Whether or not you’ve studied philosophy, you’re probably already a philosopher. You think about the meaning of life, absolute and relative moral precepts, political ideals and the indelible qualities of human nature. For this reason, the formal study of philosophy isn’t so much about defining or comparing philosophical ideas–something you’re already quite capable of doing–but about the thinkers of the past who famously argued different sides of these questions.
Here, I offer simple definitions for some philosophy terms that you’re likely to encounter regularly throughout your life. But mostly, I introduce you to some of the more well-known philosophers, which will hopefully give your philosophical discussions and debates more texture, context and depth.
Please keep in mind that due to significant overlaps in subject matter, some major Eastern philosophies are described in the Religion and Spirituality section of this book rather than in this one.
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy: The study of meaning, reality, morality and other large life questions. The word comes from two Greek words that together mean “love of wisdom.” Some major questions of study include: What is the meaning of life? What qualities are fundamental to human nature? How can we know what we know (empiricism versus rationalism)? What is truth? How do we arrive at morality and values? What political structures are most beneficial? How does language shape our beliefs? What is the best way to live? Do humans have free will? What is the nature of existence? What is beauty?
Eastern philosophy: The philosophical tradition of China, Japan, India and other eastern countries that includes Daoism (The Tao Te Ching of approximately 600 BCE), Confucianism (The Analects of Confucius of approximately 500 BCE), Buddhism (which arose in India around 500 BCE) and more and that is known for its focus on the unknowable, the unspeakable and patterns and cycles
Western philosophy: The philosophical tradition of Europe and other western countries that includes ancient Greek thinkers (Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle), ancient Roman thinkers (Cicero and Seneca), medieval Christian thinkers (Aquinas and Augustine) and more and that is known for its focus on logic, cause and effect and absolute knowledge
Metaphysics: The study of nonphysical reality
Epistemology: The study of knowledge
Ethics: The study of morality and right behavior
Ontology: The study of existence and reality
Cosmology: The study of the nature and origins of the universe
Aesthetics: The study of beauty and art
Empiricism: The philosophy that holds that when determining what is knowable, experience and evidence are more important than reason
Rationalism: The philosophy that holds that when determining what is knowable, reason is more important than experience and evidence
Materialism: The philosophy that holds that ultimate reality is material
Naturalism: The philosophy that holds that ultimate reality is material and exists in natural causes, phenomena and events
Idealism: The philosophy that holds that ultimate reality is non-material and exists in the world of ideas
Mysticism: The philosophy that holds that ultimate reality is non-material and exists in a spiritual dimension
Determinism: The philosophy that holds that all events, including human actions, are ultimately determined by preceding causes or natural laws
Humanism: The philosophy that emphasizes human choice, human flourishing, critical thinking and eschews dogma
Stoicism: The ancient Roman philosophy that emphasized the importance of self-control, indifference to pleasure and pain and acceptance of one’s lot in life
Epicureanism: The ancient Roman philosophy that emphasized the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain, often through the cultivation of simple pleasures
Cynicism: The ancient Roman philosophy that emphasized simple living, self-sufficiency and rejection of conventional values and social norms
Pragmatism: The philosophy that emphasizes practical consequences and utility
Utilitarianism: The philosophy that judges actions on consequences, not morality, saying that right actions are those that offer the greatest amount good for the greatest number or people
Transcendentalism: The philosophy that emphasizes personal experiences and a close relationship with nature over traditions and dogma
Postmodernism: The modern philosophy that holds that there are no unifying, ultimate, knowable answers and that truth is relative
Existentialism: The philosophy that emphasizes individual freedom, choice, and responsibility and that explores the meaning and purpose of existence
Deconstructionism: The philosophy that pulls apart language, literature, and other cultural artifacts to reveal hidden assumptions and contradictions that underlie them, and that challenges the idea of fixed, universal truths
Phenomenon: An object or experience as it appears to the human senses
Noumenon: The unknowable, underlying reality behind a phenomenon; something’s true nature
Numinous: The quality of being mysterious, awe-inspiring and somehow beyond natural world
Pythagoras: The ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician who is known for developing the Pythagorean theorem and for his ideas on the mystical nature of numbers. Pythagoras influenced Socrates, who taught Plato, who taught Aristotle.
Socrates: The ancient Greek philosopher who developed the Socratic Method in which he asked question after question in order to confound people who believed themselves to be wise, digging for deeper truths in everything. He emphasized questioning and critical thinking and was condemned to die by drinking hemlock due to his ideas. He is known for saying, “The life which is unexamined is not worth living” and “I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance.”
Plato: The ancient Greek philosopher who was taught by Socrates and who recorded Socrates’ teachings. He founded the Academy in Athens, who (unlike Aristotle) was a philosophical rationalist and who introduced the idea of the world of forms, an imagined place that holds the ideal of each type of real thing. For example, when we think of a table, there is the specific table we see and touch, but there is also the idea of table that is the shared concept of what a table is. That concept belongs to the world of forms. He used the Allegory of the Cave to show how humans only see a mere shadow of what is ultimately real. He was a philosophical rationalist. He is known for saying, “Earthly knowledge is but shadow.”
Aristotle: The ancient Greek philosopher who was taught by Plato. He was the first known proponent of formal logic, who opened a school in Athens, the Lyceum, that competed with Plato’s, and who (unlike Plato) was a philosophical empiricist. He is known for saying, “Truth resides in the world around us.”
Cicero: A famous Greek orator, statesman and scholar who wrote about just government in De Republica, oratory in De Oratore and more
Rumi: The Persian philosopher of the Middle Ages who taught about reincarnation and Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam. He is known for many sayings such as, “Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes around in another form.”
St. Augustine: The Christian philosopher of the late Roman empire who wrote about free will, the existence of God and the existence of evil
Thomas Aquinas: A Christian philosopher of the Middle Ages who wrote about the logical and scientific nature of Christianity
Niccolo Machiavelli: The philosopher of the late Middle Ages who wrote about how to obtain and maintain political power and who argued that government can’t be bound by morality if it wants to succeed. He is known for saying, “The ends justifies the means.”
Erasmus: The philosopher of the Early Modern Times who introduced humanism, arguing that religion is folly and the Christian church was corrupt. He is known for saying, “To know nothing is the happiest life.”
Francis Bacon: The philosopher of the Early Modern Times who wrote about the scientific method. He is known for saying, “Knowledge is power.”
Thomas Hobbes: The philosopher of the Early Modern Times who wrote about the social contract, saying that social agreements, not moral ideals, are the basis of a peaceful society. He is known for saying, “… The life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
Rene Descartes: The philosopher of the Early Modern Times who wrote about the nature of knowledge, saying that even the existence of physical matter cannot be proven and the only thing we can truly know exists is our own minds. He is known for saying, “I think, therefore I am.”
John Locke: The empirical philosopher of the Early Modern Times who argued that no truths are universal to all people and all cultures and who came up with the idea of the tabula rasa–the blank slate, which is a metaphor for the unknowing state in which each person is born before they are implanted with cultural ideas. He is known for saying, “No man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience.”
David Hume: The philosopher of the Early Modern Times who said that certainty is absurd and custom is the source of knowledge. He is known for saying, “Custom is the great guide of human life.”
Immanuel Kant: The philosopher of the Early Modern Times who sought to prove the existence of the physical world and who tried to unite empiricism and rationalism, saying that both reason and perceptions are needed for knowledge
Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The political philosopher of the Early Modern Times who argued that though man is fundamentally good, laws and government create injustice and oppression. He is known for saying, “Man was born free, yet everywhere he is in chains.”
Adam Smith: The economics philosopher of the Early Modern Times who argued for free market capitalism, saying that the basis of society is trade. He is known for saying, “Man is an animal that makes bargains.”
Jeremy Bentham: The philosopher of the Early Modern Times who is known for developing utilitarianism and who tried to calculate pleasure and proposed that laws are created by considering which give the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people. He is known for saying, “The greatest happiness for the greatest number.”
John Stuart Mill: The utilitarian philosopher of the Early Modern Times who argued for political freedom, saying that people should be free to do with their own bodies as they wished, but not be free to harm anyone else. He is known for saying, “Over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.”
Soren Kierkegaard: The philosopher of the Early Modern Times who founded existentialism and said that though people believe they want freedom, they really do not. He is known for saying, “Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.”
Karl Marx: The political philosopher of the Early Modern Times who said that class struggle is what causes all of the ills of society. He is known for saying, “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”
Henry David Thoreau: The transcendentalist philosopher of the Early Modern Times who argued for individual liberty, non-conformism, and conscientious objection through non-cooperation and non-violent resistance
William James: The philosopher of the Early Modern Times who founded pragmatism, saying that people should just do the best they can in spite of uncertainty. He is known for saying, “Act as if what you do makes a difference.”
Friedrich Nietsche: The modern existentialist philosopher who is known for his critique of traditional morality and religion, his concept of the “will to power” and the idea of the “Übermensch”–the “superman.” He is known for saying, “God is dead.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein: The modern existentialist philosopher who described the limits of language and the limits placed on our thinking by language. He is known for saying, “The limits of my language are the limits of my world.”
Jean Paul Sartre: The modern existentialist philosopher who believed that people must create their own life purpose. He is known for saying, “Existence precedes essence.”
Simone de Beauvior: The modern feminist philosopher who wrote about the oppression of women. She is known for saying, “Man is defined as a human being and woman as a female.”
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