English philosopher

Jeremy Bentham

Jeremy Bentham

Who Is Jeremy Bentham? Jeremy Bentham (15 February 1748 [O.S. 4 February 1747] – 6 June 1832) was an English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism. Bentham defined as the “fundamental axiom” of his philosophy the principle that “it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is...

John Locke, British Enlightenment philosopher from the 17th century

John Locke

Who Is John Locke? John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the “Father of Liberalism“. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Sir Francis Bacon, he is equally...

Frontispiece Of The Leviathan By Thomas Hobbes is a drawing by Abraham Bosse

Thomas Hobbes

Who Is Thomas Hobbes? Thomas Hobbes (5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679), in some older texts Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern Political Philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book Leviathan, which expounded an influential formulation of social contract theory. In...

Sir Francis Bacon, "Knowledge is Power"

Francis Bacon

Who Is Francis Bacon? Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban, PCQC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and as Lord Chancellor of England. His works are credited with developing the scientific method and remained influential through the scientific revolution. Bacon has been called the father of empiricism. His...