Anselm of Canterbury
1033–1109The Medieval World
Anselm of Canterbury set out to understand by reason alone what he believed: the ontological argument, freedom as rightness, and why God became man.
12 works · 846 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
By year of birth
11th c. CE
3 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
-
Heloise
1100–1164The Medieval World
Heloise, abbess of the Paraclete, argued in her letters to Abelard that intention alone gives an act its worth, and asked for a rule fit for women.
2 works · 215 passages grounded
13th c. CE
2 in the arena
-
Thomas Aquinas
1225–1274The Medieval World
Thomas Aquinas joined Aristotelian reason to Christian theology, shaping accounts of causality, virtue, law, and grace in the Summa Theologica.
1 work · 8,795 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
14th c. CE
3 in the arena
-
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
-
Christine de Pizan
1364–1430The Medieval World
Christine de Pizan, a widow who wrote for her living at the French court, argued around 1400 that women's supposed inferiority was custom, not nature.
7 works · 2,076 passages grounded