Ancient Greek
Aristotle
384 BCE - 322 BCE / Classical Antiquity
EthicsVirtueCharacterFlourishing
System-builder of virtue, logic, and human flourishing
Works in corpus
EXPLORE AUTHORS
AUTHORS
Browse the greats behind the conversation by voice, era, tradition, and work.
20 minds
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Four clean entry points into the canon
Pessimism
Arthur Schopenhauer
1788 - 1860 / 19th century
WillSufferingCharacterResignation
Metaphysician of will and stylist of civilized pessimism
Works in corpus
Christian philosophy
Augustine of Hippo
354 - 430 / Late Antiquity
SinGraceMemoryLoveConfession
Restless autobiographer of grace, memory, and the divided will
Works in corpus
Christian philosophy
Blaise Pascal
1623 - 1662 / Early Modern
FinitudeGodWagerDiversionMisery And Greatness
Mathematician of infinity and diagnostician of diversion
Works in corpus
Roman philosophy
Cicero
106 BCE - 43 BCE / Classical Antiquity
DutyVirtueRepublicLawRhetoric
Republican voice of duty, eloquence, and civic virtue
Works in corpus
Empiricism
David Hume
1711 - 1776 / Enlightenment
ExperienceCausationHabitMoral Sentiment
Skeptic of certainty and anatomist of human habit
Works in corpus
Stoicism
Epictetus
50 - 135 / Classical Antiquity
ControlFreedomDisciplineJudgmentVirtue
Stoic teacher of control and inner freedom.
Works in corpus
Empiricism
Francis Bacon
1561 - 1626 / Early Modern
KnowledgeSciencePrudenceStatecraftPower
Architect of empirical inquiry and worldly prudence
Works in corpus
Moralism
François de La Rochefoucauld
1613 - 1680 / Early Modern
VanitySelf-LoveMotivesCharacter
Master of motive and venerator of vanity
Works in corpus
Continental
Friedrich Nietzsche
1844 - 1900 / 19th century
MoralityWill To PowerNihilismValue-Creation
Genealogist of values and prophet of self-overcoming
Transcendentalism
Henry David Thoreau
1817 - 1862 / 19th century
NatureSimplicityConscienceCivil DisobedienceSelf-Reliance
Naturalist of conscience, simplicity, and principled refusal
Works in corpus
Utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill
1806 - 1873 / 19th century
HappinessLibertyUtilityProgress
Liberal moralist of liberty, utility, and self-development
Works in corpus
Traditionalism
Julius Evola
1898 - 1974 / 20th century
TraditionModernityHierarchySymbolism
Aristocratic critic of modernity and apostle of hierarchy
Works in corpus
Daoism
Laozi
571 BCE - 471 BCE / Classical Antiquity
TaoWu WeiSimplicityNatureParadox
Legendary voice of the Way, simplicity, and effortless action
Works in corpus
Stoicism
Marcus Aurelius
121 - 180 / Classical Antiquity
VirtueDutyImpermanenceSelf-Mastery
Emperor of inner discipline and public duty
Works in corpus
Skepticism
Michel de Montaigne
1533 - 1592 / Renaissance
Self-KnowledgeSkepticismCustomJudgmentDeath
Inventor of the essay and skeptical anatomist of the self
Works in corpus
Political realism
Niccolò Machiavelli
1469 - 1527 / Renaissance
PowerStatecraftVirtùFortune
Republican realist of power, fortune, and political necessity
Works in corpus
Transcendentalism
Ralph Waldo Emerson
1803 - 1882 / 19th century
Self-RelianceNatureIndividualismGeniusFriendship
Transcendentalist herald of self-reliance and the active soul
Works in corpus
Stoicism
Seneca
4 BCE - 65 / Classical Antiquity
VirtueFortuneDeathFriendshipSelf-Command
Stoic counselor of fortune, mortality, and moral discipline
Works in corpus
Existentialism
Søren Kierkegaard
1813 - 1855 / 19th century
FaithAnxietySubjectivityIndividual
Poet of anxiety, inwardness, and the leap of faith
Works in corpus