Plato was one of the world's earliest and possibly greatest philosophers. He matters because of his devotion to making humanity more fulfilled.
Plato made up an enduring story about why philosophy matters based on an allegory about a cave…
Plato’s theory of the forms is at the centre of his philosophy and teaches us the virtues of thinking about the ideal version of things.
We’re used to thinking hugely well of democracy. But interestingly, one of the wisest people who ever lived, Socrates, had deep suspicions of it.
Aristotle was the master of virtues. For gifts and more from The School of Life, visit our online
This Greek philosopher, one of our favourites, spent his life arriving at fascinating answers to the largest puzzle there is: What makes people happy?
How the Stoics can help us tackle anxiety, fury and loss of perspective - and realise that very little is needed to make a happy life.
The Consolation of Philosophy is the name of one of the greatest and most useful books ever written, the work of the Roman statesman and philosopher Boethius, who wrote it in prison as a way to ward of despair and regret. The lessons of the book remain hugely applicable to our own times - and deserve to be known to all of us in the face uncertain times.
The philosopher and theologian Augustine had fascinating things to say about success and failure.
Thomas Aquinas deserves to be remembered for reconciling faith with reason, thereby saving Western civilisation from turning its back on science and Greek and Roman wisdom.
Montaigne is a brilliant philosopher in part because he accepted how little philosophers understand. Here is a man wise in so far as he knew how rare wisdom really is.
The Duc de La Rochefoucauld wrote brilliant one-line philosophies in his famous book, The Maxims. He is a man for our own impatient, distracted times.
The French 17th century philosopher Blaise Pascal is one of the world’s great pessimists- with an unusual power to cheer us up.
Rene Descartes is perhaps the world’s best known-philosopher, in large part because of his pithy statement, ‘I think therefore I am.’ He stands out as an example of what intellectual self-confidence can bring us.
Spinoza tried to replace the bible with a scientifically-based ethical system. He succeeded in theory but not in practice.
David Hume is one of Scotland’s greatest philosophers (Adam Smith is another, about whom we also have a film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejJRhn53X2M). His claim to greatness lies in his appreciation of ordinary experience, his descriptions of consciousness and his humane, tolerant approach to religious disputes.
Immanuel Kant was acutely aware of living in an age when philosophy would need to supplant the role once played by religion. This helped him to arrive at his most famous concept: the ‘categorical imperative.’
There's a particular pleasure to be felt in the mighty things of nature: thunderstorms, the stars, vast deserts, oceans, the icecaps. One philosopher who analysed our pleasure was Edmund Burke, who pinned a word to this sensation and theorised about why it was so nice: he gave us the concept of The Sublime.
Soren Kierkegaard is useful to us because of the intensity of his despair at the compromises and cruelties of daily life. He is a companion for our darkest moments.
Arthur Schopenhauer was deeply influenced by Buddhist thought and is in many ways the West’s answer to it: he too tells us to reign in our desires and adopt a consolingly pessimistic attitude to our struggles.
The German philosopher Hegel believed that strange and alien bits of history have much to teach us. He believed story and civilisation do not move in a straight line, so important ideas and attitudes get left behind.
The German philosopher Hegel helps us to understand that progress in societies is never linear, and that these societies may have to go through a variety of reversals before advancing, a process he termed ‘the dialectic.’
Nietzsche believed that the central task of philosophy was to teach us to 'become who we are'. You can find out more about him and other great thinkers in our 'Great Thinkers' book.
Friedrich Nietzsche was one of the great theorists of envy: he believed that envy is everywhere and that most of us don't even realise how much we feel it and the way it powers our behaviour. Having a good relationship with our envious tendencies was for Nietzsche a mark of maturity and wisdom. He is an indispensable guide to living more serenely around our envious pangs.
Nietzsche’s concept of the Superman is one of the most exciting and yet weird aspects of his thought. What did he really mean by this unusual word?
Friedrich Nietzsche had a particular fondness for a concept called (in Latin) 'amor fati', a Stoic acceptance of one's fate and a commitment to embrace reality, in all its beauty and pain.
A look at Martin Heidegger - an often incomprehensible but deeply valuable German philosopher who wanted us to lead more authentic lives.
Jean-Paul Sartre explored the problems and joys of being fundamentally free. Existentialism, the belief system with which he is associated, considers the anguish of freedom.
Jean-Paul Sartre’s concept of ‘mauvaise foi’ or ‘bad faith’ is central to his philosophy. It’s a phenomenon of not being honest with ourselves and therefore, of undermining our chances of fulfilment.
The only real question of philosophy is whether or not we should commit suicide, said Albert Camus. His thought was constantly rich and provocative (and he dressed unusually well).
Ludwig Wittgenstein was a philosopher obsessed with the difficulties of language, who wanted to help us find a way out of some of the muddles we get into with words.
Michel Foucault was a philosophical historian who questioned many of our assumptions about how much better the world is today compared with the past. When he looked at the treatment of the mad, at the medical profession and at sexuality, he didn't see the progress that's routinely assumed.
Jacques Derrida was a key philosopher of modern times who made pioneering explorations into the subtexts of our key concepts.
The great sayings of Western Philosophy capture some of the most daring and helpful thoughts humans have ever exchanged. Here is a list of our favourites, which reflect the adventure and wisdom of philosophical history.
Emil Cioran is Romania’s most famous thinker: his darkly pessimistic philosophy is a perfect antidote to the sentimental cheeriness of our times.
The first 500 people to click this link will get a 2 month free trial of Skillshare: http://skl.sh/tsol4 Eastern philosophy has all the same goals as Western philosophy: it too seeks to make us wiser and more serene. However, the way it goes about its task shows a great deal more variety and imagination: in the East, there are lessons to be learnt in tea ceremonies, in flower arranging, in the repair of vases and in the ritual contemplation of rivers. An introduction to six of the most fascinating concepts of Eastern philosophy.
Wu Wei is a key concept within Daoism – and refers to a serene acceptance of events. It’s a wisdom we’re very uninclined to remember in our own times.
Chinese culture shows us a remarkable interest in rocks, as objects of beauty and philosophical wisdom. We have much to learn.
‘Kintsugi’ is the remarkable Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with elegance and grace a tradition with a lot to teach us more generally about how to handle the broken bits of ourselves.
Matsuo Basho was one of the most famous Zen poets of Japan, who alerts us to the neglected beauty and interest of everyday life, and thereby reconciles us with our own circumstances.
Sen no Rikyū was a Japanese philosopher who understood the role of a cup of tea in a wise and calm life.
Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism.
The Buddha's philosophy teaches us that our desires are at the root of our restlessness - and that calm can be achieved through willpower and spiritual exercise.
This great Chinese philosopher believed in everything we ignore nowadays: tradition, institution, obedience and order. That’s why he matters.
A lot isn't expressed between couples because of a fear of not seeming very 'nice'. That's deeply unfortunate, and stores up a lot of trouble. We'd be better off daring to be a little more honest.
Insomnia is in essence a revenge for all the thoughts we forgot to have in the day.
Getting close to another human isn't the trouble free process we might imagine. It's worth understandind just how frightening closeness can be.
One of the lesser known skills of relationships is the ability to translate what a lover says to reveal its deeper meaning.
Flirting is an art that deserves to be far more widely known and far more praticed. Here is a short guide.
No one is ever boring: we just seem boring when we haven't learnt the surprisingly easy art of being honest about our vulnerabilities.
Johannes Vermeer is one of the world's greatest artists, in part because he's not great in the usual sense. He was content to paint very ordinary scenes and remind us of how special the everyday can be.
Andrea Palladio was one of the world's greatest architects - who launched the Classical style which influenced how we build to this day.
Caspar David Friedrich made brooding sublime pictures that speak directly to our times and to the melancholy sides of us.
Edward Hopper spent his life painting alienated scenes that aren't depressing in the least to look at. They make us feel less alone. He used art therapeutically: to reconcile us to the isolation inside every one of us.
He wasn’t just a painter of pretty things, he was – beneath all that – a painter of a deeply serious quality: hope.
Abstract art - like that made by Cy Twombly - seems to look like 'nothing' - which can be very annoying. But really it's an attempt to represent the inner world rather than the outer one.
The German designer Dieter Rams deserves our attention because he believed in products of everyday use that could be beautiful and long-lasting. He’s the ideal capitalist for our times.
Andy Warhol was one of the great artists of the 20th century who understood the legitimate role that glamour and business should play in the production of art. He has much to teach the modern world.
John Maynard Keynes was arguably the greatest economist of the 20th century. He discovered the idea that governments should stimulate demand during economic downturns – and was the creator of both the IMF and the World Bank. His ideas continue to underpin a lot of the modern economic system.
Nice guys too often finish last; they need to read the advice of one of the wisest and most realistic thinkers in the history of philosophy: Niccolo Machiavelli.
Henry David Thoreau not only wrote Walden; he is also responsible for a small pamphlet titled Civil Disobedience, which recommends that – when a US president is taking a wrong turn – good citizens have a duty to protest.
The leading theorist of modern right-wing political movements was an Austrian economist called Friedrich Hayek.
John Locke's greatness as a philosopher is based on his theories on childhood, his work on religious toleration and his concept of the rights of citizens. He helped to make us who we are.
The 18th century Jean-Jacques Rousseau made the bold claim that modernity and civilisation are not improvements; they’ve dragged us from a primitive state of innocence and happiness.
Thomas Hobbes believed that it is always better to have security rather than liberty in a country. He was therefore deeply opposed to the English Civil War – and would have predicted the chaos of the Arab Spring.
Machiavelli's name is a byword for immorality and political scheming. But that's deeply unfair. This was simply a political theorist interested in the survival and flourishing of the state.
William Morris wanted to change the way workers approach their jobs and how consumers decide what they want to buy.
John Ruskin was an art critic who believed the immorality of 19th century capitalism could be highlighted by one thing above all others: the ugliness of the environment.
We are taught to think of modern civilization as inherently 'better' than the pre-industrial age. That's why we need to tap into the caustic, liberating mindset of the great American political thinker, Thoreau.
How do you get a society that provides basic decent services to all citizens? Political theorist John Rawls had a good idea, and it was called 'the veil of ignorance.
Adam Smith was no uncritical apologist for capitalism: he wanted to understand how capitalism could be both fruitful and good.
Karl Marx remains deeply important today not as the man who told us what to replace capitalism with, but as someone who brilliantly pointed out certain of its problems. The School of Life, a pro-Capitalist institution, takes a look.