The Lineage of Inquiry

101 figures · 12 eras · A map of the history of philosophy that shows you who is answering whom

The First to Ask the Right QuestionFounders15They opened up whole ways of thinking; ever after, no one can get around the questions they raised

❓SocratesAncient Greek Philosopher, Founder of the "Socratic Method"

💡PlatoAncient Greek Philosopher, Proposer of the Theory of Forms, Founder of the Academy

📚AristotleAncient Greek Philosopher, Founder of Logic and of the Lyceum

📖ConfuciusThinker of the Spring and Autumn Period, Founder of Confucianism

☯️LaoziFounder of Daoism, Author of the Dao De Jing

☸️The BuddhaSiddhartha GautamaAncient Indian Thinker, Proposer of the Buddhist "Four Noble Truths"

🔍DescartesRené DescartesFrench Philosopher and Mathematician, Proposer of "I Think, Therefore I Am," Father of Modern Philosophy

⏰KantImmanuel KantGerman Philosopher, Founder of German Classical Philosophy, Proposer of the "Copernican Revolution"

🌀HegelGeorg HegelGerman Philosopher, Builder of the System of the Dialectic and Absolute Spirit

📕MarxKarl MarxGerman Philosopher, Proposer of Historical Materialism

⚡NietzscheFriedrich NietzscheGerman Philosopher, Proposer of the "Will to Power" and the Revaluation of Values

🗣️WittgensteinLudwig WittgensteinAustrian-Born Philosopher, Proposer of the "Picture Theory" and "Language Games" in the Philosophy of Language

🚬SartreJean-Paul SartreFrench Philosopher, Proposer of the Existentialist "Existence Precedes Essence"

🏛️ZenoZeno of CitiumAncient Greek Philosopher, Founder of the Stoic School

⚙️MoziThinker of the Warring States Period, Founder of the Mohist School

Those Who Ground an Idea Into a Whole SystemDisciples & School-Builders43Inheriting, contesting, elaborating — the backbone that made a school truly stand

🍇EpicurusAncient Greek Philosopher, Founder of the Epicurean School

🕯️DiogenesDiogenes of SinopeAncient Greek Philosopher, Representative Figure of the Cynic School

🌫️PyrrhoPyrrho of ElisAncient Greek Philosopher, Founder of the Skeptic School

🦋ZhuangziZhuang ZhouThinker of the Warring States Period, an Important Developer of Daoist Thought

🌱MenciusThinker of the Warring States Period, Proposer of the Confucian "Innate Goodness of Human Nature"

📜XunziThinker of the Late Warring States Period, Proposer of the Confucian "Innate Badness of Human Nature"

⚖️Han FeiziThinker of the Late Warring States Period, the Great Synthesizer of Legalist Thought

🪷NagarjunaAncient Indian Buddhist Philosopher, Founder of the Madhyamaka School

✨PlotinusAncient Roman Philosopher, Founder of Neoplatonism

📗Ibn SinaAvicennaPersian Philosopher and Physician, the Great Synthesizer of Islamic Scholastic Philosophy

📘Ibn RushdAverroesAndalusian Philosopher, the Great Synthesizer of the Tradition of Aristotelian Commentary

📙MaimonidesJewish Philosopher, the Great Synthesizer of Medieval Jewish Scholastic Philosophy

📚Thomas AquinasGreat Synthesizer of Scholastic Philosophy, Fusing Aristotelian Philosophy and Christian Theology

📕AugustineAugustine of HippoOne of the Most Influential Philosophers and Theologians of Early Christianity

⛓️BoethiusRoman Philosopher, Author of The Consolation of Philosophy

🔥HeraclitusGreek philosopher of universal flux

⭕ParmenidesFounder of the Eleatics, father of "Being"

📏ProtagorasLeading Sophist: "man is the measure"

⚛️DemocritusGreat systematizer of ancient atomism

📜CiceroRoman orator who carried Greek philosophy into Latin

⛪AnselmFather of scholasticism, author of the ontological argument

📖AbelardMedieval conceptualist; logic and the problem of universals

✍️Duns ScotusThe "Subtle Doctor," philosopher of will and individuality

🪒William of OckhamPeak of nominalism; "Ockham’s razor"

🖋️MontaigneFather of the essay; early modern skepticism

🔭Francis BaconFather of modern empiricism and scientific method

👁️BerkeleySubjective idealist: "to be is to be perceived"

⚖️MontesquieuEnlightenment political philosopher; separation of powers

🌅FichteGerman idealism; philosophy of the "I"

🌿SchellingGerman idealism; philosophy of nature

📊ComteFounder of positivism and sociology

❤️FeuerbachAnthropological materialism; critique of religion

🔣PeirceFounder of American pragmatism and semiotics

🌊William JamesLeading pragmatist; pioneer of modern psychology

🏫DeweyLeading pragmatist and progressive educator

➗FregeFather of modern logic and analytic philosophy

🧠HusserlFounder of phenomenology

🕸️QuineAnalytic philosopher of the "two dogmas of empiricism"

🪞RortyNeo-pragmatist; anti-representationalism

☯️Dong ZhongshuHan Confucian of "resonance between Heaven and man"

🍃HuinengSixth Chan patriarch; founder of "sudden awakening"

💡Lu JiuyuanForerunner of the School of Mind; "mind is principle"

🕉️Adi ShankaraGreat systematizer of Advaita Vedanta

Those Who Reanswered "How Should We Live"Modern & Contemporary Thinkers20After the Scientific Revolution, philosophers faced anew the questions of reason, freedom, and existence

🦊MachiavelliNiccolò MachiavelliItalian Political Philosopher, Author of The Prince

🔮SpinozaBaruch SpinozaDutch Philosopher, Representative of Pantheism and Rationalist Ethics

📄LockeJohn LockeEnglish Philosopher, Founder of Empiricism and Liberal Political Philosophy

🐉HobbesThomas HobbesEnglish Philosopher, Author of Social Contract Theory and Leviathan

➕LeibnizGottfried LeibnizGerman Philosopher and Mathematician, Proposer of the Monadology and the "Best of All Possible Worlds"

🖋️VoltaireFrench Enlightenment Thinker, Spokesman for Rationalism and Religious Tolerance

📖RousseauJean-Jacques RousseauFrench Enlightenment Thinker, Important Representative of Social Contract Theory and the "State of Nature"

🌊HumeDavid HumeScottish Philosopher, the Great Synthesizer of Empiricist Skepticism

🌑SchopenhauerArthur SchopenhauerGerman Philosopher, Representative of Voluntarist Pessimism

⛰️KierkegaardSøren KierkegaardDanish Philosopher, Forerunner of Existentialist Philosophy

⚖️MillJohn Stuart MillEnglish Philosopher, Important Representative of Utilitarianism and Liberalism

🔢BenthamJeremy BenthamEnglish Philosopher, Founder of Utilitarian Ethics