) - Knowledge through natural philosophy (science) - Prime mover as the ultimate cause
Western philosophy originated in Ancient Greece in the 6th century BCE. This period ended by convention in 529 CE when the Platonic Academy and other philosophical schools in Athens were forced to shut down to stop their non-Christian doctrines.
Hellenistic and Roman (323 - 31 BCE)
Name
Time Period
Philosophy
Key Ideas
Zeno of Citium
c. 334 – 262 BCE
Stoicism
Live in accordance with Nature, self-control, overcome destructive emotions, logic, physics, ethics
- Integration of Neoplatonism with Christian doctrine - Theory of Illumination - Original Sin
- Faith seeking understanding (fides quaerens intellectum) - God as the source of all truth - The City of God vs. the City of Man
Boethius (c. 480–524)
- Consolation of Philosophy - Problem of Universals - Translations of Aristotle
- Universals as mental abstractions - Platonic view of knowledge and reality - Providence, divine foreknowledge, and human happiness
Anselm of Canterbury(1033–1109)
- Ontological Argument for God’s existence - Faith and reason - Satisfaction theory of atonement
- God as “that than which nothing greater can be conceived” - Faith precedes and aids reason (credo ut intelligam) - Rational basis for Christian beliefs
Peter Abelard (1079–1142)
- Conceptualism - Ethical Intentionalism - Sic et Non (Yes and No)
- Universals exist only within the mind - Moral value depends on the intention behind actions - Dialectical method to resolve contradictions in theological texts
Thomas Aquinas(1225–1274)
- Synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy with Christian theology - Five Ways (proofs for God’s existence) - Natural Law
- Faith and reason are harmonious - God as the unmoved mover and first cause - Natural law as part of divine providence
John Duns Scotus (c. 1266–1308)
- Univocity of being - Formal distinction - Voluntarism
- Being is the most abstract concept and applies equally to God and creatures - Distinction between essence and existence - Emphasis on God’s will and freedom
William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347)
- Ockham’s Razor (principle of parsimony) - Nominalism - Critique of Scholasticism
- Entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity - Universals are merely names without any corresponding reality - Emphasis on empirical observation and simplicity in explanations
Avicenna (Ibn Sina)(980–1037)
- Metaphysics and the concept of being - Theory of the soul - Influence on Scholasticism
- Distinction between essence and existence - The soul as an immaterial substance - Integration of Aristotelian philosophy with Islamic thought
Averroes (Ibn Rushd)(1126–1198)
- Commentaries on Aristotle - Doctrine of double truth - Influence on Latin Averroism
- Separation of philosophy and religion - Rational interpretation of Aristotle - Emphasis on reason and empirical evidence
Maimonides (Moses ben Maimon) (1138–1204)
- Guide for the Perplexed - Negative theology - Reconciliation of Aristotelian philosophy with Judaism
- God can only be described by what He is not (negative attributes) - Harmonization of reason and faith - Emphasis on rational understanding of religious texts
One of its core differences from earlier philosophers is its focus on religious thought. The Christian Emperor Justinian forced schools of philosophy, such as Plato’s Academy, to close. Intellectual activity was centralized in the Church and departing from doctrinal orthodoxy carried many risks. For these reasons, some consider it a “dark age” in comparison to what came before and after it.
Central topics in this period were the problem of universals, the nature of God, proofs of the existence of God, and the relation between reason and faith.
The early medieval period was particularly shaped by Plato’s philosophy while Aristotelian ideas became dominant in its later parts.
Renaissance Philosophy (1300 - 1650)
Name
Key Ideas
Major Thoughts
Niccolò Machiavelli(1469–1527)
- Political realism - The ends justify the means - Separation of politics and ethics
- Emphasized pragmatic, sometimes ruthless political strategies - Advocated for a strong, centralized state - Authored The Prince, a guide on political power
Desiderius Erasmus(1466–1536)
- Christian humanism - Critique of Church corruption - Emphasis on education and moral reform
- Advocated for a return to simple Christian piety - Criticized the excesses of the Catholic Church - Promoted the study of classical texts and moral philosophy
- Advocated for the systematic observation of nature - Emphasized the importance of empirical evidence - Laid the groundwork for modern scientific inquiry
Thomas More(1478–1535)
- Utopianism - Social and political critique - Humanism
- Authored Utopia, envisioning an ideal society - Critiqued contemporary social and political structures - Emphasized the potential for human improvement through rational thought
Giordano Bruno(1548–1600)
- Infinite universe - Pantheism - Hermeticism
- Proposed the idea of an infinite universe with numerous worlds - Believed in the unity of the divine and natural worlds - Emphasized the importance of mystical and esoteric knowledge
Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
- Skepticism - Personal introspection - Relativism
- Questioned the certainty of human knowledge - Emphasized the importance of self-examination and personal experience - Advocated for tolerance and understanding of different perspectives
Marsilio Ficino(1433–1499)
- Neoplatonism - Synthesis of Platonism and Christianity - Theory of the soul
- Revived and translated Plato’s works - Integrated Platonic philosophy with Christian theology - Emphasized the immortality and divine nature of the soul
Pietro Pomponazzi(1462–1524)
- Naturalism - Critique of immortality - Aristotelianism
- Argued for a naturalistic explanation of the soul - Questioned the immortality of the soul - Emphasized empirical observation and rational analysis
- Proposed the heliocentric model of the solar system - Challenged the geocentric view held by the Church - Emphasized the importance of mathematical precision in scientific theories
Galileo Galilei(1564–1642)
- Experimental science - Laws of motion - Conflict with the Church
- Conducted experiments to understand the laws of motion - Supported the Copernican heliocentric model - Faced opposition from the Church for his scientific views
This movement had its roots in Italy and gradually expanded to other regions of Western Europe.
Some of its key aspects were a renewed interest in Ancient Greek philosophy and the emergence of humanism.
It also saw a shift toward scientific inquiry.
It also saw a shift toward scientific inquiry. This was a significant departure from the medieval period with its main focus on religious and scholastic traditions. A further change was that intellectual activity was not as closely tied to the Church as before: most scholars in this period were not clerics.
The Renaissance also saw various developments in the philosophy of nature and science, which helped prepare the scientific revolution. One of them concerned the emphasis on empirical observation for scientific inquiry. Another was the idea that mathematical explanations should be employed to understand those observations. Francis Bacon (1561–1626 CE) is often seen as a transitional figure between the Renaissance and modernity. He tried to revolutionize logic and scientific inquiry with his Novum Organum, which was meant to replace Aristotle’s influential work in this field. It discussed, for example, the role of inductive reasoning for empirical inquiry to arrive at general laws from many individual observations. Another transitional figure is Galileo Galilei (1564–1642 CE). He played a key role in the Copernican Revolution by claiming that the Sun, and not the Earth, is at the center of the Solar System.
Modern Philosophy
Name
Key Ideas
Major Thoughts
René Descartes (1596–1650)
- Rationalism - Cartesian Doubt - Cogito ergo sum
- Reason is the key to understanding the universe - Skepticism as a tool - Mind-body dualism
- Critique of traditional morality - Death of God - Perspectivism
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980)
- Existentialism - Radical freedom - Bad faith
- Existence precedes essence - Humans are condemned to be free - Critique of determinism
Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986)
- Feminist existentialism - Ethics of ambiguity
- One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman - Critique of gender roles - Intersubjectivity
Michel Foucault (1926–1984)
- Discourse analysis - Power-knowledge - Biopower
- Critique of institutions and power structures - Genealogy of knowledge - Sexuality and identity
Judith Butler (1956–present)
- Gender performativity - Queer theory
- Gender as social construct - Critique of heteronormativity - Identity as performative
Peter Singer (1946–present)
- Animal liberation - Effective altruism
- Expanding moral circle to include animals - Utilitarianism in ethics - Global poverty and philanthropy
Martha Nussbaum (1947–present)
- Capabilities approach - Emotions in ethics
- Human development and social justice - Role of emotions in moral philosophy - Feminist philosophy
[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]]
June 28, 1712 - July 2, 1778
- Democracy and equality - Liberty - State sovereignty - Education - Critique of arts and sciences - Social contract - Natural human goodness
- State of Nature: Rousseau believed that humans in their natural state were self-sufficient, peaceful, and free, with equality prevailing as societal constructs like private property had not yet been invented. - Corruption by Society: He argued that society and civilization corrupt human nature, introducing vices and inequalities. - Critique of Arts and Sciences: In his Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, Rousseau claimed that the progress of arts and sciences had corrupted virtue and morality, rather than improving them. - Education: In Émile, Rousseau emphasized natural development and the importance of fostering a child’s autonomy, advocating for an education that cultivates natural tendencies. - Social Contract: In The Social Contract, he proposed that true political authority lies with the people, who form a collective “general will” to govern themselves. - Private Property: He criticized private property as a source of greed and inequality, famously stating that the first person to claim land as “mine” was the founder of civil society and its associated evils. - General Will: Rousseau introduced the concept of the “general will,” which represents the collective interest of the people and is central to his political philosophy.
Early modern philosophy encompasses the 17th and 18th centuries. The philosophers in this period are traditionally divided into empiricists and rationalists. However, contemporary historians have argued that this is not a strict dichotomy and more a matter of varying degrees. These schools have in common that they seek a clearly established, rigorous, and systematic method of inquiry.
The second half of this period saw the emergence of the Enlightenment movement. It used these advances to challenge traditional authorities while promoting progress, individual freedom, and human rights.
Contemporary Philosophy
Name
Key Ideas
Major Thoughts
Slavoj Žižek (1949–present)
- Psychoanalysis - Ideology critique - Political theory
- Critique of contemporary capitalism - Influence of Lacanian psychoanalysis - Emphasis on the role of ideology in shaping society
Judith Butler (1956–present)
- Gender performativity - Queer theory
- Gender as a social construct - Critique of heteronormativity - Identity as performative
Peter Singer (1946–present)
- Animal liberation - Effective altruism
- Expanding moral circle to include animals - Utilitarianism in ethics - Global poverty and philanthropy
Martha Nussbaum(1947–present)
- Capabilities approach - Emotions in ethics
- Human development and social justice - Role of emotions in moral philosophy - Feminist philosophy
Michel Foucault (1926–1984)
- Discourse analysis - Power-knowledge - Biopower
- Critique of institutions and power structures - Genealogy of knowledge - Sexuality and identity
Jürgen Habermas(1929–present)
- Communicative action - Public sphere - Discourse ethics
- Emphasis on rational communication - Role of public discourse in democracy - Normative foundations of critical theory
- Critique of individualism - Importance of cultural recognition - Analysis of secular modernity
Alain Badiou (1937–present)
- Ontology - Event theory - Political philosophy
- Mathematics as ontology - Concept of the event as a radical break - Emphasis on universal truths
Giorgio Agamben(1942–present)
- State of exception - Homo sacer - Biopolitics
- Analysis of sovereign power and states of emergency - Concept of bare life - Critique of contemporary political structures
Gayatri Spivak (1942–present)
- Postcolonial theory - Subaltern studies - Deconstruction
- Critique of colonialism and its legacies - Emphasis on the voices of marginalized groups - Influence of Derridean deconstruction
Daniel Dennett (1942–present)
- Philosophy of mind - Cognitive science - Evolutionary biology
- Naturalistic explanation of consciousness - Critique of Cartesian dualism - Emphasis on evolutionary processes in understanding the mind
David Chalmers (1966–present)
- Philosophy of mind - Hard problem of consciousness - Panpsychism
- Distinction between easy and hard problems of consciousness - Exploration of the nature of subjective experience - Consideration of panpsychism as a solution to the hard problem of consciousness
Timothy Williamson(1955–present)
- Epistemology - Philosophy of language - Metaphysics
- Knowledge-first approach to epistemology - Analysis of vagueness and modal logic - Contributions to the philosophy of language and metaphysics
Amartya Sen (1933–present)
- Welfare economics - Social choice theory - Development economics
- Capabilities approach to human development - Analysis of social justice and inequality - Contributions to welfare economics and development theory
Sally Haslanger (1955–present)
- Feminism - Metaphysics - Social ontology
- Analysis of gender and race as social constructs - Critique of traditional metaphysical categories - Emphasis on the social dimensions of identity and power
Brian Skyrms (1938–present)
- Philosophy of science - Epistemology - Game theory
- Application of game theory to philosophical problems - Analysis of the evolution of cooperation - Contributions to the philosophy of science and epistemology
Nancy Cartwright(1943–present)
- Philosophy of science - Causation - Scientific models
- Critique of scientific realism - Emphasis on the role of models in scientific practice - Analysis of causation and scientific explanation
Christine Korsgaard(1952–present)
- Ethics - Moral philosophy - Kantian ethics
- Defense of Kantian moral theory - Analysis of the nature of moral obligations - Contributions to the understanding of personal identity and agency
Kwame Anthony Appiah (1954–present)
- Cosmopolitanism - Ethics - Philosophy of culture
- Advocacy for global ethical standards - Analysis of cultural identity and moral philosophy - Emphasis on the importance of cosmopolitanism in contemporary ethics
John McDowell (1942–present)
- Philosophy of mind - Epistemology - Metaphysics
- Critique of the fact-value dichotomy - Emphasis on the role of perception in knowledge - Contributions to the understanding of intentionality and normativity
Great Courses - Great Ideas of Philosophy 2nd Edition.pdf (file not included in this release) Oxford Companion to Philosophy.pdf (file not included in this release) The Big Questions- A Short Introduction to Philosophy — Robert C Solomon, Kathleen M Higgins — 10, 2017.pdf (file not included in this release)
