Baltasar Gracian y Morales assumed his final vows of the Jesuits in 1635, having been raised by his uncle, a priest, and studying theology in Zaragoza, Spain. Gracian became quite famous as a preacher, and wrote a number of literary works concerning politics, practical advice for life, and philosophy. Today he is known as the most representative writer of the Spanish baroque style called Conceptismo, or Conceptism, a literary style characterized ...
Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell was a notable 20th century British philosopher, mathematician, historian, social critic, and political activist. Considered one of the founders of analytical philosophy, Russell was an iconoclast who helped lead the revolt against British idealism, a prominent philosophy in England at the end of the 19th century. First written in 1912, Bertrand Russell’s “The Problems of Philosophy” was an attempt by the author to ...
First published in 1882 and revised in 1887, “The Gay Science” was written at the peak of Nietzsche’s intellectual abilities. It includes a large number of poems and an appendix of songs, all written with the intent of encouraging freedom of the mind. With praise for the benefits of science, intellectual discipline, and skepticism, “The Gay Science” also exhibits an enthusiastic affirmation of life, drawing from the influence of the Provencal tr ...
The 18th century German philosopher Immanuel Kant is widely considered as one the most important figures in modern philosophy. His fundamental arguments with regard to the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics, have been highly influential and form the basis for much of contemporary thought upon the subjects with which he was concerned. Kant believed that there were fundamental concepts that structured ...
Disappointed by the public reception to “A Treatise of Human Nature”, published anonymously between 1739 and 1740, David Hume decided to produce a shorter more polemic version of that work nearly ten years later. That revision, which was published in 1748, would be entitled “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding”. Dispensing with much of the extraneous material from the “Treatise”, Hume focuses on his more vital propositions in the “Enquiry” ...
One of the most controversial and inflammatory philosophers in western civilization, Friedrich Nietzsche summarized his extraordinary ideas in “The Twilight of the Idols.” Appropriately subtitled “How One Philosophizes with a Hammer,” this work is a polemic on many of the ideas of his day, especially what he describes as the ‘The Problem of Socrates’ and ‘The Four Great Errors.’ Through the process of self-deception Nietzsche discusses the tende ...
The philosophy of utilitarianism can trace its origins back thousands of years to the ancient Chinese philosophy of logic attributed to the Mohist School. Today it is most famously associated with the 18th century English philosopher Jeremy Bentham, and his disciple John Stuart Mill. The basic principle of utilitarianism is that one’s actions should be guided towards outcomes that create the greatest good for the greatest numbers of people, or i ...
A classic Chinese text dating from the 6th century BC, the “Tao Te Ching” or “Book of the Way” consists of 81 short poems that unfold the spiritual nature of Taoism, one of the ancient Chinese religions. In describing the universal life force implicit in all things, this work shows readers a path that teaches contentment and balance. The simple language of Lao Tzu’s manual on the art of living, essentially encourages being humble, temperate, and ...
The ancient Greek philosopher Plato was born around 425 BC to an aristocratic family. He was the most famous student of Socrates and would eventually go on to form his own school, the Academy. Plato’s dialogues are among the most popular of all writings from classical antiquity. Plato wrote his dialogues to record the wisdom that Socrates had imparted to his students. Plato’s works “Euthyphro,” “Apology,” “Crito,” “Meno,” and “Phaedo” are featur ...
