“Windows To Spirituality”
We have collected some of the well-known philosophers so you can enjoy reading their life stories, thoughts, and contributions resolving existential questions about the human condition.
Who Is Socrates? Socrates (Sōkrátēs, c. 470 – 399 BC) was a classical Greek (Athenian) philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, and as being the first moral philosopher of the Western ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, he made no writings, and is known chiefly through...
Socrates, Xenophon, And Plato Empedocles In the fifth century BC the Pythagorean school continued, and Parmenides in Elea contributed to metaphysics. Zeno also of Elea let his mind trap himself into thinking one could never get somewhere, because by going half-way there each time one would get closer but never...
Who Is Friedrich Nietzsche? Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, philologist, and Latin and Greek scholar whose work has exerted a profound influence on modern intellectual history. He began his career as a classical philologist before turning to philosophy. He...
Hermes Trismegistus Hermes Trismegistus (“thrice-greatest Hermes”; Mercurius ter Maximus) is the purported author of the Hermetic Corpus, a series of sacred texts that are the basis of Hermeticism. Origin and identity Hermes Trismegistus may be associated with the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. Greeks in the Ptolemaic Kingdom of...
Galileo Galilei Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath from Pisa. Galileo has been called the “father of observational astronomy“, the “father of modern physics”, the “father of the scientific method”, and the “father of modern science“. Galileo studied speed and...
Who Is Aristotle? Aristotle (Aristotélēs, 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher during the Classical period in Ancient Greece, the founder of the Lyceum and the Peripatetic school of philosophy and Aristotelian tradition. Along with his teacher Plato, he has been called the “Father of Western Philosophy”. His writings cover many...
Al-Kindi Abu Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn ʼIsḥāq aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ al-Kindī (أبو يوسف يعقوب بن إسحاق الصبّاح الكندي; Alkindus; c. 801–873 AD) was an Arab Muslim philosopher, polymath, mathematician, physician and musician. Al-Kindi was the first of the Islamic peripatetic philosophers, and is hailed as the “father of Arab philosophy”. Al-Kindi was born...
Hossein Nasr Sayyid Hossein Nasr (سید حسین نصر, born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian professor emeritus of Islamic studies at George Washington University, and an Islamic philosopher. He is the author of scholarly books and articles. Nasr speaks and writes on subjects such as philosophy, religion, spirituality, music, art, architecture, science,...
Who Is Epikoros? Epikoros (or Apikoros or Apikores or Epicurus; אפיקורוס, lit. “Heretic”, pl. Epicorsim ) is a Jewish term cited in the Mishnah, referring to one who does not have a share in the world to come: “All Israel have a share in the world to come as states:...
Who Is Epicurus? Epicurus (341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded a highly influential school of philosophy now called Epicureanism. He was born on the Greek island of Samos to Athenian parents. Influenced by Democritus, Aristotle, Pyrrho, and possibly the Cynics, he turned against the Platonism of his day and...
Sufis, Philosophers, And Nanak This article covers Sufis, Philosophers, And Nanak. Justice is the king of salvation. Whoever is just is saved from all kinds of errors and futilities. It is better to be just than to pass your whole life in the genuflexions and prostrations of exterior worship. Attar,...
Lists Of Philosophers The alphabetical list of philosophers is so large we only selected famous philosophers. To look up a philosopher you know the name of, click on the first letter of their last name. In the classical sense, a philosopher was someone who lived according to a certain way of life, focusing on resolving...
Rumi Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (جلالالدین محمد رومی), also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī (جلالالدین محمد بلخى), Mevlânâ – Mawlānā (مولانا, “our master”), Mevlevî – Mawlawī (مولوی, “my master”), and more popularly simply as Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic originally from Greater Khorasan. Rumi’s influence transcends national borders and ethnic...
Disciples Of Confucius This article covers the disciples of Confucius. According to Sima Qian, Confucius said: “The disciples who received my instructions, and could themselves comprehend them, were seventy-seven individuals. They were all scholars of extraordinary ability.” It was traditionally believed that Confucius had three thousand students, but that only 72 mastered what...
Confucius Confucius was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. The philosophy of Confucius, also known as Confucianism, emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. His followers competed successfully with many other schools during the Hundred Schools of...
Chinese Sages This article is about famous Chinese Sages. In ancient China during the 6th century BC the incessant wars between Jin and Chu led Heang Seu of Song to go to Jin with a proposal for a comprehensive peace. He said, “War is destructive to the people, an insect...
Kahlil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran (جبران خليل جبران, Jubrān Khalīl Jubrān, or Jibrān Khalīl Jibrān, January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist, also considered a philosopher although he himself rejected this title. He is best known as the...
Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel (born Eliezer Wiesel אֱלִיעֶזֶר וִיזֶל ʾÉlīʿezer Vīzel; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in French and English, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and...
Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British philosopher who interpreted and popularised Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Born in Chislehurst, England, he moved to the United States in 1938 and began Zen training in New York. Pursuing a career, he attended...
Mevlânâ Celâleddin Mehmed Rumi Mevlânâ Celâleddin Mehmed Rumi was born in Afghanistan (which was the Persian city of Balkh) in 1207. Loosely translated, Jalal means “majesty”, Din means “religion”, and Rumi means “the Roman”, which means “Majesty of Religion”. The Anatolian region in Turkey that Rumi died in was then...
