RENÉ DESCARTES I am a thing which thinks René Descartes (1596-1650), an important French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist, is considered the father of modern philosophy. Under his influence, ...
THEMES ON THIS PAGE: 1. THE FALL OF THE SOUL 2. PEAK EXPERIENCE 3. CONTEMPLATION 4. BEAUTY Plotinus (204-270 AD) was a major Neo-Platonist philosopher who lived in late antiquity,...
THEMES ON THIS PAGE: 1. HUMAN NATURE2. ON BEING AND THE ONE3. PHILOSOPHY FOR ITS OWN SAKE GIOVANNI PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494) was an Italian philosopher of the Renaissance a...
MARSILIO FICINO Beauty is the harmony which love desires Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) was a major Italian Neo-Platonist philosopher of the Renaissance. He was born near Florence, spent most of his care...
MARTIN FOSS Death as a sacrifice for a higher life Martin Foss (1889-1968) was a German-born philosopher who is now often neglected. He was born in Berlin, and studied philosophy and law in Europe. Be...
HERACLITUS Heraclitus lived around the year 500 BC, in the Greek city of Ephesus in Asia Minor. Little is known about his life, but later ancient historians wrote that he was from an influential famil...
THEMES ON THIS PAGE: 1. EROTIC LOVE2. AFFECTION3. FRIENDSHIP Clive Staples Lewis, better known as C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), was an English novelist and thinker. Although he is best known for his fantasi...
JOHN DEWEY John Dewey (1859-1952) was an American thinker known for his “pragmatist” approach to philosophy in general, and especially to philosophy of education. He grew up in Vermont, USA, and later...
HENRI BERGSON Henri Bergson (1859-1941) was an important French philosopher, extremely influential at the beginning of the 20th century, and a Nobel Prize winner in literature. He was born near Paris ...
This month's topic: THE SUBLIME What can we say about the sublime? 1. Schiller 2. Longinus 3. BurkeAn issue for reflectionWHAT CAN WE POSSIBLY SAY ABOUT THE SUBLIME? - ...
This month's topic: ROMANTIC LOVE What is the essence of romantic love? WEEK 1 - SolovyovWEEK 2 - Ortega y GassetWEEK 3 - De BeauvoirWEEK 4 - Aragona An issue for reflection WHAT IS ROMANTIC LOVE...
John Locke – From a friendly conversation to a major philosophy book John Locke (1632-1704) was an important English philosopher, a major thinker of empiricism and of liberalism. He studied cla...
KARL JASPERS The philosophical life Karl Jaspers (1883-1969) was a philosopher and psychiatrist, and one of the founders of existentialist philosophy and psychology. After receiving his medical degree...
GEORGES BATAILLE Sexuality as death Georges Bataille (1897-1962) was a French intellectual who wrote many essays in philosophy and other fields. He studied at École Nationale des Chartes i...
DEMOCRITUS PLEASURE, HAPPINESS AND CHEERFULNESS Democritus (c. 460 – c. 370 BC) was a Greek philosopher known primarily for his theory of atoms, but in fact he wrote about many topics, although only f...
DE BEAUVOIR (1908-1986) Woman’s way of loving Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, and political activist, and was one of the first women to study at t...
TULLIA D' ARAGONA The impossible desire to merge with the beloved Tullia d'Aragona (1510–1556) was an Italian poet and philosopher. Like her mother, she was a courtesan (a court lady, companion of pow...
MARTIN BUBER Martin Buber (1878-1965) was a Jewish Austrian-born Israeli philosopher, writer, and an activist of cultural Zionism. He was born in Austria, became a professor in Frankfurt, but after th...
ISAIAH BERLIN Freedom from and freedom to Sir Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) grew up in Latvia and Russia, but because of anti-Semitism his Jewish family moved to Britain in 1921. He became a philosophy pr...
ALBERT CAMUS Revolt against the absurd death Albert Camus (1913-1960) was an important French existentialist philosopher and novelist. He was born in French Algeria to poor parents ...