A wide-ranging list of philosophers from the Western traditions of philosophy. Included are not only philosophers (Socrates, Plato), but also those who have had a marked importance upon the philosophy of the day.
Western and Middle Eastern philosophers[edit]
600-500 BCE[edit]
- Thales of Miletus (c. 624 – 546 BCE). Of the Milesian school. Believed that all was made of water.
- Anaximander of Miletus (c. 610 – 546 BCE). Of the Milesian school. Famous for the concept of Apeiron, or "the boundless".
- Anaximenes of Miletus (c. 585 – 525 BCE). Of the Milesian school. Believed that all was made of air.
- Pythagoras of Samos (c. 580 – c. 500 BCE). Of the Ionian School. Believed the deepest reality to be composed of numbers, also believed that souls are immortal.
- Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570 – 480 BCE). Sometimes associated with the Eleatic school. Politically anti-militant, and epistemically skeptical.
500-400 BCE[edit]
- Heraclitus of Ephesus (c. 535 – c. 475 BCE). Of the Ionians. Emphasized the mutability of the world, which he understood to be analogous to fire.
- Parmenides of Elea (c. 515 – 450 BCE). Of the Eleatics. Believed that change is impossible.
- Anaxagoras of Clazomenae (c. 500 – 428 BCE). Of the Ionians. Atomist.
- Empedocles (492-432 BCE). Eclectic cosmogonist.
- Protagoras of Abdera (c. 481 – 420 BCE). Sophist. Early advocate of relativism.
- Hippias (middle of the 5th century BCE). Sophist.
- Gorgias. (c. 483 – 375 BCE). Sophist.
- Socrates of Athens (c. 470 – 399 BCE). Emphasized virtue ethics. In epistemology, understood dialectic to be central to the pursuit of truth.
- Leucippus of Miletus (First half of 5th century BCE). Atomist, Determinist.
- Democritus of Abdera (c. 450 – 370 BCE). Atomist.
- Archelaus. A pupil of Anaxagoras.
- Melissus of Samos. Eleatic.
- Cratylus.
- Ion of Chios.
- Echecrates.
- Timaeus of Locri.
400-300 BCE[edit]
- Antisthenes (c. 444 – 365 BCE). Founder of Cynicism. Maintained that the wise cannot be fooled. Pupil of Socrates.
- Aristippus of Cyrene (c. 435 – 366 BCE). A Cyrenaic. Advocate of ethical hedonism.
- Xenophon (c. 427 – 355 BCE). Philosopher of history.
- Plato (c. 427 – 347 BCE). Famed for view of the transcendental forms. Advocated polity governed by philosophers.
- Diogenes of Sinope (c. 399 – 323 BCE). Cynic.
- Xenocrates (c. 396 – 314 BCE). Disciple of Plato.
- Aristotle (c. 384 – 322 BCE). A polymath whose works ranged across all philosophical fields.
- Pyrrho of Elis (c. 360 – 270 BCE). Skeptic.
- Strato of Lampsacus (c. 340 BCE–c. 268 BCE). Atheist, Materialist.
- Euclid (c. 325 – 265 BCE). Founder of Euclidean geometry.
Hellenistic Philosophers[edit]
300-200 BCE[edit]
- Epicurus (c. 341 – 270 BCE). Materialist Atomist, hedonist.
- Zeno of Citium (c. 333 – 264 BCE). Founder of Stoicism. Anarchist. Held that the acceptance of objectivity allows the overcoming of passions.
- Timon (c. 320 – 230 BCE). Pyrrhonist, skeptic.
- Chrysippus of Soli (c. 280 – 207 BCE). Major figure in Stoicism.
200-100 BCE[edit]
- Carneades (c. 214 – 129 BCE). Academic skeptic. Understood probability as the purveyor of truth.
100-0 BCE[edit]
Roman Era Philosophers[edit]
0-100 CE[edit]
- Cicero (c. 106 BCE – 43 BCE)
- Philo (c. 20 BCE – 40 CE). Believed in the allegorical method of reading texts.
- Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BCE – 65 CE). Stoic.
100-200 CE[edit]
- Epictetus (c. 55 – 135). Stoic. Emphasized ethics of self-determination.
- Marcus Aurelius (121–180). Stoic.
200-400 CE[edit]
- Sextus Empiricus (fl. during the 2nd and possibly the 3rd centuries CE). Skeptic, Pyrrhonist.
- Plotinus (c. 205 – 270). Neoplatonist. Had a holistic metaphysics.
- Porphyry (c. 232 – 304). Student of Plotinus.
- Iamblichus of Syria (c. 245 – 325). Late neoplatonist. Espoused theurgy.
- Augustine of Hippo (c. 354 – 430). Original Sin. Church father.
- Proclus (c. 412 – 485). Neoplatonist.
Medieval Philosophers[edit]
500-800 CE[edit]
- Boethius (c. 480–524).
- John Philoponus (c. 490–570).
800-900 CE[edit]
- Al-Kindi (c. 801 – 873). Major figure at Islamic philosophy. Influenced by Neoplatonism.
- John the Scot (c. 815 – 877). neoplatonist, pantheist.
900-1000 CE[edit]
- al-Faràbi (c. 870 – 950). Major Islamic philosopher. Neoplatonist.
- Saadia Gaon (c. 882 – 942).
- al-Razi (c. 865 – 925). Rationalist. Major Islamic philosopher. Held that God creates universe by rearranging pre-existing laws.
1000-1100 CE[edit]
- Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (c. 980 – 1037). Major Islamic philosopher.
- Ibn Gabirol (Avicebron) (c. 1021–1058). Jewish philosopher.
- Anselm (c. 1034–1109). Christian philosopher. Produced ontological argument for the existence of God.
- al-Ghazali (c. 1058–1111). Islamic philosopher. Mystic.
1100-1200 CE[edit]
- Peter Abelard (c. 1079–1142). Scholastic philosopher. Dealt with problem of universals.
- Abraham ibn Daud (c. 1110–1180). Jewish philosophy.
- Peter Lombard (c. 1100–1160). Scholastic.
- Averroes (Ibn Rushd, "The Commentator") (c. 1126-December 10, 1198). Islamic philosopher.
- Maimonides (c. 1135–1204). Jewish philosophy.
- St Francis of Assisi (c. 1182–1226). Ascetic.
1200-1300 CE[edit]
- Robert Grosseteste (c. 1175–1253).
- Albert the Great (c. 1193–1280). Early Empiricist.
- Roger Bacon (c. 1214–1294). Empiricist, mathematician.
- Thomas Aquinas (c. 1221–1274). Christian philosopher.
- Bonaventure (c. 1225–1274). Franciscan.
- Siger (c. 1240 – c. 1280). Averroist.
- Boetius of Dacia. Averroist, Aristotelian.
1300-1400 CE[edit]
- Ramon Llull (c. 1232–1315) Catalan philosopher
- Duns Scotus (c. 1266–1308). Franciscan, Scholastic, Original Sin.
- Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–1328). mystic.
- John Wycliffe (c. 1320–1384).
- Nicole Oresme (c. 1320-5 – 1382). Made contributions to economics, science, mathematics, theology and philosophy.
- Marsilius of Padua (c. 1270–1342). Understood chief function of state as mediator.
- William of Ockham (c. 1288–1348). Franciscan. Scholastic. Nominalist, creator of Ockham's razor.
- Gersonides (c. 1288–1344). Jewish philosopher.
- Jean Buridan (c. 1300–1358). Nominalist.
- Hasdai Crescas (c. 1340 – c. 1411). Jewish philosopher.
1400-1500 CE[edit]
- Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464). Christian philosopher.
- Lorenzo Valla (1407–1457). Humanist, critic of scholastic logic.
- Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499). Christian Neoplatonist, head of Florentine Academy and major Renaissance Humanist figure. First translator of Plato's complete extant works into Latin.
- Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494). Renaissance humanist.
Early Modern Philosophers[edit]
1500-1550 CE[edit]
- Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536). Humanist, advocate of free will.
- Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527). Political realism.
- Copernicus (1473–1543).
- Sir Thomas More (1478–1535). Humanist, created term "utopia".
- Petrus Ramus (1515–1572).
- Martin Luther (1483–1546). Major Western Christian theologian.
1550-1600 CE[edit]
- Teresa of Avila (1515–1582). Spanish mystic.
- Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592). Humanist, skeptic.
- Giordano Bruno (1548–1600). Advocate of heliocentrism.
- Francisco Suarez (1548–1617). Politically proto-liberal.
- John Calvin (1509–1564). Major Western Christian theologian.
- Pierre Charron (1541–1603).
1600-1650 CE[edit]
- John Milton(1608-1674)
- Francis Bacon (1561–1626). Empiricist.
- Hugo Grotius (1583–1645). Natural law theorist.
- Galileo Galilei (1564–1642). Heliocentrist.
- Herbert of Cherbury. Nativist.
- René Descartes (1596–1650). Heliocentrism, dualism, rationalism.
- Pierre Gassendi (1592–1655). Mechanicism. Empiricist.
- Marin Mersenne (1588–1648). Cartesian.
- Baltasar Gracián (1601–1658). Spanish catholic philosopher
- Queen Kristina (1626–1689).
- Pierre de Fermat (c. 1601–1665). Probability theorist.
- Robert Filmer (1588–1653).
1650-1700 CE[edit]
- Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679). Political realist.
- Joseph Glanvill (1636–1680).
- Arnold Geulincx (1624–1669). Important occasionalist theorist.
- Blaise Pascal (1623–1662). Physicist, scientist. Noted for Pascal's wager.
- Henry More (1614–1687).
- Geraud Cordemoy (1626-1684). Dualist.
- Pierre Nicole (1625–1695).
- Ralph Cudworth (1617–1688). Cambridge Platonist.
- Margaret Cavendish (1623–1673). Materialist, feminist.
- Antoine Arnauld (1612–1694).
- Richard Cumberland (1631–1718). Early proponent of utilitarianism.
- Jacques Rohault. (1617–1672) Cartesian.
- Simon Foucher (1644–1696). Skeptic.
- Robert Boyle (1627–1691).
- Nicolas Malebranche (1638–1715). Cartesian.
- Samuel von Pufendorf (1632–1694). Social contract theorist.
- Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677).
- Isaac Newton (1643–1727).
- Anne Conway, Viscountess Conway (1631–1679).
- John Locke (1632–1704). Major Empiricist. Political philosopher.
- Damaris Masham (1659–1708).
- John Toland (1670–1722).
- Pierre Bayle ( 1647–1706). Pyrrhonist.
1700-1750 CE[edit]
- Samuel Clarke (1675–1729).
- Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671–1713).
- John Norris (1657–1711). Malebranchian.
- Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716). Co-inventor of the calculus.
- George Berkeley (1685–1753). Idealist, empiricist.
- Catherine Cockburn (1679–1749).
- Giambattista Vico (1668–1744).
- Bernard Mandeville (1670–1733).
- Francis Hutcheson (1694–1746). Proto-utilitarian.
- Joseph Butler (1692–1752).
- Christian Wolff (1679–1754). Determinist, rationalist.
- John Gay (philosopher) (1699–1745).
- David Hume (1711–1776). Empiricist, skeptic.
- Julien La Mettrie (1709–1751). Materialist, genetic determinist.
- David Hartley (1705–1757).
- Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755). Skeptic, humanist.
1750-1800 CE[edit]
- Etienne de Condillac (1715-1780).
- Richard Price (1723–1791). Political liberal.
- Jean d'Alembert (1717–1783).
- Voltaire (1694–1778).
- Denis Diderot (1713–1784).
- John Wesley (1703–1791).
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778). Social contract political philosopher.
- Baron d'Holbach (1723–1789). Materialist, atheist.
- Claude Adrien Helvétius (1715–1771). Utilitarian.
- Adam Smith (1723–1790). Economic theorist, member of Scottish Enlightenment.
- Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826). Liberal political philosopher.
- Thomas Reid (1710–1796). Member of Scottish Enlightenment, founder of Scottish Common Sense philosophy.
- G.E. Lessing (1729–1781).
- Edmund Burke (1729–1797). Conservative political philosopher.
- Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). Deontologist, proponent of synthetic a priori truths.
- Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797). Feminist.
- Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832). Utilitarian, hedonist.
- Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786). Member of the Jewish Enlightenment.
- Sylvain Maréchal (1750–1803) Anarcho-communist, Deist
- Dugald Stewart (1753–1828).
- William Godwin (1756–1836). Anarchist, utilitarian.
- Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805).
- William Paley (1743–1805).
- Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762–1814).
Modern Philosophers[edit]
1800-1850 CE[edit]
- Joseph de Maistre (1753–1821) Conservative
- Madame de Staël (1766–1817).
- F.W.J. von Schelling (1775–1854). German idealist.
- Thomas Robert Malthus (1766–1834). Malthusianist.
- Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834). Hermeneutician.
- P.S. de Laplace (1749–1827). Determinist.
- G.W.F. Hegel (1770–1831). German idealist.
- Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744–1829). Early evolutionary theorist.
- Comte de Saint-Simon (1760–1825). Socialist.
- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860). Pessimist.
- Richard Whately (1787–1863).
- Charles Babbage (1791–1871).
- John Austin (1790–1859). Legal positivist, utilitarian.
- Auguste Comte (1798–1857). Social philosopher, positivist.
- William Whewell (1794–1866).
- James Mill (1773–1836). Utilitarian.
- P.J. Proudhon (1809–1865). Anarchist.
- Bernard Bolzano (1781–1848).
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882). Trancendentalist, abolitionist, egalitarian, humanist.
- Ludwig Feuerbach (1804–1872).
- Max Stirner (1806-1856). Anarchist.
- Augustus De Morgan (1806–1871). Logician.
- John Stuart Mill (1806–1873). Utilitarian.
- Charles Darwin (1809–1882).
- Margaret Fuller (1810–1850). Egalitarian.
- Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855). Existentialist.
- Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862). Trancendentalist, pacifist, abolitionist.
1850-1900 CE[edit]
- Sojourner Truth (c. 1797–1883). Egalitarian, abolitionist.
- Karl Marx (1818–1883). Socialist, formulated historical materialism.
- Harriet Taylor Mill (1807–1858). Egalitarian, utilitarian.
- Friedrich Engels (1820–1895). Egalitarian, dialectical materialist.
- Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet (1788–1856).
- J. S. Mill (1806–1873). Utilitarian.
- Hermann Lotze (1817–1881).
- Herbert Spencer (1820–1903). Nativism, libertarianism, social Darwinism.
- John Venn (1834–1923).
- Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906). Feminist.
- Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876). Revolutionary anarchist.
- Franz Brentano (1838–1917). Phenomenologist.
- Henry Sidgwick (1838–1900). Rationalism, utilitarianism.
- Richard Dedekind (1831–1916).
- W. K. Clifford (1845–1879). Evidentialist.
- Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914). Pragmatist.
- Edward Caird (1835–1908). Idealist.
- Ernst Mach (1838–1916). Philosopher of science, influence on logical positivism.
- T.H. Green (1836–1882). British idealist.
- Gottlob Frege (1848–1925). Influential analytic philosopher.
- Wilhelm Dilthey (1833–1911).
- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900). Naturalistic philosopher, influence on Existentialism.
- Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) (1832–1898).
- Bernard Bosanquet (1848–1923). Idealist.
- Giuseppe Peano (1858–1932).
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902). Egalitarian.
- David George Ritchie (1853–1903). Idealist.
- Émile Durkheim (1858–1917). Social philosopher.
- William James (1842–1910). Pragmatism, Radical empiricism.
- Josiah Royce (1855–1916). Idealist.
- F.H. Bradley (1846–1924). Idealist.
- Vilfredo Pareto (1848–1923). Social philosopher.
- Thorstein Veblen (1857–1929). Social philosopher.
- Sigmund Freud (1856–1939). Creator of psychodynamic philosophy of mind.
- Max Weber (1864–1920). Social philosopher.
- Henri Bergson (1859–1941).
- John Dewey (1859–1952). Pragmatism.
- Alexius Meinong (1853–1920). Logical realist.
- Cook Wilson (1849–1915).
- Henri Poincaré (1854–1912).
- Pierre Duhem (1861–1916).
- Edmund Husserl (1859–1938). Founder of phenomenology.
- Samuel Alexander (1859–1938). Perceptual realist.
- Jane Addams (1860–1935). Pragmatist.
- Andrew Seth Pringle-Pattison (1856–1931).
- G.E. Moore (1873–1958). Common sense theorist, ethical non-naturalist.
- Benedetto Croce (1866–1952).
- Carl Jung (1875–1961). Founded analytical psychology.
- Emma Goldman (1869–1940). Anarchist.
- Hans Vaihinger (1852–1933). Specialist in counterfactuals.
- Rosa Luxemburg (1870–1919). Marxist political philosopher.
- Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936).
- Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913). Linguistic structuralist.
- J. M. E. McTaggart (1866–1925). Idealist.
- George Herbert Mead (1863–1931). Pragmatism, symbolic interactionist.
- Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947). Logician.
- Martin Buber (1878–1965). Jewish philosopher, existentialist.
1900-2000 CE[edit]
- George Santayana (1863–1952). Pragmatism, naturalism; known for many aphorisms.
- Bertrand Russell (1872–1970). Analytic philosopher, atheist, influential.
- Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951). Analytic philosopher, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, influential.
- Giovanni Gentile (1875–1944). Idealist and fascist philosopher.
- Georg Lukács (1885–1971). Marxist philosopher.
- C. D. Broad (1887–1971).
- A.O. Lovejoy (1873–1962).
- W.D. Ross (1877–1971). Deontologist.
- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955). Christian evolutionist.
- Nikolai Berdyaev (1874–1948). Existentialist.
- Hans Kelsen (1881–1973). Legal positivist.
- Moritz Schlick (1882–1936). Founder of Vienna Circle, logical positivism.
- Otto Neurath (1882–1945). Member of Vienna Circle.
- Frank P. Ramsey (1903–1930). Proposed redundancy theory of truth.
- Ernst Cassirer (1874–1945).
- Nicolai Hartmann (1882–1950).
- Karl Barth (1886–1968).
- Walter Terence Stace (1886–1967)
- Martin Heidegger (1889–1976). Phenomenologist.
- Jacques Lacan (1901–1981). Structuralism.
- Kurt Gödel (1906–1978). Vienna Circle.
- Ralph Barton Perry (1876–1957).
- Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937). Marxist philosopher.
- Roman Ingarden (1893–1970). Perceptual realist, phenomenalist.
- C.I. Lewis (1883–1964). Conceptual pragmatist.
- Gaston Bachelard (1884–1962).
- A.J. Ayer (1910–1989). Logical positivist, emotivist.
- Friedrich Waismann (1896–1959). Vienna Circle. Logical positivist.
- Jacques Maritain (1882–1973). Human rights theorist.
- José Ortega y Gasset (1883–1955). Philosopher of History.
- Xavier Zubiri (1898-1983). Materialist open realism.
- Alfred Tarski (1901–1983). Created T-Convention in semantics.
- Rudolf Carnap (1891–1970). Vienna Circle. Logical positivist.
- H.L.A. Hart (1907–1992). Legal positivism.
- Willard van Orman Quine (1908–2000).
- Brand Blanshard (1892–1987).
- E. Nagel (1901–1985). Logical positivist.
- Karl Popper (1902–1994). Falsificationist.
- Ernest Addison Moody (1903–1975).
- Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980). Humanism, existentialism.
- Gilbert Ryle (1900–1976).
- H.H. Price (1899–1984).
- Susanne Langer (1895–1985).
- J.L. Austin (1911–1960).
- Albert Camus (1913–1960). Absurdist.
- Mortimer Adler (1902–2001).
- Karl Jaspers (1905–1982). Existentialist.
- Ayn Rand (1905–1982). Objectivist, Individualist.
- C.L. Stevenson (1908–1979).
- Theodor Adorno (1903–1969). Frankfurt School.
- Alan Turing (1912–1954). Functionalist in philosophy of mind.
- H.A. Prichard (1871–1947). Moral intuitionist.
- Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973). Christian existentialist.
- Leo Strauss (1899–1973). Political Philosopher.
- Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979). Frankfurt School.
- Simone Weil (1909–1943).
- Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986). Existentialist, feminist.
- J. L. Mackie (1917–1981). Moral skeptic.
- Allan Bloom (1930–1992). Political Philosopher.
- Donald Davidson (1917–2003).
- P. F. Strawson (1919–2006).
- R. M. Hare (1919–2002).
- John Rawls (1921–2002). Liberal.
- Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995). Post-structuralism
- Frantz Fanon (1925–1961). Post-colonialism
- Michel Foucault (1926–1984). Structuralism, Post-structuralism, Postmodernism, Queer theory.
- Hilary Putnam (born 1926).
- David Malet Armstrong (born 1926).
- John Howard Yoder (1927–1997). Pacifist.
- Noam Chomsky (born 1928).
- Jürgen Habermas (born 1929).
- Jaakko Hintikka (born 1929).
- Alasdair MacIntyre (born 1929). Aristotelian.
- Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995).
- Jacques Derrida (1930–2004). Deconstruction.
- Richard Rorty (1931–2007). Pragmatism, Postanalytic philosophy.
- Robert Nozick (1938–2002). Libertarian.
- John Searle (born 1932).
- Alvin Plantinga (born 1932). Reformed epistemology, Philosophy of Religion.
- Jerry Fodor (born 1935).
- Thomas Nagel (born 1937).
- Alain Badiou (born 1937).
- Saul Kripke (born 1940).
- David K. Lewis (1941–2001). Modal realism.
- Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (born 1942). Post-colonialism, Feminism, Literary theory
- Derek Parfit (born 1942).
- Slavoj Žižek (born 1949). Hegelianism, Marxism and Lacanian psychoanalysis
- Judith Butler (born 1956). Poststructuralist, feminist, queer theory
- Joxe Azurmendi (born 1941). Basque Philosopher, Political philosophy, Social philosophy, Philosophy of language
- Charles Taylor (born 1931). Political philosophy, Philosophy of Social Science, and Intellectual History
- Giorgio Agamben (born 1942). state of exception, form-of-life, homo sacer, and the concept of biopolitics
See also[edit]
- From this point in time forward, see Contemporary philosophy.
- Timeline of German Idealism
- List of years in philosophy
- Category:21st-century philosophers
References[edit]
- Kemerling, Garth (2002). Timeline of Western Philosophers. http://www.philosophypages.com
- LaFave, Sandra (2006). Chronological List of Western Philosophers. http://instruct.westvalley.edu/lafave/CRONLIST.htm
- Russell, Bertrand (MCMLIX). Wisdom of the West. London: Rathbone Books, Ltd.
Chinese philosophers[edit]
Ancient Chinese philosophers[edit]
Before 256 BCE (until the end of the Zhou Dynasty)[edit]
- Guan Zhong (died in 645 BCE)
- Confucius (traditionally 551–479 BCE) — founder of Confucianism
- Sun Tzu (c. 544–c. 496 BCE) — military philosopher
475–221 BCE (Warring States period)[edit]
- Gaozi (c. 420 BCE)
- Laozi (4th century BCE, approx.) — influenced Taoism
- Liezi (c. 440–c. 360 BCE)
- Mencius (most accepted dates: 372–289 BCE; other possible dates: 385–303 BCE or 302 BCE) — political philosopher, social contract
- Mozi (c. 470–c. 390 BCE) — political and religious philosopher
- Gongsun Longzi (fl. 300 BCE) — School of Names
- Xu Xing (c. 315 BCE)
- Hui Shi (4th century BCE)—School of Names
- Shang Yang (died 338 BCE) — Legalist bureaucrat
- Shen Buhai (died 337 BCE) — Legalist bureaucrat
- Shen Dao (circa 350–275 BCE)
- Song Xing (360–290 BCE)
- Yang Zhu (370–319 BCE)— Usually classified as a Hedonist
- Zhuang Zhou (Zhuangzi, c. 4th century BCE) — major Taoist philosopher
- Han Feizi (died 233 BCE) — totalistic legalism
- Xunzi (c.310–237 BCE) — Confucianist, pessimistic about human nature
- Zou Yan (305?–240? BCE)— School of Naturalists, Yin-Yang, Five Elements
221BCE–220 CE (Qin, Han and Xin Dynasties)[edit]
- Zheng Xuan (127–200 CE)
- Jia Yi (201–169 BCE)
- Dong Zhongshu (c.176–c.104 BCE)
- He Yan (190–249 CE)
- Liu An (179–122 BCE)
- Wang Chong (27–97 CE)
- Yang Xiong (53 BCE–18 CE)
220 CE–907 CE (Three Kingdoms period to Tang Dynasty)[edit]
- Ruan Ji (210–263)
- Wang Bi (226–249) — commentator on the Tao Te Ching and the I Ching
- Guo Xiang (died 312)
- Zhi Dun (314–366)
- Sengzhao (384–414)
- Ge Hong (4th century)
- Zhiyi (538–597)
- Jizang (549–623)
- Huineng (638–713)
- Fazang (643–712)
- Li Ao (722–841)
- Han Yu (768–824)
- Zongmi (780–841)
- Linji Yixuan (died 866)
907–1368 (Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period to Yuan Dynasty)[edit]
- Chang Tsai (1020–1077)
- Cheng Hao (1032–1085) — established the Confucian "School of Mind"
- Cheng Yi (1033–1107)
- Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073)
- Hu Yuan (993–1059) — revived Confucianism
- Shao Yung (1011–1077)
- Zhu Xi (1130–1200) — thinker of the Confucianist "School of Principle"
- Hu-Hung (1100–1155)
- Lu Hsiang-shan (1139–1193)
1368–1912 (Ming and Qing Dynasties)[edit]
- Chang Hsueh-ch'eng (1738–1801)
- Ch'en Hsien-chang (1428–1500)
- Chiao Hung (1540–1620)
- Huang Zongxi (1610–1695)
- Kang Youwei (1858–1927)
- Liang Qichao (1873–1929)
- Liu Tsung-chou (1578–1645)
- Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925)
- Tai Chen (1724–1777)
- T'an Ssu-t'ung (1864–1898)
- Wang Fuzhi (1619–1692)
- Wang Yangming (1472–1529)
- Yen Yuan (1635–1704)
- Yü Cheng-hsieh (1775-1840) — prominent scholar and male feminist, philosopher, philologist, astrologer
Modern Chinese philosophers[edit]
1912–1950[edit]
- Ch'ien Mu (1895–1990)
- Thome H. Fang (1899–1976)
- Feng Youlan (1895–1990)
- Hsiung Shih-li (1885–1968)
- Hsu Fu-kuan (1903–1982)
- Hu Shih (1891–1962)
- Liang Sou-ming (1893–1988)
- Zhang Dongsun (1886–1973)
- Liu Shaoqi (1898–1969)
- Mao Zedong (1893–1976)
- Mou Tsung-san (1909–1995)
- T'ang Chun-i (1909–1978)
- Hao Wang (1921–1995)
Indian philosophers[edit]
Ancient philosophers[edit]
3rd millennium - 2nd millennium BCE[edit]
- Parashara — writer of Viṣṇu Purāṇa
- Vyasa — author of the Mahabharata, as well as a character in it.
Vedic Period[edit]
- Rishi Narayana — seer of the Purusha Sukta of the Rig Veda.[1]
- Seven Rishis — Atri, Bharadwaja, Gautama, Jamadagni, Kasyapa, Vasishtha, Viswamitra.[2]
- Other Vedic Rishis — Gritsamada, Sandilya, Kanva etc.
- Rishaba — Rishi mentioned in Rig Veda and later in several Puranas, and believed by Jains to be the first official religious guru of Jainism, as accredited by later followers.
- Yajnavalkya — one of the Vedic sages, greatly influenced Buddhistic thought.
- Angiras — one of the seers of the Atharva Veda and author of Mundaka Upanishad.
1000–600 BCE (Mahajanapadas)[edit]
- Uddalaka Aruni — an Upanishadic sage who authored major portions of Chāndogya Upaniṣad.
- Ashvapati — a King in the Later Vedic age who authored Vaishvanara Vidya of Chāndogya Upaniṣad.
- Ashtavakra — an Upanishadic Sage mentioned in the Mahabharata, who authored Ashtavakra Gita.
- Parshva — a Jain guru.
600–400 BCE (Sectarianism)[edit]
- Pāṇini (Between 600-500 BCE) — made contributions to Philosophy of language and Sanskrit grammar.
- Siddhartha Gautama (circa 563–483 BCE) — founder of Buddhism.
- Mahavira (599–527 BCE) — heavily influenced Jainism, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism.
- Badarayana (lived between 500 BCE and 400 BCE) — Author of Brahma Sutras.
- Kapila (circa 500 BCE) founder of Sankhya philosophy.
321–184 BCE (Maurya Empire)[edit]
- Shvetashvatara — Author of earliest textual exposition of a systematic philosophy of Shaivism.
- Chanakya (circa 350–275 BCE) — A pioneer in the field of economics and political science.
- Jaimini (circa 300-200 BCE) — Author of Purva Mimamsa Sutras.
- Aksapada Gautama (circa 2nd century BCE) — founder of Nyaya philosophy.
- Kanada - founder of Vaisheshika.
- Pingala - Renowned for his work on Combinatorics and Sanskrit prosody.
184 BCE–100 CE (Early Middle Kingdoms Begin – The Golden Age )[edit]
- Patanjali — Author of Yoga Sutra and a commentary on Panini.
100–300 (Cholas, Cheras, Pandavas and Kushan Empire)[edit]
- Nagarjuna (circa 150–250) — founder of Madhyamaka Buddhism.
- Kundakunda (circa 2nd Century), exponent of Jain mysticism and Jain nayas.
- Umāsvāti or Umasvami (circa 2nd Century), author of first Jain work in Sanskrit Tattvārthasūtra.
300–550 (Gupta Empire)[edit]
- Vasubandhu (circa 4th century) — one of the main founders of the Yogacara school.
- Asanga (circa 4th century) — one of the main founders of the Yogacara school.
- Bodhidharma (circa 440–528) — founder of Zen Buddhism.
- Vatsyayana (circa 450–500) — author of commentary on Nyāya Sūtras.
- Bhartrhari (450–510) — contributed to lingusitic theory.
- Buddhaghosa (circa 5th century)
- Siddhasena Divākara (circa 5th Century) — Jain logician and author of important works in Sanskrit and Prakrit.
- Dignāga (circa 5th century) — one of the Buddhist founders of Indian logic.
- Uddyotakara (circa 6th–7th century) — Nyaya Philosopher.
600–900 (Late Middle Kingdoms – The Classical Age)[edit]
- Candrakirti (born circa 600) — Madhyamaka Buddhist
- Kumārila Bhaṭṭa (circa 7th century) — Mimansa Philosopher
- Udyanacharya(circa 7th century)— Nyaya Philosopher
- Prabhākara (circa 7th century) — Grammarian and Mimansa Philosopher
- Dharmakirti (circa 7th century)
- Gaudapadacharya (circa 7th century) — Advaita Philosopher
- Adi Shankara (circa 788–820) — Advaita Vedanta school
- Anandavardhana (circa 820–890) — Philosopher of Aesthetics
- Vasugupta (860-925 CE) — Author of Shiva Sutras
- Vācaspati Miśra (circa 9th century) — Nyaya Philosopher
- Jayanta Bhatta (circa 9th century) — Nyaya Philosopher
900–1100 (The Islamic Sultanates)[edit]
- Abhinavagupta (circa 975–1025)
- Ramanuja (circa 1017–1137) — founder of Vishishtadvaita or Qualified Non-dualism.
1100–1500 (Vijaynagara Empire and Delhi Sultanate)[edit]
- Basaveshwara (1134–1196) — founder of Lingayatism
- Shri Madhvacharya (1238–1317)
- Gangeśa Upādhyāya (circa 13th century)
- Nimbarka (circa 13th century)
- Mādhava Vidyāranya (circa 1268–1386)
- Vyasatirtha (circa 1460–1539)
- Raghunatha Siromani (circa 1477–1547) — founder of Navya Nyāya philosophy.
- Vallabhacharya (circa 1479–1531)
- Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (circa 1486–1534)
1500–1800 (The Mughal Era)[edit]
- Nanak (circa 1469-1539) — Bhakti Philosopher, Founder of Sikhism
- Madhusūdana Sarasvatī (circa 1540-1640)
- Vijñānabhikṣu (circa 1550-1600) — synthesized Vedānta, Sāṃkhya, and Yoga into avibhagādvaita ("indistinguishable non-dualism").
- Gadadhara Bhattacharya (17th century) — Nyaya philosopher
Modern Indian philosophers[edit]
1800–1947 (Colonial and Postcolonial Era)[edit]
- Devatma (1850 –1929)
- Devendranath Tagore (1817–1905)
- Narayana Guru (1856–1928)
- Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941)
- Brajendranath Seal (1864–1938)
- Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950)
- Allama Iqbal (1877–1938)
- Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950)
- Nigamananda (1880–1935)
- Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (1883–1966)
- Gopinath Kaviraj (1887–1976)
- Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975)
- Nolini Kanta Gupta (1889–1983)
- Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956)
- Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986)
- Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897–1981)
- Haridas Chaudhuri (1913–1975)
- U. G. Krishnamurti (1918–2007)
- Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar (1921–1990)
- Swami Krishnananda (1922–2001)
- Osho (1931–1990)
- Amartya Sen (born 1933)
- Bimal Krishna Matilal(1935–1991)
- Pandurang Shastri Athavale(1920–2003)
Japanese philosophers[edit]
Ancient Japanese philosophers[edit]
Until 1185 CE (until the end of the Heian Period)[edit]
1185–1333 (Kamakura Period)[edit]
- Shinran (1173–1261)
- Dōgen Zenji (1200–1253)
- Nichiren (1222–1282)
1333–1867 (Muromachi Period to Edo Period)[edit]
- Zeami Motokiyo (c. 1363–c. 1443)
- Fujiwara Seika (1561–1619)
- Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645)
- Kumazawa Banzan (1619–1691)
- Ito Jinsai (1627–1705)
- Kaibara Ekiken (1630–1714)
- Ogyū Sorai (1666–1728)
- Hakuin Ekaku (1686–1769)
- Tominaga Nakamoto (1715–1746)
- Motoori Norinaga (1730–1801)
- Nishi Amane (1829–1897)
Modern Japanese philosophers[edit]
1867–1950[edit]
- Nishida Kitaro (1870–1945)
- D. T. Suzuki (1870–1966)
- Tanabe Hajime (1885–1962)
- Kuki Shūzō (1888–1941)
- Watsuji Tetsuro (1889–1960)
- Sakurazawa Yukikazu (George Ohsawa) (1893–1966)
- Miki Kiyoshi (1897–1945)
- Nishitani Keiji (1900–1990)
Korean philosophers[edit]
Ancient Korean philosophers[edit]
Until 676 CE (until the end of the Three Kingdoms period)[edit]
- Seungrang (circa 6th century)
676–935 (Unified Silla period)[edit]
- Woncheuk (613–696)
- Wonhyo (617–686)
- Uisang (625–702)
- Doseon (827–898)
- Choi Chi-won (857–?)
935–1392 (Goryeo period)[edit]
1392–1910 (Joseon period)[edit]
- Jeong Do-jeon (1342–1398)
- Seo Gyeong-deok (1489–1546)
- Yi Eon-jeok (1491–1553)
- Jo Sik (1501–1572)
- Yi Hwang (1501–1570)
- Yi I (1536–1584)
- Jeong Je-du (1649–1736)
- Jeong Yak-yong (1762–1836)
- Kim Jeong-hui (1786–1856)
- Choi Han-gi (1803–1879)
- Choi Je-u (1824–1864)
- Yi Je-ma (1838–1900)
Modern Korean philosophers[edit]
1910–1950[edit]
- Ryu Yeong-mo (1890–1981)
- Ham Seok-heon (1901–1989)
Tibetan philosophers[edit]
- Sa skya pandita (1182–1251)
- Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419)
- Gyeltsap Darma Rinchen (1364–1432)
- Kaydrup glek belsangbo (1385–1438)
- Mikyo Dorje (1507–1554)
Contemporary philosophy is the present period in the history of Western philosophy beginning at the end of the 19th century with the professionalization of the discipline and the rise of analytic and continental philosophy.
The phrase "contemporary philosophy" is a piece of technical terminology in philosophy that refers to a specific period in thehistory of Western philosophy. However, the phrase is often confused with modern philosophy (which refers to an earlier period in Western philosophy), postmodern philosophy (which refers to continental philosophers' criticisms of modern philosophy), and with a non-technical use of the phrase referring to any recent philosophic work.
Contemporary philosophy is the present period in the history of Western philosophy beginning at the end of the 19th century with the professionalization of the discipline and the rise of analytic and continental philosophy.
The phrase "contemporary philosophy" is a piece of technical terminology in philosophy that refers to a specific period in thehistory of Western philosophy. However, the phrase is often confused with modern philosophy (which refers to an earlier period in Western philosophy), postmodern philosophy (which refers to continental philosophers' criticisms of modern philosophy), and with a non-technical use of the phrase referring to any recent philosophic work.
Contents
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The professionalization of philosophy[edit]
| “ | ...the day of the philosopher as isolated thinker--the talented amateur with an idiosyncratic message--is effectively gone. | ” |
—Nicholas Rescher, "American Philosophy Today," 'Review of Metaphysics' 46 (4)
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The process of professionalization[edit]
Professionalization is the social process by which any trade or occupation establishes the group norms of conduct, acceptable qualifications for membership of the profession, a professional body or association to oversee the conduct of members of the profession, and some degree of demarcation of the qualified from unqualifiedamateurs.[1] The transformation into a profession brings about many subtle changes to a field of inquiry, but one more readily identifiable component of professionalization is the increasing irrelevance of "the book" to the field: "research communiqués will begin to change in ways [...] whose modern end products are obvious to all and oppressive to many. No longer will [a member's] researches usually be embodied in books addressed [...] to anyone who might be interested in the subject matter of the field. Instead they will usually appear as brief articles addressed only to professional colleagues, the men whose knowledge of a shared paradigm can be assumed and who prove to be the only one able to read the papers addressed to them."[2] Philosophy underwent this process toward the end of the 19th-century and it is one of the key distinguishing features of the contemporary philosophy era in western philosophy.
Germany was the first country to professionalize philosophy.[3] At the end of 1817, Hegel was the first philosopher to be appointed Professor by the State, namely by the Prussian Minister of Education, as an effect of Napoleonic reform in Prussia. In the United States, the professionalisation grew out of reforms to the American higher-education system largely based on the German model.[4] James Campbell describes the professionalisation of philosophy in America as follows:
The list of specific changes [during the late 19th-century professionalization of philosophy] is fairly brief, but the resultant shift is almost total. [...] No longer could the [philosophy] professor function as a defender of the faith or an expounder of Truth. The new philosopher had to be a leader of inquires and a publicizer of results. This shift was made obvious when certified (often German-certified) philosophy Ph.D.'s replaced theology graduates and ministers in the philosophy classroom. The period between the time when almost no one had a Ph.D. to when almost everyone did was very brief. [...] The doctorate, moreover, was more than a license to teach: it was a certificate that the prospective philosophy instructor was well, if narrowly, trained and ready to undertake independent work in the now specializing and restricted field of academic philosophy. These new philosophers functioned in independent departments of philosophy [...] They were making real gains in their research, creating a body of philosophic work that remains central to our study even now. These new philosophers also set their own standards for success, publishing in the recognized organs of philosophy that were being founded at the time: The Monist (1890), The International Journal of Ethics (1890), The Philosophical Review (1892), and The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology, and Scientific Methods (1904). And, of course, these philosophers were banding together into societies--the American Psychological Association (1892), the Western Philosophical Association (1900), and the American Philosophical Association (1900)--to consolidate their academic positions and advance their philosophic work.[5]
Professionalization in England was similarly tied to developments in higher-education. In his work on T.H. Green, Denys Leighton discusses these changes in British philosophy and Green's claim to the title of Britain's first professional academic philosopher:
Henry Sidgwick, in a generous gesture, identified [T.H.] Green as Britain's first professional academic philosopher. Sidgwick's opinion can certainly be questioned: William Hamilton, J.F. Ferrier and Sidgwick himself are among the contenders for that honour. [...] Yet there can be no doubt that between the death of Mill (1873) and the publication of G.E.Moore's Principia Ethica (1903), the British philosophical profession was transformed, and that Green was partly responsible for the transformation. [...] Bentham, the Mills, Carlyle, Coleridge, Spencer, as well as many other serious philosophical thinkers of the nineteenth century were men of letters, administrators, active politicians, clergy with livings, but not academics. [...] Green helped separate the study of philosophical from that of literary and historical texts; and by creating a philosophy curriculum at Oxford he also established a rationale for trained teachers of philosophy. When Green began his academic career much of the serious writing on philosophical topic was published in journals of opinion devoted to a broad range of [topics] (rarely to 'pure' philosophy). He helped professionalize philosophical writing by encouraging specialized periodicals, such as 'Academy' and 'Mind', which were to serve as venues for the results of scholarly research.[6]
The end result of professionalization for philosophy has meant that work being done in the field is now almost exclusively done by university professors holding a doctorate in the field publishing in highly technical, peer-reviewed journals. While it remains common among the population at large for a person to have a set of religious, political or philosophical views that they consider their “philosophy”, these views are rarely informed or connected to the work being done in professional philosophy today. Furthermore, unlike many of the sciences for which there has come to be a healthy industry of books, magazines, and television shows meant to popularize science and communicate the technical results of a scientific field to the general populace, works by professional philosophers directed at an audience outside the profession remains rare. PhilosopherMichael Sandel's book “Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?” and Harry Frankfurt's "On Bullshit” are examples of works that hold the uncommon distinction of having been written by professional philosophers but directed at and ultimately popular among a broader audience of non-philosophers. Both works became New York Times best sellers.
The list of specific changes [during the late 19th-century professionalization of philosophy] is fairly brief, but the resultant shift is almost total. [...] No longer could the [philosophy] professor function as a defender of the faith or an expounder of Truth. The new philosopher had to be a leader of inquires and a publicizer of results. This shift was made obvious when certified (often German-certified) philosophy Ph.D.'s replaced theology graduates and ministers in the philosophy classroom. The period between the time when almost no one had a Ph.D. to when almost everyone did was very brief. [...] The doctorate, moreover, was more than a license to teach: it was a certificate that the prospective philosophy instructor was well, if narrowly, trained and ready to undertake independent work in the now specializing and restricted field of academic philosophy. These new philosophers functioned in independent departments of philosophy [...] They were making real gains in their research, creating a body of philosophic work that remains central to our study even now. These new philosophers also set their own standards for success, publishing in the recognized organs of philosophy that were being founded at the time: The Monist (1890), The International Journal of Ethics (1890), The Philosophical Review (1892), and The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology, and Scientific Methods (1904). And, of course, these philosophers were banding together into societies--the American Psychological Association (1892), the Western Philosophical Association (1900), and the American Philosophical Association (1900)--to consolidate their academic positions and advance their philosophic work.[5]
Henry Sidgwick, in a generous gesture, identified [T.H.] Green as Britain's first professional academic philosopher. Sidgwick's opinion can certainly be questioned: William Hamilton, J.F. Ferrier and Sidgwick himself are among the contenders for that honour. [...] Yet there can be no doubt that between the death of Mill (1873) and the publication of G.E.Moore's Principia Ethica (1903), the British philosophical profession was transformed, and that Green was partly responsible for the transformation. [...] Bentham, the Mills, Carlyle, Coleridge, Spencer, as well as many other serious philosophical thinkers of the nineteenth century were men of letters, administrators, active politicians, clergy with livings, but not academics. [...] Green helped separate the study of philosophical from that of literary and historical texts; and by creating a philosophy curriculum at Oxford he also established a rationale for trained teachers of philosophy. When Green began his academic career much of the serious writing on philosophical topic was published in journals of opinion devoted to a broad range of [topics] (rarely to 'pure' philosophy). He helped professionalize philosophical writing by encouraging specialized periodicals, such as 'Academy' and 'Mind', which were to serve as venues for the results of scholarly research.[6]
Professional philosophy today[edit]
Not long after their formation, the Western Philosophical Association and portions of the American Psychological Association merged with the American Philosophical Association to create what is today the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States: the American Philosophical Association. The Association has three divisions - Pacific, Central and Eastern. Each division organises a large annual conference. The biggest of these is the Eastern Division Meeting, which usually attracts around 2,000 philosophers and takes place in a different east coast city each December. The Eastern Division Meeting is also the USA's largest recruitment event for philosophy jobs, with numerous universities sending teams to interview candidates for academic posts. Among its many other tasks, the association is responsible for administering many of the profession's top honors. For example, the Presidency of a Division of the American Philosophical Association is considered to be a professional honor and the American Philosophical Association Book Prize is one of the oldest prizes in philosophy. The largest academic organization devoted to specifically furthering the study of continental philosophy is the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy.
Concerning professional journals today, a 2009 survey of mostly professional philosophers asked them to rank the highest quality "general" philosophy journals in English. The top 19 results were:
Table of prominent professional journals in contemporary philosophy[7]
1. Philosophical Review 6. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 11. Philosophers' Imprint 16. Canadian Journal of Philosophy
2. Journal of Philosophy 7. Philosophical Studies 12. Philosophical Perspectives 17. Philosophical Topics
3. Nous 8. Analysis 13. American Philosophical Quarterly 18. European Journal of Philosophy
4. Mind 9. Philosophical Quarterly 14. Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 19. Ratio
5. Philosophy & Phenomenological Research 10. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 15. The Monist
Concerning continental philosophy specifically, a 2012 survey of mostly professional philosophers asked them to rank the highest quality "continental tradition" philosophy journals in English. Listing the survey's top 6 results:
Table of prominent professional journals in continental philosophy[8]
1. European Journal of Philosophy 4. Inquiry
2. Philosophy & Phenomenological Research 5. Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie
3. Journal of the History of Philosophy 6. British Journal for the History of Philosophy
The Philosophy Documentation Center publishes a well-known "Directory of American Philosophers" which is the standard reference work for information about philosophical activity in the United States and Canada.[9] The directory is published every two years, alternating with its companion volume, the "International Directory of Philosophy and Philosophers" (the only edited source for extensive information on philosophical activity in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and Latin America).
Since the start of the 21st century, philosophers have also seen the growing utilization of blogs as a means of professional exchange. A few notable milestones in this development include an informal listing of philosophy blogs begun by philosopher David Chalmers which has since become a widely used resource by the profession,[10] the establishment of a partnership between ethics blog PEA Soup and the prominent journal Ethics to post featured articles for online discussion on the blog,[11] and the role of blogs like What is it Like to be a Woman in Philosophy? in bringing attention to the experience of women in the profession.[12][13][14]
| 1. Philosophical Review | 6. Australasian Journal of Philosophy | 11. Philosophers' Imprint | 16. Canadian Journal of Philosophy |
| 2. Journal of Philosophy | 7. Philosophical Studies | 12. Philosophical Perspectives | 17. Philosophical Topics |
| 3. Nous | 8. Analysis | 13. American Philosophical Quarterly | 18. European Journal of Philosophy |
| 4. Mind | 9. Philosophical Quarterly | 14. Pacific Philosophical Quarterly | 19. Ratio |
| 5. Philosophy & Phenomenological Research | 10. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society | 15. The Monist |
| 1. European Journal of Philosophy | 4. Inquiry |
| 2. Philosophy & Phenomenological Research | 5. Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie |
| 3. Journal of the History of Philosophy | 6. British Journal for the History of Philosophy |
The analytic–continental divide[edit]
The beginning of the divide[edit]
Contemporary continental philosophy began with the work of Franz Brentano, Edmund Husserl, Adolf Reinach, and Martin Heidegger and the development of the philosophical method of phenomenology. This development was roughly contemporaneous with work by Gottlob Frege and Bertrand Russell inaugurating a new philosophical method based on the analysis of language via modern logic (hence the term "analytic philosophy").[15]
Analytic and continental philosophers often hold a disparaging view of each other's respective approach to philosophy and as a result work largely independent of each other. While analytic philosophy is the dominant approach in most philosophy departments found in English-speaking countries (e.g. United Kingdom, United States, Canada,Australia), as well as Scandinavia, continental philosophy is prevalent throughout the rest of the world (e.g. France, Germany). Some contemporary philosophers argue that this division is harmful to philosophy, and thus attempt a combined approach (e.g. Richard Rorty).[page needed]
Analytic and continental philosophy share a common Western philosophical tradition up to Immanuel Kant. Afterwards, analytic and continental philosophers differ on the importance and influence of subsequent philosophers on their respective traditions. The German idealism school which developed out of the work of Kant in the 1780s and 1790s and culminated in Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is considered an important development in philosophy's history by many continental philosophers, but is a relatively minor figure for the work of analytic philosophers.[citation needed]
Analytic philosophy[edit]
Main article: Analytic philosophy
The analytic program in philosophy is ordinarily dated to the work of English philosophers Bertrand Russell and G. E. Moore in the early 20th century, building on the work of the German philosopher and mathematician Gottlob Frege. They turned away from then-dominant forms of Hegelianism (objecting in particular to its idealism and purported obscurity)[16][17] and began to develop a new sort of conceptual analysis based on recent developments in logic. The most prominent example of this new method of conceptual analysis is Russell's 1905 paper "On Denoting", a paper that is widely seen to be the exemplar of the analytic program in philosophy.[18]
Although contemporary philosophers who self-identify as "analytic" have widely divergent interests, assumptions, and methods—and have often rejected the fundamental premises that defined the analytic movement between 1900 and 1960—analytic philosophy, in its contemporary state, is usually taken to be defined by a particular style[19]characterized by precision and thoroughness about a narrow topic, and resistance to "imprecise or cavalier discussions of broad topics."[19]
Some analytic philosophers at the end of the 20th century, such as Richard Rorty, have called for a major overhaul of the analytic philosophic tradition. In particular, Rorty has argued that analytic philosophers must learn important lessons from the work of continental philosophers.[20] Some authors, such as Paul M Livingston[21] and Shaun Gallagher contend that there exist valuable insights common to both traditions while others, such as Timothy Williamson, have called for even stricter adherence to the methodological ideals of analytic philosophy:
We who classify ourselves as "analytic" philosophers tend to fall into the assumption that our allegiance automatically grants us methodological virtue. According to the crude stereotypes, analytic philosophers use arguments while "continental" philosophers do not. But within the analytic tradition many philosophers use arguments only to the extent that most "continental" philosophers do [...] How can we do better? We can make a useful start by getting the simple things right. Much even of analytic philosophy moves too fast in its haste to reach the sexy bits. Details are not given the care they deserve: crucial claims are vaguely stated, significant different formulations are treated as though they were equivalent, examples are under-described, arguments are gestured at rather than properly made, their form is left unexplained, and so on. [...] Philosophy has never been done for an extended period according to standards as high as those that are now already available, if only the profession will take them seriously to heart.[22]
The “crude stereotypes” that Williamson refers to in the above passage are these: that analytic philosophers produce carefully argued and rigorous analyses of trivially small philosophic puzzles, while continental philosophers produce profound and substantial results but only by deducing them from broad philosophical systems which themselves lack supporting arguments or clarity in their expression. Williamson himself seems to here distance himself from these stereotypes, but does accuse analytic philosophers of too often fitting the critical stereotype of continental philosophers by moving "too fast" to reach substantial results via poor arguments.
We who classify ourselves as "analytic" philosophers tend to fall into the assumption that our allegiance automatically grants us methodological virtue. According to the crude stereotypes, analytic philosophers use arguments while "continental" philosophers do not. But within the analytic tradition many philosophers use arguments only to the extent that most "continental" philosophers do [...] How can we do better? We can make a useful start by getting the simple things right. Much even of analytic philosophy moves too fast in its haste to reach the sexy bits. Details are not given the care they deserve: crucial claims are vaguely stated, significant different formulations are treated as though they were equivalent, examples are under-described, arguments are gestured at rather than properly made, their form is left unexplained, and so on. [...] Philosophy has never been done for an extended period according to standards as high as those that are now already available, if only the profession will take them seriously to heart.[22]
Continental philosophy[edit]
Main article: Continental philosophy
The history of continental philosophy is taken to begin in the early 1900s because its institutional roots descend directly from those of phenomenology.[24] As a result, Edmund Husserl has often been credited as the founding figure in continental philosophy. Although, since analytic and continental philosophy have such starkly different views of philosophy after Kant, continental philosophy is also often understood in an extended sense to include any post-Kant philosophers or movements important to continental philosophy but not analytic philosophy.
The term "continental philosophy", like "analytic philosophy", marks a broad range of philosophical views and approaches not easily captured in a definition. It has even been suggested that the term may be more pejorative than descriptive, functioning as a label for types of western philosophy rejected or disliked by analytic philosophers.[25] Indeed, continental philosophy is often characterized by its critics as philosophy that lacks the rigor of analytic philosophy.[citation needed] Nonetheless, certain descriptive rather than merely pejorative features have been seen to typically characterize continental philosophy:[26]
- First, continental philosophers generally reject scientism, the view that the natural sciences are the best or most accurate way of understanding all phenomena.[27]
- Second, continental philosophy usually considers experience as determined at least partly by factors such as context, space and time, language, culture, or history. Thus continental philosophy tends toward historicism, where analytic philosophy tends to treat philosophy in terms of discrete problems, capable of being analyzed apart from their historical origins.[28]
- Third, continental philosophers tend to take a strong interest in the unity of theory and practice, and tend to see their philosophical inquiries as closely related to personal, moral, or political transformation.
- Fourth, continental philosophy has an emphasis on metaphilosophy (i.e. the study of the nature, aims, and methods of philosophy). This emphasis can also be found in analytic philosophy, but with starkly different results.
Another approach to approximating a definition of continental philosophy is by listing some of the philosophical movements that are or have been central in continental philosophy: German idealism, phenomenology, existentialism (and its antecedents, such as the thought of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche), hermeneutics, structuralism, post-structuralism, French feminism, and the critical theory of the Frankfurt School and some other branches of Western Marxism.[29]
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See also[edit]
- 20th-century philosophy
- Analytic philosophy
- Experimental philosophy – An emerging field of philosophical inquiry that makes use of empirical data—often gathered through surveys which probe the intuitions of ordinary people—in order to inform research on long-standing and unsettled philosophical questions.
- Logical positivism – The first and dominant school in analytic philosophy for the first half of the 20th-century.
- Naturalism – The view that the scientific method (hypothesize, predict, test, repeat) is the only effective way to investigate reality.
- Ordinary language philosophy – The dominant school in analytic philosophy in the middle of 20th-century.
- Quietism – In metaphilosophy, the view that the role of philosophy is therapeutic or remedial.
- Postanalytic philosophy – Postanalytic philosophy describes a detachment and challenge to mainstream analytic philosophy by philosophers like Richard Rorty.
- Continental philosophy
- Deconstruction – An approach (whether in philosophy, literary analysis, or in other fields) where one conducts textual readings with a view to demonstrate that the text is not a discrete whole, instead containing several irreconcilable, contradictory meanings.
- Existentialism – Existential philosophy is the "explicit conceptual manifestation of an existential attitude"[30] that begins with a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world.[31][32]
- Phenomenology – Phenomenology is primarily concerned with making the structures of consciousness, and the phenomena which appear in acts of consciousness, objects of systematic reflection and analysis.
- Poststructuralism – Structuralism was a fashionable movement in France in the 1950s and 1960s, that studied the underlying structures inherent in cultural products (such as texts), post-structuralism derive from critique of structuralist premises. Specifically, post-structuralism holds that the study of underlying structures is itself culturally conditioned and therefore subject to myriad biases and misinterpretations.
- Postmodern philosophy – Postmodern philosophy is skeptical or nihilistic toward many of the values and assumptions of philosophy that derive from modernity, such as humanity having an essence which distinguishes humans from animals, or the assumption that one form of government is demonstrably better than another.
- Social constructionism – A central concept in continental philosophy, a social construction is a concept or practice that is the creation (or artifact) of a particular group.
- Critical theory – Critical theory is the examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities.
- Frankfurt School – The term "Frankfurt School" is an informal term used to designate the thinkers affiliated with the Institute for Social Research or who were influenced by it.
- Western philosophy
- Experimental philosophy – An emerging field of philosophical inquiry that makes use of empirical data—often gathered through surveys which probe the intuitions of ordinary people—in order to inform research on long-standing and unsettled philosophical questions.
- Logical positivism – The first and dominant school in analytic philosophy for the first half of the 20th-century.
- Naturalism – The view that the scientific method (hypothesize, predict, test, repeat) is the only effective way to investigate reality.
- Ordinary language philosophy – The dominant school in analytic philosophy in the middle of 20th-century.
- Quietism – In metaphilosophy, the view that the role of philosophy is therapeutic or remedial.
- Postanalytic philosophy – Postanalytic philosophy describes a detachment and challenge to mainstream analytic philosophy by philosophers like Richard Rorty.
- Deconstruction – An approach (whether in philosophy, literary analysis, or in other fields) where one conducts textual readings with a view to demonstrate that the text is not a discrete whole, instead containing several irreconcilable, contradictory meanings.
- Existentialism – Existential philosophy is the "explicit conceptual manifestation of an existential attitude"[30] that begins with a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world.[31][32]
- Phenomenology – Phenomenology is primarily concerned with making the structures of consciousness, and the phenomena which appear in acts of consciousness, objects of systematic reflection and analysis.
- Poststructuralism – Structuralism was a fashionable movement in France in the 1950s and 1960s, that studied the underlying structures inherent in cultural products (such as texts), post-structuralism derive from critique of structuralist premises. Specifically, post-structuralism holds that the study of underlying structures is itself culturally conditioned and therefore subject to myriad biases and misinterpretations.
- Postmodern philosophy – Postmodern philosophy is skeptical or nihilistic toward many of the values and assumptions of philosophy that derive from modernity, such as humanity having an essence which distinguishes humans from animals, or the assumption that one form of government is demonstrably better than another.
- Social constructionism – A central concept in continental philosophy, a social construction is a concept or practice that is the creation (or artifact) of a particular group.
- Critical theory – Critical theory is the examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities.
- Frankfurt School – The term "Frankfurt School" is an informal term used to designate the thinkers affiliated with the Institute for Social Research or who were influenced by it.
Footnotes and references[edit]
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- ^ http://ndpr.nd.edu/review.cfm?id=4281 Steven Hetcher, Norms in a Wired World, Cambridge University Press, 2004, 432pp, Reviewed by Stefan Sciaraffa, University of Arizona
- ^ Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, The University of Chicago Press (1962), pp. 19–20.
- ^ Peter Simons "Open and Cloded Culture" in Phenomenology and analysis: essays on Central European philosophy. Edited by Arkadiusz Chrudzimski and Wolfgang Huemer. Page 18.
- ^ Campbell, James (2006) A Thoughtful Profession, Open Court Publishing
- ^ Campbell, James (2006) A Thoughtful Profession, Open Court Publishing pp. 35-37
- ^ Leighton, Denys (2004) 'The Greenian moment' pp.70-71
- ^ Leiter, Brain (2009) "The Highest Quality 'General' Philosophy Journals in English" Leiter Reports, http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2009/03/the-highest-quality-general-philosophy-journals-in-english.html
- ^ Leiter, Brain (2012) "Best English-Language Journals for Scholarship on the Continental traditions in post-Kantian Philosophy" Leiter Reports,http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2012/04/best-english-language-journals-for-scholarship-on-the-continental-traditions-in-post-kantian-philoso.html
- ^ http://www.pdcnet.org/pages/Products/directories/ad10-11.htm
- ^ http://consc.net/weblogs.html
- ^ http://peasoup.typepad.com/peasoup/2009/11/the-next-chapter-ethics-discussions-at-pea-soup.html
- ^ http://beingawomaninphilosophy.wordpress.com/
- ^ http://gawker.com/5787195/philosophy-departments-are-full-of-sexual-harassment
- ^http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/03/30/philosophers_consider_what_to_do_about_sexual_harassment
- ^ See, e.g., Michael Dummett, The Origins of Analytical Philosophy (Harvard University Press, 1994), or C. Prado, A House Divided: Comparing Analytic and Continental Philosophy (Prometheus/Humanity Books, 2003).
- ^ See for example Moore's A Defence of Common Sense and Russell's critique of theDoctrine of internal relations,
- ^ "...analytic philosophy opposed right from its beginning English neo-Hegelianism of Bradley's sort and similar ones. It did not only criticize the latter's denial of the existence of an external world (anyway an unjust criticism), but also the bombastic, obscure style of Hegel's writings." Peter Jonkers, "Perspectives on twentieth century philosophy: A Reply to Tom Rockmore," [1]
- ^ Ludlow, Peter, "Descriptions", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2005 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL=http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2005/entries/descriptions/
- ^ a b See, e.g., Brian Leiter [2] "'Analytic' philosophy today names a style of doing philosophy, not a philosophical program or a set of substantive views. Analytic philosophers, crudely speaking, aim for argumentative clarity and precision; draw freely on the tools of logic; and often identify, professionally and intellectually, more closely with the sciences and mathematics, than with the humanities."
- ^ Rorty, Richard. (1979) Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature.
- ^ http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/30207-the-politics-of-logic-badiou-wittgenstein-and-the-consequences-of-formalism/ Paul M. Livingston, The Politics of Logic: Badiou, Wittgenstein, and the Consequences of Formalism, Routledge, 2012
- ^ Williamson, Timothy "The Philosophy of Philosophy"
- ^ Hubben, William. (1952) Four Prophets of Our Destiny.
- ^ E.g., the largest academic organization devoted to furthering the study of continental philosophy is the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy.
- ^ Glendinning, The Idea of Continental Philosophy, p. 12.
- ^ The following list of four traits is adapted from Michael Rosen, "Continental Philosophy from Hegel", in A.C. Grayling (ed.), Philosophy 2: Further through the Subject, p. 665.
- ^ Simon Critchley, Continental Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction, p. 115.
- ^ Critchley, Continental Philosophy, p. 57.
- ^ The above list includes only those movements common to both lists compiled byCritchley 2001, p. 13 and Glendinning 2006, pp. 58–65.
- ^ Solomon, Robert C. (1987). From Hegel to Existentialism. Oxford University Press. p. 238. ISBN 0-19-506182-9.
- ^ Robert C. Solomon, Existentialism (McGraw-Hill, 1974, pages 1–2)
- ^ D.E. Cooper Existentialism: A Reconstruction (Basil Blackwell, 1999, page 8).
Further reading[edit]
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The professionalization of philosophy
- Campbell, James, A Thoughtful Profession: The Early Years of the American Philosophical Association. Open Court Publishing (2006)
The Analytic / Continental divide
- James Chase & Jack Reynolds, "Analytic versus Continental: Arguments on the Methods and Value of Philosophy" Durham: Acumen (2011)
- James Luchte,‘Martin Heidegger and Rudolf Carnap: Radical Phenomenology, Logical Positivism and the Roots of the Continental/Analytic Divide,’ Philosophy Today, Vol. 51, No. 3, 241-260 (Fall, 2007)
- Levy, Neil "Analytic and Continental Philosophy: Explaining the Differences", Metaphilosophy. Vol. 34, No. 3, April (2003)
- Prado, C. G. A House Divided: Comparing Analytic and Continental Philosophy Humanity Books (2003)
Analytic Philosophy
- Dummett, Michael Origins of Analytical Philosophy. Harvard University Press (1996)
- Floyd, Juliet Future Pasts: The Analytic Tradition in Twentieth-Century Philosoph Oxford University Press (2001)
- Glock, Hans-Johann What is Analytic Philosophy?. Cambridge University Press (2008)
- Martinich, A. P. Analytic Philosophy: An Anthology (Blackwell Philosophy Anthologies). Wiley-Blackwell (2001)
- Martinich, A. P. A Companion to Analytic Philosophy (Blackwell Companions to Philosophy). Wiley-Blackwell (2005)
- Soames, Scott, Philosophical Analysis in the Twentieth Century, Volume 1: The Dawn of Analysis. Princeton University Press (2005)
- Soames, Scott, Philosophical Analysis in the Twentieth Century, Volume 2: The Age of Meaning. Princeton University Press (2005)
- Stroll, Avrum Twentieth-Century Analytic Philosophy. Columbia University Press (2001)
- Williamson, Timothy The Philosophy of Philosophy (The Blackwell / Brown Lectures in Philosophy). Wiley-Blackwell (2008)
Continental Philosophy
- Simon Critchley, Continental Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press (2001) ISBN 0-19-285359-7
- Cutrofello, Andrew Continental Philosophy: A Contemporary Introduction. Routledge (2005)
- Glendinning, Simon The Idea of Continental Philosophy Edinburgh University Press (2006)