What Is Philosophy? Contributions of 9 Historical Figures

The study of philosophy aims to ascertain basic existentialist truths of the world around us. The term comes from “philosophia,” a word that has Greek and Latin origins. Philosophers examine the nature of reality by posing philosophical questions or problems that they then attempt to solve through critical thinking.

Learn how these notable eastern philosophers shaped their cultures with religion and philosophical breakthroughs throughout the history of philosophy:

1. 1. Laozi (born circa 570 BCE): The historical existence of Laozi, or Lao Tzu, is disputed, but some believe the Chinese philosopher is the author of the Tao Te Ching, a manuscript central to the philosophical religion known as Daoism (or Taoism). The metaphysical and ethical philosophy promotes living in harmony with nature and doing no harm to others.
2. 2. Confucius (551–479 BCE): The teachings of this Chinese philosopher and politician formulated the basic tenets of East Asian societies. Known as Confucianism, the Chinese philosophy encouraged family loyalty, ancestral appreciation, and education—concepts that remain important to modern Chinese traditions.
3. 3. Siddhartha Gautama (born in fifth century BCE): Historians and academics dispute the facts of the life of Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha. By some traditions, he was born into an aristocratic family and enjoyed an entitled life until he decided to pursue a nomadic and ascetic lifestyle. Over time, people attributed teachings to him on self-restraint, meditation, and mindfulness—ideas that grew into a popular world religion.
   
4. 4. Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī (1207–1273): A thirteenth-century Persian poet, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī wrote Quranic verses and Sufi poems that scholars still translate and publish today. A large part of philosophy in Rumi’s poetry is his set of values around love and religion. His philosophy of life focused on using art and self-expression to bring humans closer to God.

Ancient Greek philosophers established western philosophy as early as the sixth century BCE. Here are a handful of Greek philosophy figures who created theoretical foundations and frameworks that future generations could use to question their own complex societies:

1. 1. Socrates (470–399 BCE): The Athenian philosopher Socrates is credited as the founding father of western philosophy and the Socratic method—a form of questioning that scholars in multiple areas of philosophy use to pinpoint shortcomings in logic or beliefs. His teachings were never published but lived on through the work of his student, Plato.
2. 2. Plato (428/427–348/347 BCE): An influential thinker of the classical Greek period, Plato is famous for his theory of forms, which questions the connection between our minds and reality. He is also remembered for his several published works, like The Republic, which communicated his social and political philosophy.
3. 3. Aristotle (384–322 BCE): The philosopher Aristotle was a star pupil of Plato’s (another ancient philosopher) and went on to found his own school, called Lyceum. During his career, Aristotle collected and simplified the philosophies of his predecessors and contributed to philosophical work in nearly every aspect of classical Greek culture. He was the first ancient philosopher to analyze the concept of free will.
4. 4. René Descartes (1596–1650): A French mathematician and philosopher, René Descartes is best known for the existentialism theories he put forth in Discourse on the Method and his statement: “I think, therefore I am.” Descartes’ natural philosophy and metaphysical inquiries, as well as his thoughts on the existence of God, established him as a pioneer of modern philosophy.
5. 5. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831): German philosopher Georg Hegel is best known for his metaphysical concept known as idealism. The concept dictates that the perceptions of a self-conscious mind result in the most accurate interpretations of concrete objects. His work had a dramatic impact on western philosophy in the twentieth century and influenced the works of philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche.

Much of the value of philosophy lies in the specialization and categorization of philosophical questions that cannot be easily answered with empirical data or scientific knowledge. Scholars organize such questions into different branches of thought, although there are perhaps as many ways of categorizing the different branches as there are scholars. Here are just three of the potentially dozens of branches of philosophy:

• Epistemology: Also called the theory of knowledge, this analytic philosophy studies the scope, validity, and extent of human knowledge—in other words, concepts surrounding how we can confirm what we think we know is true. Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason is an example of epistemology. In this work, Kant disagrees with philosopher David Hume, that our experiences and perceptions of things are subjective—therefore, our knowledge of things is not universal. Epistemology overlaps with many other branches of philosophy since human knowledge is relevant in other areas, such as the philosophy of language and the philosophy of mind.
• Ethics: The moral philosophy of ethics is one of the oldest and broadest branches of philosophy. Ethics works to debate values of good and evil and questions where human actions fall on that spectrum. The ancient Greeks struggled with these questions as they developed their societies along two schools of thought—Stoicism and Epicureanism. Although these two schools, established in 300 BC, shared several tenets, they differed in describing the best way to live. Stoics believed that living a just and virtuous life was paramount, while Epicureans believed the search for pleasure should be the highest priority. Due to its broad nature, ethics is pervasive in nearly every academic discipline and overlaps within several other areas of thought, including the philosophy of history, the philosophy of law, and the philosophy of religion.
• Metaphysics: The principles of metaphysics question our place in the world and the meaning of life and human existence. Metaphysics, like ethics, began as one of the main branches of philosophy in ancient Greece. One of the premier philosophical works that established the branch was Aristotle’s Physics. In exploring the working mechanics of our reality, Aristotle created foundations of thought that became important to western institutions and religions, like Christianity. Aristotle’s work greatly influenced the thirteenth-century Italian priest Thomas Aquinas, who utilized aspects of Aristotle’s philosophy of nature to confirm the existence of God as the omnipotent architect of the universe. Metaphysics often encompasses or overlaps with the philosophy of science—for example, as scientists grapple with questions related to humanity’s literal and figurative place in the universe.

Learn what it means to think like a philosopher with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Dr. Cornel West, one of the world’s most provocative intellects, will guide you through fundamental questions about what it means to be human and how to best love your community.