Sophies world philosophers

Aquinas

Aristotle(universe has always existed) + Bible(Universe has not always existed) = world did not have a beginning, but God could have created it so that it exists eternally

Romanticism

group/ time period: REASON! artists create their own reality- are the 'gods' of their own art.Also connected strongly with nature

Schelling

thought of absolute idealism: thought of nature as ongoing, driven by spirit mind. matter is one continuous process.

Anaximenes

thought source of all things must be air or vapor, taught Pythagoras

Satre

we make something for a purpose: there is no God, therefore we are not made by him. Our existence precedes our essence, we have to create purpose for ourselves.

Hobbes

(Renaissance philosopher) Man is a machine

Bacon

(Renaissance philosopher) knowledge=power

Renaissance

Age of rebirth and reason, science won over religion in this time period.

Empedocles

Agreed with both Parmenides & Heraclitus: Thought everything was made up of the four elements (earth, water, fire, air)

Berkely

All knowledge comes from perception: A thing only exists as it is perceived. (The world only consists of ideas)

Hellenism

Borders between cultures are being erased, ideas are coming together as one.

Hume

Custom is the great guide of human life: dont draw conclusions from is statements to ought statements. (sun rising every morning= not a truth)

Neoplatonism

Plotinus is the main philosopher: world a span between two poles: At one end God and at the other absolute darkness; mysticism=being at one with God

Spinoza

Everything is God(nature), we exit within him. controls the universes 1.shape 2.matter 3.purpose 4. process of formation

Thales

Figured out weather conditions, not appeals to the gods, led to good harvests. Thought source of everything of water.

Socrates

Founder of western philosophy, who wrote nothing down. Thought the examination of life was the first task of philosophy, only life worth living ->good life, which could only be found using reasoning -> 'The life which is not examined is not worth living

Cynics

Group: Thought true happiness was not found in eternal advantages; it was found by not being dependent on these things. Once attained, true happiness cannot be lost.

Aristotle

Had a scientific background, thought there was no ideal form of things and everything relied on your senses; Things in this world are not imperfect copies but the actual thing; we find truth from evidence gained, and use our senses and reason to understand things

Descartes

I doubt therefore I am: thought an evil demon could be controlling his thoughts: but that evil demon could only control him because he exists-> therefore he exists. Also studied relationship between body and mind( being and reason)

Eleatics

Interested in the problem of change, one of he natural philosophers

Natural Philosophers

Mainly concerned about the natural world: Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Eleatics, Parmenides, Heraclitus, Empedocles, Anaxagoras

Democritus

Materialist-Created the atom theory (Legos): believed nothing could come from nothing

Anaxagoras

Natural Philosopher- thought nature was made up of of infinite particles; everything can be divided into smaller parts

Stoics

Natural law was based on timeless human and universal reason; nothing happens accidentally

Heraclitus

Opposed Parmenides- thought constant change was the most basic characteristic of nature- "Everything flows": First to introduce reason

Kirkegaard

Our choices/actions determine our life. We have absolute freedom of choice. anxiety=dizziness of freedom. Father of existentialism

Marx

People align into groups- often comparing/ contrasting with own socio-economic interests, 'lesser groups' own lesser property or business. 'ruling class' owns more property or business. Father of communism. history is a record of class struggles and displacements.

Locke

Rationalist: There is nothing in the mind that wasn't first in the senses; born with some ideas innate- but no truths found. No universal idea from all cultures at all times agreed upon. Everything we know is from experience: tabula rasa(mind a blank canvas)

Plato

Student of socrates(recorded what socrates read). Came up with idea of the cave. Thought the illusory world where we live contains imperfect copies of the ideal form in our minds; everything in this world is a shadow of it's ideal form in the world of ideas.

Baroque

Tensions between large and unsolvable contrast: Carpe diem:Concern with beauty of things: Materialism/idealism/ determinism

Darwin

Theory of evolution, survival of the fittest. Came from a scientist background

Hegel

Thought reality is a historical process: philosophy must begin by making no assumptions. Reason is dynamic and a process, human knowledge is constantly expanding and progressing. Thesis, antithesis, and synthesis.

Anaixmander

Thought world was only one of many other worlds that grow and dissolve, studied under thales

Kant

Thought...2 worlds: 1.Our body and its experiences 2.External world. sensibility= ability to sense things in the world. understanding=ability to think about things. We can only know how things appear to us.

Parmenides

Was an Eleatic- Thought no actual change, nature in flux: Believes sensory perceptions are unreliable

Epicureans

aim of life was to enjoy highest possible sensory enjoyment; short term must be weighed against long term: If we can overcome fear of death, we can be happy(It's nothing to be afraid of) YOLO!

Simone de Beauvoir

men have taken maleness as the standard against which they judge human nature: man is defined as a human being and woman as a female.

Enlightenment

opposition to authority, rationalism, cultural optimism, return to nature, natural religion, human rights

Heidegger

philosophy has always asked us questions about being...we need to analyze the problems more- the problems being ourselves

Nietzsche

pointed out that Christianity says that everything is less important than your afterlife. says we should turn away from what seems important in this life. By doing this, we are turning our back on life itself; we must surpass this limiting idea

Freud

psychologist, cultural philosopher. must understand subconscious to understand who we are, actions not always guided by reason. (can't control action in a dream)