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"Next the strange Empedocles of Agracas;
Experimenting with a water-clock of brass He wrote in verse, discovered air; He thought he was God - so there He argued that there were four elements in all; That plants had sex, the earth was like a ball That change took place by love and strife; And hostoric cycles ran through life When called upon to prove his deity; He sneered at all the waiting laity Great Empedocles, that ardent soul; Leapt into Etna, and was roasted whole" Philosophy for Beginners, Richard Osborne Philosophers |
Perhaps this list-like page of "selected" philosophers is not very exciting, but a lot of work went into it!! These are mainly in date order; if you wish to search for individual names, please use the "find on this page" facility under "Edit" (Ctrl +F) |
| Name | Dates | Birthplace | Brief Claims To Fame |
| Thales | c 585 BC | Greece | Possibly the first ever philosopher |
| Anaximander | c 546 BC | Greece | Said that the earth was suspended in space, that all creatures evolved from the sea and than man evolved from fish |
| Pythagoras | c570-495 BC | Greece | That blasted theorem! Harmonies, geometry of perfect solids. |
| Heraclitus | c 500 BC | Greece | Argued that everything was in a state of flux and that there was a central fire that never died. |
| Empedocles | c. 495-435 BC | Greece | Wrote in verse, discovered air, said plants had sex, met his death by leaping into Etna! (See poem at top of page) |
| Leucippus | c 420 BC | Greece | An Atomist. The proposal of solid particles (atoms) |
| Democritus | c 420 BC | Greece | Practical thinking and abstract thought. |
| Protagoras | c 485-415 BC | Greece | A sophist; interested in man rather than the universe. |
| Socrates | 470-399 BC | Greece | Ethics. Believed that "knowledge was virtue". Died from hemlock poisoning |
| Plato | 428-354 BC | Greece | Founded the "Academy"; prototype of all universities. "Theory of Ideas". "Simile of the Cave". Anamnesis. The City State (politics) |
| Aristotle | Born 384 BC | Greece | Founded the "Lyceum". The Syllogism (logic), the Categories (structure of knowledge), ethics ("if the eye were the living creature, sight would be its soul") |
| Eratosethenes | ? | Calculated the earth's circumference to within 4% | |
| Ptolemy | ? | ? | Drew the first maps |
| Diogenes | c 350 BC | Greece | We get the word "cynicism" from him (Greek kuvikos, meaning dog; he lived like one!). Was contemptable and did very vulgar things in market places! |
| Zeno | died 261 BC | Greece | Founder of stoicism (interest in logic and language) |
| Epicurus | died 270 BC | Greece | Denied the idea of fate. Advocated inner peace; no fear |
| Seneca | 4 BC-65 AC | Greece | Was Nero's tutor. Challenged slavery. Cut his wrists, knees and ankles and took poison, in his (successful! :)) suicide bid |
| Marcus Aurelius | 120-180 AD | Italy | "All the things of the body are as a river and the things of the soul a dream; life is a war and fame after death forgetfulness" |
| Origen | 184-254 AD | Greece | A Christian Platonist. |
| Plotinus | 204-270 | Greece | "The Ideas": "the one", "the nous of spirit", "the soul" |
| St Jerome | ? | Italy | Wrote many letters on how to preserve virginity. |
| St Augustine | 354-430 | North Africa | Reformed sinner, dedicated to celibacy. Argued that God was eternal and therefore outside time. Wrote "The City of God". |
| St Thomas Aquinas | 1225-74 | Greece? | Set out the full system which became the philosophy of the Church in "Summa contra Gentiles" and "Summa Theologiae" |
TO BE CONTINUED, but, a small triumph!