The most significant schools of philosophy -

A list of some of the most influential philosophers throughout history. Click to know them.

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Platonism -

One of the world's best known and most widely read and studied philosophers, Plato (c. 427–348 BCE) is regarded as the first of the central figures of ancient philosophy.

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Platonism -

Plato was the founder of the Platonic Academy in Athens, where he taught the doctrines that would later become known as Platonism. These doctrines affirmed the nature of reality, the ideal entities being beauty, justice, equality, and evil. Plato called these Forms—eternal and unchanging realities.

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Aristotelianism -

Aristotle (384–322 BCE) was a student of Plato and is also considered one of the most influential philosophers in world history. And like Plato, he established a venerable seat of learning, the Lyceum in Athens. 

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Aristotelianism -

Aristotelianism is the philosophy of Aristotle, essentially the development of formal logic in spheres as wide as natural sciences, economics, politics, and psychology.

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Stoicism -

Named for the ancient Greek city-kingdom on the southern coast of Cyprus, Zeno of Citium (c. 334–c. 262 BCE) was the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy, which he taught in Athens.

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Stoicism -

Stoicism is a philosophy of personal ethics centered on the pursuit of self-mastery, perseverance, and wisdom. To be stoic is not to complain or show your feelings.

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Epicureanism -

The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (341–270 BCE) founded the Epicurean school in Athens.

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Epicureanism -

Epicureanism is a highly influential school of philosophy that extols the virtues of cultivating friendship as well as any activity that most elevates our spirits, such as music, literature, and art. In the modern sense of the word, an Epicurean is a person devoted to sensual enjoyment, especially that derived from fine food and drink.

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Taoism -

The ancient Chinese philosopher known as Lao Tzu (571–517 BCE) is the author of the Tao Te Ching, the foundational text of Taoism.

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Taoism -

Taoism is a philosophy that instructs believers on how to exist in harmony with the universe. It's also been characterized as a religion. Indeed, Taoist thought would later merge with Buddhism and the birth of Zen.

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Rationalism -

French philosopher and scientist René Descartes (1596–1650) is generally regarded as the founder of modern Western philosophy. He's also one of the key thinkers who argued for rationalism.

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Rationalism -

Rationalism is the philosophy that all knowledge is vested in human beings. In other words, reason, rather than feeling, custom, or authority, is the ultimate court of appeal in judging good and bad, and right and wrong.

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Utilitarianism -

English philosopher and political radical Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) is the individual most associated with the foundational era of the modern utilitarian tradition.

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Utilitarianism -

Utilitarianism is an ethical philosophy that asserts that right and wrong are best determined by focusing on outcomes of actions and choices.

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Positivism -

Auguste Comte (1798–1857) was a French philosopher, mathematician, and writer. He is known as the founder of positivism, a philosophical and political movement that marked a decisive shift in how knowledge was pursued and validated.

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Positivism -

By definition, positivism is a philosophical school which holds that every rationally justifiable assertion can be scientifically verified or is capable of logical or mathematical proof. It's a modern philosophy favored by scientists and technocrats.

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Existentialism -

Existentialism is well known for its critique of mass society. The person widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher is Danish theologian Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855).

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Existentialism -

Existentialism is a philosophy of human nature the doctrines of which dictate that we are each responsible for creating purpose or meaning in our own lives.

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Secular humanism -

George Holyoake (1817–1906) was an English secularist who coined the term secularism. Secularism means separation of religion from political, economic, social, and cultural aspects of life.

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Secular humanism -

As a philosophy, secular humanism can be defined as a comprehensive, nonreligious lifestance, an alternative to a religious worldview if you like.

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Marxism -

German-born philosopher and political theorist Karl Marx (1818–1883) is especially known for co-writing the 1848 pamphlet 'The Communist Manifesto' with Friedrich Engels.

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Marxism -

Marxism, a body of doctrine developed by Marx and, to a lesser extent, by Engels, serves as a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. Broadly speaking, it examines the impact of the ruling class on the working class, and how that leads to uneven distribution of wealth and privileges in society.

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Pragmatism -

Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914) was an American scientist, mathematician, and philosopher who is often described as the "father of pragmatism."

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Pragmatism -

As a philosophy, pragmatism can be defined as a way of dealing with problems or situations by focusing on practical approaches and solutions.

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Nihilism -

Among the historical figures associated with nihilism is German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900). Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev (1818–1883) referenced nihilism in his 1862 novel, 'Fathers and Sons.' But it was another German philosopher, Friedrich Jacobi (1743–1819), who first coined the term.

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Nihilism -

Nihilism is a philosophy that rejects values and the valuation society places on people, objects, and life. A nihilist believes that nothing in the world has a real existence and instead argues that everything is meaningless.

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Kyoto School -

Kitaro Nishida (1870–1945) was a Japanese moral philosopher who, after graduating from the University of Tokyo, founded the Kyoto School of philosophy.

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Kyoto School -

The school engaged with Zen, Shinto, and Western philosophies and used them to reformulate religious and moral insights unique to the East Asian philosophical tradition.

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Absurdism -

French philosopher and author Albert Camus (1913–1960) is the person whose views best contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as absurdism.

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Absurdism -

Absurdism is a philosophy based on the belief that the universe is irrational and pointless. Therefore, the efforts of humanity to find meaning in the cosmos will ultimately fail, and are quite absurd.

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Objectivism -

The philosophical system known as objectivism was named and developed by Russian-American author and philosopher Ayn Rand (1905–1982).

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Objectivism -

The core tenets of Rand's philosophy revolve around a rational individualism that promotes reason as the absolute source of knowledge. For example, everyone is born and dies; how they live may be subjective but their existence is an objective fact.

Sources: (Big Think) (ThoughtCo) (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) (National Secular Society) (Granta)  

See also: Inspiring quotes from 30 famous philosophers

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