Who Does Philosophy?

Philosophy is a very old and international discipline. Through time, a lot of diverse individuals have made their mark on philosophy. Below, you can find a brief biography of a group of famous philosophers throughout history. If you’re interested in learning more, read up on them or even pick up one of their original works!

Mustache afficionado and German philosopher, Nietzche is most known for his ideas on the nature of good and evil, religion’s role in society, and his idea of the “Ubermensch,” or “super” man.	Equal parts philosopher and political activist, when she was young, Davis was an active member of the Black Panthers. As a philosopher, she is best known for her work on issues of race and social philosophy.	Father of the existential crisis, Sartre is most known for his writings on Existentialism, dealing with the nature of existence and freedom. So committed to his philosophy, he once refused a Nobel Prize.
Largely considered the first modern philosopher. Known for “Meditations of First Philosophy,” saying “I think therefore I am,” a response to the idea that he might be followed by an evil demon.	A French Existentialist and contemporary of Sartre. de Beauvoir is a famous figure in the field of feminist philosophy, especially The Second Sex in which she critiques the idea of patriarchy.	With a rocking hairdo and his own rock band (you can find their song “Zombie Blues” on Youtube,) Chalmers works mostly on philosophy of mind and philosophy of language.
Philosopher, nun, and patron saint of headaches, d’Avila was a Spanish noblewoman known for her book, The Interior Castle in which she writes about mysticism, the self, and the soul.	One of the OG female mathematicians and philosophers, Hypatia became the head of the Platonist school in Alexandria and was respected even by her male contemporaries.	An Ethiopian philosopher, Yacob is best known for his work on ethics and morality and especially his theories regarding the nature of harmony in the world, often centered around religion.
A Chinese philosopher of the warring states period, Zhuang Zhao (aka Chuang Tzu,) is a founding figure of Taoism and one of the authors of the authors of The Inner Chapters.	Controversial and outspoken, Jose was a Mexican politician and philosopher known for his thoughts on aesthetic monism, the idea of the world as a single cosmic entity, and his thoughts on race in La raza cósmica (The Cosmic Race), where he argued for the merging of all races.	The "Preeminent Master" of philosophy in the Islamic world, Ibn Sina is believed to have written over 150 philosophical texts, with a special focus on logic, metaphysics, and ethics.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Angela Davis

Jean-Paul Sartre

David Chalmers

Simone de Beauvoir

Rene Descartes

Teresa D'Avila

Hypatia

Zera Yacob

Zhuang Zhao

Ibn Sina

Jose Vasconcelos

“Friedrich Nietzsche: ‘Hoy no somos el mismo hombre de ayer y mañana volveremos a ser otro.'” by Antonio Marín Segovia is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/. https://www.flickr.com/photos/23465276@N04/19888500939

"Enclosures: Quotidian Carceralities in the US and Occupied Palestine (Angela Davis)" by Columbia GSAPP is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

“Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Avraham Shlonsky and Leah Goldberg” by Government Press Office (GPO) is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/. https://www.flickr.com/photos/69061470@N05/6470403371

“René Descartes” by pittigliani2005 is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/. https://www.flickr.com/photos/37925259@N00/5832576407

“File:Jean Paul Sartre 1965.jpg” by Materialscientist via Wikimedia Commons is licensed with CC BY-SA 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37090710

“David Chalmers, consciousness philosopher” by TEDxSydney is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/. https://www.flickr.com/photos/49663927@N06/5779276537

"Hypatia" Openclipart one is licensed by CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hypatia_portrait.png

"Zera Yacob" by Abesseni, is licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zera_Yacob.jpg

"Teresa D' Avila" by Peter Paul Rubens, is licensed by CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/.https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Paul_Rubens_138.jpg

"Avicenna Miniatur" by Michel Bakni, is licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Avicenna-miniatur-no-background.png

"Jose Vasconcelos" by Harris & Ewing, photographer, is licensed by is licensed by CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jose_Vasconcelos.jpg

華祖立, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. is licensed by is licensed by CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:玄門十子圖_莊子.jpg

Who Does Philosophy?

Mustache afficionado and German philosopher, Nietzche is most known for his ideas on the nature of good and evil, religion’s role in society, and his idea of the “Ubermensch,” or “super” man.

Equal parts philosopher and political activist, when she was young, Davis was an active member of the Black Panthers. As a philosopher, she is best known for her work on issues of race and social philosophy.

Father of the existential crisis, Sartre is most known for his writings on Existentialism, dealing with the nature of existence and freedom. So committed to his philosophy, he once refused a Nobel Prize.

Largely considered the first modern philosopher. Known for “Meditations of First Philosophy,” saying “I think therefore I am,” a response to the idea that he might be followed by an evil demon.

A French Existentialist and contemporary of Sartre. de Beauvoir is a famous figure in the field of feminist philosophy, especially The Second Sex in which she critiques the idea of patriarchy.

With a rocking hairdo and his own rock band (you can find their song “Zombie Blues” on Youtube,) Chalmers works mostly on philosophy of mind and philosophy of language.

Philosopher, nun, and patron saint of headaches, d’Avila was a Spanish noblewoman known for her book, The Interior Castle in which she writes about mysticism, the self, and the soul.

One of the OG female mathematicians and philosophers, Hypatia became the head of the Platonist school in Alexandria and was respected even by her male contemporaries.

An Ethiopian philosopher, Yacob is best known for his work on ethics and morality and especially his theories regarding the nature of harmony in the world, often centered around religion.

A Chinese philosopher of the warring states period, Zhuang Zhao (aka Chuang Tzu,) is a founding figure of Taoism and one of the authors of the authors of The Inner Chapters.

Controversial and outspoken, Jose was a Mexican politician and philosopher known for his thoughts on aesthetic monism, the idea of the world as a single cosmic entity, and his thoughts on race in La raza cósmica (The Cosmic Race), where he argued for the merging of all races.

The "Preeminent Master" of philosophy in the Islamic world, Ibn Sina is believed to have written over 150 philosophical texts, with a special focus on logic, metaphysics, and ethics.