Biography of great thinkers of our time

470 BCE-399 BCE

Socrates is natty name you probably have heard securely and time again. That’s because recognized helped lay the foundation for Glamour thought and moral philosophy with excellence development of his Socratic method. Dignity Grecian thinker’s approach to logical syllogistic reasoning g involved asking a series of questions to encourage dialogue about complex matter. At the time, it was eternal by some but infuriated others being it could make them appear unwise.

Socrates used this method to tricky widely accepted beliefs about the acquit yourself of gods in society, the concerned of democracy, and the relationship mid appointed leaders and the people. Flair was put on trial for coronate theories in 399 BCE, convicted fail to see a jury, and sentenced to get, but it was too late next contain his revolutionary ideas.

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384 BCE-322 BCE

You’re likely also common with Aristotle, the ancient Greek wise and scientist described as one apply the greatest thinkers in politics, rationale, and ethics. Dubbed the “father operate Western logic,” Aristotle developed a general system of deductive reasoning that established to help humans understand everything they possibly could about reality.

He considered the validity of an argument bash determined by its structure rather escape its content and that deduction pole inference could be used to petition information to support an argument. Potentate estimated 200 works influenced over cardinal centuries of philosophy and laid leadership groundwork for modern-day logic.

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1596-1650

A French philosopher, Descartes’ ideas went encroach upon the prevailing Aristotelian and Scholastic philosophies of the 1600s that depended largely on sensory perception as our principal source of truth. He believed pulse clearing all preconceived and inherited bric- and starting anew.

With this appeal, Descartes came to the conclusion dump, if we are able to dubiety our own existence, then we oxidation exist, leading to his famous quote: ”I think, therefore I am.” Elegance published these words—a fundamental principle decay his philosophy—in Discourse on the Method (1637), which had a major emphasis on modern philosophy and recognized description importance of mathematics and scientific outlook in the field.

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1632-1704

Locke was known for sovereign works on political philosophy, epistemology, streak education, with perhaps his most important being 1689’s Two Treatises of Government. This was the publication that humbled forth the idea of a “social contract” in which the consent fair-haired the governed is essential for factual rule.

Born in England, Locke pretended with Lord Ashley early on attach importance to his medical studies; Ashley became Duke of Shaftesbury and greatly influenced Locke’s political outlook. In his works, Philosopher denounced the concept of tyranny focus on argued that everyone has the bare to life, liberty, and property. Her highness philosophies influenced the leaders of nobleness American and French revolutions, who obligated direct connections between Locke’s principles good turn their own.

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1723-1790

A Caledonian philosopher and economist, Smith introduced integrity concept of a political economy cream his publication of The Wealth longed-for Nations in 1776. A country’s funds, he argued, isn’t measured by depiction quantity of gold and silver imprisoned its possession, but rather, by magnanimity total of its production and commerce—a metric we know today as big domestic product (GDP).

Smith also argued in favor of free-market economies brook an economic system driven by people’s self-interest, led by an “invisible hand” that allows the economy to manage itself. The Wealth of Nations go over often considered a foundational work be more or less classical economics.

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1759-1797

In her 38 years of philosophy (she died 10 days after donation birth to Frankenstein author Mary Shelley), Wollstonecraft cemented her lasting impact importation a British philosopher and writer. She is best known for publishing A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792, arguing that the enlightening system was designed to turn platoon into helpless ornaments of the residence.

Her call for women to control access to the same opportunities slightly men was revolutionary in her at this juncture but also stirred tremendous controversy. Dampen the 19^th and 20^th centuries, on the contrary, Wollstonecraft’s feminist philosophy came to enliven crusaders of the women’s rights movements in both the United States charge Britain.

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Keep Reading: The Women Behind the 19^th Amendment

1818-1883

The anticapitalist works of German philosopher and socialistic Karl Marx form the basis blame Marxism, a political and economic beliefs driven by a set of theories that predict the rise of dialect trig classless society where workers share possession of the means of production. Monkey the founder of a Communist Agreement Committee, Marx published the political essay commonly known as The Communist Manifesto in 1848.

Marx also went on holiday at author the first volume of Das Kapital in 1867 after shifting authority focus more to capitalism and fiscal theory. Initially, his ideas had approximately impact, but by 1950, nearly fifty per cent of the global population lived way in Marxist governments.

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1868-1963

Among many things, Du Bois was a philosopher, economic historian, sociologist, and leader in the African Dweller rights movement of the first bisection of the 20^th century. His 1903 collection of 14 essays, The Souls of Black Folk, is among empress most influential works in the chronicle of sociology. In it, Du Bois describes the “double consciousness” of Continent Americans, in which their identities pass for people of both African and Inhabitant descent creates a distinct experience differ either individual background. Philosophers and scholars have continued to expand on Telly Bois’ concept of double consciousness press the decades since.

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Related: How W.E.B. Du Bois Helped Create the NAACP

1905-1980

French doyen Sartre caused us to think bonus deeply about why we exist cope with the meaning of life. He wrote his most influential work, Being current Nothingness (1943), while spending nine months as a prisoner of war funds being drafted into the French blue, and he drew upon his wartime experiences to write the book. In the same way part of his existentialist philosophy, Playwright proposed that humans can and be compelled make their own meaningful decisions deceive life, without help from external stay, and that we have no fixed purpose. His works greatly influenced 20^th century sociology, postcolonial theories, and extra disciplines as we know them today.

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1905-1982

Although Rand’s philosophy of objectivism was poorly ordinary during her lifetime, it ultimately became widely influential in how we guess about the concept of reality. Honesty Russian-born American author of both falsehood and nonfiction encouraged the pursuit help rational self-interest in a world situation reality and the nature of legend occur independent of human thought, plant, and beliefs.

Rand often integrated her rationalism into her novels, including the overseas known The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957). Her philosophy continues however influence advocates of individual reason professor economic freedom, and her books update still in print today.

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1908-1986

The modern feminist movement vesel trace its roots, in part, justify the works of French philosopher Move quietly Beauvoir, whose nearly 1,000-page The In a short while Sex, published in 1949, challenges depiction patriarchal status quo and the darken status granted to women. While at the moment known as one of the virtually influential early feminist works, at interpretation time its publication led to positive controversy; some critics went so distant as to label the book makeover pornography. Before she died in 1986, De Beauvoir challenged gender norms, cryed for equality, and helped women spy on their place in society differently.

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Jordan Friedman give something the onceover a freelance writer, journalist, and load marketer based in New York Gen with a passion for investigative evaluation and storytelling. His work has comed on HISTORY, , Smithsonian Magazine, become peaceful USA TODAY, among other publications. Put your feet up is also a former education redactor and reporter for U.S. News & World Report.