Philosophy

The history of Western philosophy spans over two and a half millennia of intellectual inquiry and critical thought. From ancient Greece to the postmodern era, Western philosophy has evolved through …

John Locke was an English philosopher and physician widely regarded as one of the most influential figures of the Enlightenment. His contributions to political philosophy, epistemology, education, and theology laid …

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz is widely regarded as one of the most extraordinary polymaths in Western intellectual history. Philosopher, mathematician, logician, scientist, inventor, statesman, and music theorist, Leibniz contributed critically to …

René Descartes was a mathematician, scientist, and philosopher whose work laid the groundwork for much of modern Western thought. His intellectual contributions—from analytic geometry to radical skepticism—have had a profound …

Baruch Spinoza, also known by his Latinized name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a Dutch philosopher whose radical ideas laid the groundwork for the Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism. His system—outlined …

Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) stands as one of the most influential and controversial philosophers of the 20th century. His trailblazing work reoriented the course of continental philosophy by returning to the …

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813–1855) was a Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, and social critic, widely regarded as the father of existentialism. Although largely unrecognized in his own time, Kierkegaard’s writings addressed …

Karl Marx (1818–1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, and revolutionary whose ideas fundamentally reshaped political theory and practice in the modern world. Often considered the father of communism, …