Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
475–525Late Antiquity
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite wrote around 500 under the name of Paul's convert: a God beyond every name, nine ranks of angels, knowing by unknowing.
5 works · 339 passages grounded
The collection
The Philosophers
Every thinker here answers out of their own texts. Choose a voice and put your question to it.
- Philosophers
- 148
- Works
- 843
- Passages
- 298k+
- Centuries spanned
- 26
When the thinkers were born — philosophers per century
| Century | Philosophers born |
|---|---|
| 7th c. BCE | 3 |
| 6th c. BCE | 3 |
| 5th c. BCE | 2 |
| 4th c. BCE | 2 |
| 3rd c. BCE | 3 |
| 2nd c. BCE | 4 |
| 1st c. BCE | 4 |
| 1st c. CE | 4 |
| 2nd c. CE | 4 |
| 3rd c. CE | 1 |
| 4th c. CE | 5 |
| 5th c. CE | 6 |
| 6th c. CE | 1 |
| 7th c. CE | 4 |
| 8th c. CE | 1 |
| 9th c. CE | 4 |
| 10th c. CE | 4 |
| 11th c. CE | 10 |
| 12th c. CE | 4 |
| 13th c. CE | 5 |
| 14th c. CE | 3 |
| 15th c. CE | 3 |
| 16th c. CE | 9 |
| 17th c. CE | 9 |
| 18th c. CE | 21 |
| 19th c. CE | 29 |
Which traditions they come from — philosophers per tradition
- The Western tradition 87
- The Indian tradition 29
- The Chinese tradition 15
- The Japanese tradition 6
- The Jewish tradition 6
- The Islamic and Persian tradition 5
| Tradition | Philosophers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| The Western tradition | 87 | 59% |
| The Indian tradition | 29 | 20% |
| The Chinese tradition | 15 | 10% |
| The Japanese tradition | 6 | 4% |
| The Jewish tradition | 6 | 4% |
| The Islamic and Persian tradition | 5 | 3% |
What the corpus argues about — share of the canon per question
| Question | Share of the canon |
|---|---|
| Mind and knowledge | 11.5% |
| Metaphysics and the cosmos | 10% |
| Politics and power | 9.5% |
| Ethics and the good life | 7.8% |
| Logic and language | 4.4% |
| Being and existence | 4.1% |
8 philosophers match
Christian mysticism
8 in the arena
Hildegard von Bingen
1098–1179The Medieval World
Hildegard of Bingen, visionary abbess, read the human body as the cosmos written small and called its life viriditas, greenness.
5 works · 2,618 passages grounded
Meister Eckhart
1260–1328The Medieval World
Meister Eckhart joined scholastic theology to radical mysticism, exploring detachment, non-duality and the ground of consciousness.
6 works · 685 passages grounded
Julian of Norwich
1343–1416The Medieval World
Julian of Norwich, an English anchoress, saw sixteen visions in 1373 and thought about them for twenty years. In God she found no anger, only love.
2 works · 262 passages grounded
Catherine of Siena
1347–1380The Medieval World
Catherine of Siena, dyer's daughter and Doctor of the Church, taught self-knowledge proved in love of neighbour and urged Gregory XI back to Rome.
1 work · 344 passages grounded
Teresa of Ávila
1515–1582The Renaissance
Teresa of Ávila, Carmelite reformer and first woman Doctor of the Church, called prayer a friendship with God and mapped its stages from experience.
3 works · 968 passages grounded
John of the Cross
1542–1591The Renaissance
John of the Cross, Carmelite poet of the dark night, taught that the way to God runs through emptiness, faith and love, refusing even visions.
5 works · 1,095 passages grounded
Thérèse of Lisieux
1873–1897The Nineteenth Century
Thérèse of Lisieux, Carmelite and Doctor of the Church, taught a little way for the weak: trust over merit, small acts of love, faith kept in darkness.
1 work · 545 passages grounded