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Branch
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Nationality
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Main Contributions
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Philosopher
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Mathematics
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Greek
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His theorem related to right-angled triangles; the theory of melodical octaves in music.
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Pythagoras
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Ethics
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Chinese
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Promoted education as a vocation; his ideas about the hierarchy of the state and loyalty.
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Confucius
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Metaphysics
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Greek
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Said that fire forms the basic material principle of the universe; formulated the 'Analogy of the River'.
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Heraclitus
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Ontology
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Greek
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Invented the method of reasoned proof for assertions; pioneered the field of ontology.
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Parmenides
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Metaphysics
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Greek
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His ingenious paradoxes related to motion; considered the founder of the dialectic.
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Zeno of Elea
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Epistemology
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Greek
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His technique for arguing a point; claimed that the unexamined life is not worth living.
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Socrates
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Metaphysics
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Greek
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The formulation of an atomic theory of the universe; rejected divine intervention in science.
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Democritus
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Metaphysics
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Greek
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Founded the Academy; helped people recognise what it means to be virtuous.
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Plato
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Asceticism
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Greek
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Advocated complete truthfulness at all times; developed cynicism and austere asceticism.
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Diogenes
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Biology
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Greek
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Invented the field of formal logic; pioneered zoology with his theories on classification.
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Aristotle
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Ethics
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Chinese
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Advocated light taxes, free trade and welfare for the elderly; said that the human nature is good.
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Mencius
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Daoism
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Chinese
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Promoted Daoist thought on nature and being; developed ideas on pragmatics and semantics.
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Zhuang Zhou
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Epistemology
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Greek
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Founded skepticism; advocated the suspension of judgement over the truth of all beliefs and dogma.
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Pyrrho
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Metaphysics
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Greek
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Taught that the basic constituents of the world are atoms; promoted empiricism and hedonism.
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Epicurus
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Logic
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Greek
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Founded the Stoic school of philosophy; laid significance of the attainment of peace of mind.
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Zeno of Citium
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Jewish Theology
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Roman
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Used philosophy to justify religious teachings in the Torah; combined Jewish exegesis with Stoicism.
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Philo
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Ethics
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Roman
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His 'Meditations' on Stoic philosophy; one of the first 'philosopher kings'.
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Marcus Aurelius
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Buddhism
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Indian
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Articulated the doctrine of emptiness; founded the Madhyamika (“Middle Way”) school.
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Nagarjuna
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Platonism
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Roman
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Developed a spiritual cosmology involving three elements: the One, the Intelligence, and the Soul.
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Plotinus
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Epistemology
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Greek
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Stated that the ultimate goal of philosophical research is to achieve ataraxia: a state of peace.
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Sextus Empiricus
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Christian Theology
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Roman
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Adapted Classical thought to Christian teaching; discussed the notions of the soul, creation and evil.
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Augustine of Hippo
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Mathematics
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Roman
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Leader of the Neoplatonist school of philosophy in Alexandria; her development of geometry.
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Hypatia
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Epistemology
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Roman
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Taught that everything is by nature as it desires; developed the idea of autonomous knowledge domains.
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Boethius
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Hinduism
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Indian
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Reformed the Vedanta tradition of Hinduism; founded four monasteries in every corner of India.
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Adi Shankara
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Islamic Theology
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Arab
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Propagated philosophy in the Islamic world; founded a metaphysical dualism differentiating body and mind.
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Al-Kindī
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Metaphysics
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(Asian)
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Divided logic into Takhayyul (idea) and Thubut (proof); introduced the theory of the Ten Intelligences.
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Al-Fārābī
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Medicine
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Arab
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His work 'Al Qanun Fi Al-Tibb' (The Canon of Medicine); his theory of essence posits three modalities.
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Avicenna
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Hinduism
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Indian
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Developed the basis for the bhakti; taught that the phenomenal world is real and provides real knowledge.
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Rāmānuja
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Neoplatonism
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Andalusian
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Posited that all things comprise matter and form (Universal Hylomorphism); influenced Christian Scholasticism.
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Solomon ibn Gabirol
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Christian Theology
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Italian
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Discovering the “ontological argument” for the theory of God in the Proslogion; his doctrine of the atonement.
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Anselm of Canterbury
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Islamic Theology
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Persian
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Developed of a systematic view of Sufism; combined Islamic spiritualism and fundamentalism.
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Al-Ghazālī
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Logic
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French
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Argued that God and the universe can be known via logic and emotion; the father of metaphysical nominalism.
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Peter Abelard
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Islamic Theology
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Andalusian
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Asserted that humans share the same intellect; contended that philosophy is just the revelation of God's might.
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Averroës
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Neo-Confucianism
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Chinese
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Said that the cosmos has two aspects: the indeterminate and the determinate; systematised the Confucian ideals.
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Zhu Xi
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Islamic Theology
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Sephardic Jewish
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Codified Jewish Law through 'The Guide for the Perplexed'; reconciled Aristotelian philosophy with the Torah.
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Moses Maimonides
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Islamic Theology
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Andalusian
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Taught that by self manifestation, one acquires "the primordial spirit of Muhammad"; wrote on Quranic exegesis.
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Ibn al-'Arabī
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Buddhism
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Japanese
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Taught that Pure Land Buddhism was the best path to mappō; found reciprocity between Amida and Sakyamuni.
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Shinran
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Christian Theology
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Italian
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The five proofs of God's existence; incorporated Aristotelian philosophy in Christianity in the 'Summa contra Gentiles'.
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Thomas Aquinas
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Metaphysics
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Scottish
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Argued that God can create and conserve “prime matter”; the idea of haecceity - giving the individual identity.
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John Duns Scotus
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Natural Philosophy
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English
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Challenged scholasticism and the papacy, partially ending the medieval period; developed the principle of parsimony.
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William of Ockham
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Political Philosophy
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Italian
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Argued that politics has no relation to morality; prioritised empirical reasoning over religious dogma.
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Niccolò Machiavelli
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Neo-Confucianism
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Chinese
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Stated that the difference between good and evil is intuitive; propagated a genuine understanding of the self.
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Wang Yangming
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Natural Philosophy
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English
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Thought to be the father of empiricism; contributed to the development of the scientific method.
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Francis Bacon
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Political Philosophy
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English
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Justified government autocracy on the basis of public consent; stated that government's goal is upholding peace.
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Thomas Hobbes
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Epistemology
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French
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Invented analytical geometry with the use of algebra; made skepticism an essential part of the scientific method.
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René Descartes
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Epistemology
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English
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Known as the 'father of liberalism'; pioneered the ideas of natural law, social contract, and religious toleration.
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John Locke
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Epistemology
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Dutch
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His pantheistic monism: that God did not create, but forms part of nature; criticised Biblical and Cartesian thought.
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Baruch Spinoza
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Mathematics
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German
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Proposed that the universe is made of an infinite number of "monads"; invented differential and integral calculus.
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Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
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Epistemology
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Italian
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Invented the philosophy of history; coined the constructivist aphorism "Verum esse ipsum factum".
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Giambattista Vico
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Metaphysics
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Irish
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Developed immaterialism - the being of objects "is to be perceived"; stated that one's duty is to obey God's laws.
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George Berkeley
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Political Philosophy
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French
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Promoted the separation of state powers: executive, legislative and judicial; defended private property.
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Montesquieu
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Epistemology
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British
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Anticipated modern monetarism, such as interest rate; "causes and effects are discoverable by experience".
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David Hume
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Political Philosophy
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Genevan
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Formulated the social contract theory; developed radical ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity.
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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Aesthetics
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German
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Considered space and time "forms of intuition" in his idealist doctrine; elucidated a priori knowledge of objects.
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Immanuel Kant
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Jewish Theology
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German
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Combined Judaism with the rationalism of the Enlightenment; advocated religious toleration.
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Moses Mendelssohn
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Political Philosophy
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French
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Advocated economic freedom and legal and educational reform; an early abolitionist, transhumanist, and feminist.
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Nicolas de Condorcet
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Political Philosophy
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British
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Founded modern utilitarianism; his radical political views are associated with the welfare state.
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Jeremy Bentham
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Epistemology
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German
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Developed a dialectical scheme emphasising the progress of history; presented self-determination as man's essence.
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Georg Hegel
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Aesthetics
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German
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Created an atheistic metaphysical system; taught that humans are solely driven to act by the "will".
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Arthur Schopenhauer
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Epistemology
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French
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Introduced sociology and positivism; founded the 'Religion of Humanity': a secular belief system.
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Auguste Comte
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Political Philosophy
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British
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Wrote 'On Liberty': applying utilitarianism to society and state; praised eccentricity as a source of ideals.
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John Stuart Mill
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Epistemology
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Danish
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Deemed the first existential philosopher; argued that reality is more subjective rather than objective.
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Søren Kierkegaard
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Political Philosophy
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German
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"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs"; "Religion is the opium of the masses".
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Karl Marx
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Biology
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British
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Applied evolutionary theory and Darwinism to philosophy; formulated three principles regulating the universe.
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Herbert Spencer
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Anthropology
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German
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Held that man can only be comprehended by historical knowledge; worked on hermeneutical research.
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Wilhelm Dilthey
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Pragmatism
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American
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Advanced the pragmatist movement; posited that emotions arise from physiological responses to external events.
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William James
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Aesthetics
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German
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His critique of morality and simultaneous praise and scorn of nihilism; conceived the 'Übermensch' and 'will to power'.
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Friedrich Nietzsche
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Mathematics
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German
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Founded analytic philosophy; held the truths of arithmetic are logical truths in the 'Begriffsschrift'.
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Gottlob Frege
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Ontology
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German
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Established the school of phenomenology; criticised historicism in logic based on intentionality.
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Edmund Husserl
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Metaphysics
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French
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His theory of “duration": the irreducible reality; discussed dualism in 'Matière et mémoire'.
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Henri Bergson
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Epistemology
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American
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Leading proponent of pragmatism; reconnected philosophy with the mission of education-for-living.
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John Dewey
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Metaphysics
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British
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Argued that reality is a process and not material; his 'Principia Mathematica' is a key work in mathematical logic.
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Alfred North Whitehead
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History
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Italian
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Coined the circularity among “moments” of the four aspects of spirit; said that art is the expression of emotion.
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Benedetto Croce
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Metaphysics
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Japanese
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Taught that the “Non-self ” is the ultimate reality where all subject–object cleavage is overcome.
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Kitarō Nishida
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Logic
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British
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Championed analytic philosophy; developed the axiomatic method for logical deduction from basic propositions.
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Bertrand Russell
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Epistemology
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British
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Led the turn from idealism to common-sense judgment; advocated non-ethical naturalism.
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G.E. Moore
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Ontology
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Austrian
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His work 'Ich und Du' - expressing the dialogue of man with other beings; promoted Zionist thought.
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Martin Buber
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Metaphysics
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Austrian
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Wrote on the logical relationship between propositions and the world; advocated a highly restrictive language use.
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Ludwig Wittgenstein
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Metaphysics
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German
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Reinvigorated phenomenology and promoted postmodernism; devised a theory for technology.
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Martin Heidegger
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Logic
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German
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His theory of logical syntax; his book 'Der Raum' established a logical basis for the space-time theory.
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Rudolf Carnap
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Rationality
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Austrian
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Rejected the inductive method in the empirical sciences; replaced critical realism with critical rationalism.
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Karl Popper
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Sociology
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German
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Argued that a capitalist society was a consumer society; coined 'identity thinking' to describe categorical thought.
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Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno
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Epistemology
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French
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Dsscribed humans' freedom and responsibilities; defined two types of reality in 'Being and Nothingness'.
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Jean-Paul Sartre
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Political Philosophy
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German
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Coined the phrase "the banality of evil"; outlined the faculty of human judgment in relation to political systems.
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Hannah Arendt
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Political Philosophy
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French
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A pioneering figure of contemporary philosophical feminism; asserted that the individual is fundamentally free.
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Simone de Beauvoir
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Logic
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American
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Replaced first-order logic with his system 'New Foundations'; developed an indispensability argument.
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Willard Van Orman Quine
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Epistemology
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British
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Presented the verification principle as the only valid basis for philosophy; wrote 'Language, Truth and Logic'.
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A.J. Ayer
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Philosophy of Mind
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American
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Dubbed foundationalist epistemology the "Myth of the Given"; described the behavioural web of language.
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Wilfrid Sellars
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Political Philosophy
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American
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His "justice as fairness" recommends equal basic liberties to eliminate inequality; devised the 'original position'.
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John Rawls
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Philosophy of Science
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American
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Argued that scientific fields undergo periodic "paradigm shifts"; defined five cognitive values, such as 'precision'.
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Thomas S. Kuhn
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History
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French
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Traced the development of Western civilisation; addressed the relations between power and knowledge.
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Michel Foucault
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Philosophy of Language
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American
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Reformed linguistics with such theories as 'Transformational Generative Grammar'; promotes non-interventionism in war.
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Noam Chomsky
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Social Theory
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German
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Argued that technological transformations had bettered society; developed the theory of communicative reason.
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Jürgeb Habermas
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Ethics
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British
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Coined the term 'moral luck'; his denial of political moralism, claiming that politics is never regulated by ethics.
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Bernard Williams
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Epistemology
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French
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Invented 'deconstruction'; developed logocentrism: placing one concept at the centre of theorising meaning.
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Jacques Derrida
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Philosophy of Language
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American
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Blended philosophy and literature into 'neopragmatism'; advocated sentimental education to promote human rights.
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Richard Rorty
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Political Philosophy
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American
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Pioneered three principles to determine how one deserves something; worked on decision theory.
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Robert Nozick
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Logic
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American
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Undermined the idea that all propositions are a priori; his semantics for modal logic involving possible worlds.
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Saul Kripke
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Metaphysics
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American
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Argued that states of the mind are simply states of the brain; developed the metaphysics of modality.
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David Kellogg Lewis
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Ethics
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Australian
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Defined ethical actions as those that maximise overall pleasure; wrote on ideals to end global poverty.
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Peter Singer
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seriously, excellent!
I think that there are many from the 1800-today period that you could have also included, many imo more relevant than others on this list: Fanon, Mao, Suzuki come to mind. And of course Laozi should clearly be last on the list as the immortal hermit that he is!