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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

148 philosophers, born across 26 centuries from the 7th c. BCE to the 19th c. CE. The 19th c. CE is the fullest, with 29.
Philosophers born, by century
CenturyPhilosophers born
7th c. BCE3
6th c. BCE3
5th c. BCE2
4th c. BCE2
3rd c. BCE3
2nd c. BCE4
1st c. BCE4
1st c. CE4
2nd c. CE4
3rd c. CE1
4th c. CE5
5th c. CE6
6th c. CE1
7th c. CE4
8th c. CE1
9th c. CE4
10th c. CE4
11th c. CE10
12th c. CE4
13th c. CE5
14th c. CE3
15th c. CE3
16th c. CE9
17th c. CE9
18th c. CE21
19th c. CE29

Which traditions they come from — philosophers per tradition

148 philosophers across 6 traditions. Widths are shares of the roster; the names are in the legend.
  • 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
Philosophers by tradition
TraditionPhilosophersShare
The Western tradition8759%
The Indian tradition2920%
The Chinese tradition1510%
The Japanese tradition64%
The Jewish tradition64%
The Islamic and Persian tradition53%

What the corpus argues about — share of the canon per question

The six great questions, ranked by their share of every tagged passage in the corpus. Mind and knowledge leads at 11.5%. A passage can answer to more than one question, so the six do not sum to a whole.
Share of the canon by question
QuestionShare of the canon
Mind and knowledge11.5%
Metaphysics and the cosmos10%
Politics and power9.5%
Ethics and the good life7.8%
Logic and language4.4%
Being and existence4.1%

3 philosophers match

Theravada

Theravada, the "doctrine of the elders", is the oldest Buddhist school still in existence, and the tradition of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. Its highest authority is the Pali Canon. It teaches that there is no permanent, unchanging self, and that release from suffering comes through the Noble Eightfold Path of conduct, meditation and wisdom. Its ideal is the arahat, who reaches the goal of the path. Nāgasena's dialogue with King Milinda sits just outside its scriptures in most Theravada countries and inside them in Myanmar.

3 in the arena

  1. Gautama Buddha

    480–400 BCE

    Sutra and Classical

    Gautama Buddha taught that suffering ends when craving ends, and that no self stands behind body and mind. Talk with him through the Pāli discourses.

    9 works · 6,234 passages grounded

  2. Nāgasena

    180–110 BCE

    Sutra and Classical

    Nāgasena, the monk of the Milindapañha, tells the Greek king Milinda that his name points to no lasting self, yet every deed still bears fruit.

    1 work · 608 passages grounded

  3. Buddhaghosa

    370–450

    The Commentators

    Buddhaghosa put Sri Lanka's commentaries into Pāli and wrote The Path of Purification, the Theravāda's map of conduct, meditation and insight.

    10 works · 17,872 passages grounded