Thomas Hobbes
1588–1679Early Modern
Thomas Hobbes argued that people make governments out of fear of one another and owe them obedience. His thought on power, freedom and a world of bodies.
6 works · 2,400 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% |
9 philosophers match
By year of birth
16th c. CE
2 in the arena
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René Descartes
1596–1650Early Modern
René Descartes used radical doubt to seek certainty, then rebuilt philosophy around the thinking self, God, and the distinction between mind and body.
3 works · 459 passages grounded
17th c. CE
7 in the arena
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Blaise Pascal
1623–1662Early Modern
Blaise Pascal examines reason, faith, human misery, and moral judgment in a searching account of Christian belief.
2 works · 776 passages grounded
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Margaret Cavendish
1623–1673Early Modern
Margaret Cavendish (1623–1673) argued against Descartes and Hobbes that matter moves itself and that every part of nature senses and knows.
5 works · 1,813 passages grounded
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Anne Conway
1631–1679Early Modern
Anne Conway (1631–1679), taught philosophy by letter, rejected Descartes: all creatures are alive, and body and spirit are one substance.
1 work · 126 passages grounded
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Baruch Spinoza
1632–1677Early Modern
Baruch Spinoza recast God, nature, knowledge, and freedom through rationalist metaphysics and a geometrical ethics.
7 works · 1,431 passages grounded
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John Locke
1632–1704Early Modern
John Locke argued that the mind begins as white paper and that rulers hold power in trust. His thought on knowledge, government and toleration.
12 works · 4,428 passages grounded
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Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
1646–1716Early Modern
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz invented the calculus apart from Newton, argued for monads and the best possible world, and left his system mostly unprinted.
19 works · 2,660 passages grounded
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George Berkeley
1685–1753Early Modern
George Berkeley rejected material substance, grounding reality in minds and ideas. Explore his theories of perception, language, and vision.
3 works · 377 passages grounded