List of philosophers born in the eighteenth century
Encyclopedia
Philosophers born in the 18th century (and others important in the history of philosophy), listed alphabetically:
See also:
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- Note: This list has a minimal criteria for inclusion and the relevance to philosophy of some individuals on the list is disputed.
See also:
- List of philosophers
- List of philosophers born in the centuries BC
- List of philosophers born in the 1st through 10th centuries
- List of philosophers born in the 11th through 14th centuries
- List of philosophers born in the 15th and 16th centuries
- List of philosophers born in the 17th century
- List of philosophers born in the 18th century
- List of philosophers born in the 19th century
- List of philosophers born in the 20th century
A
- Jacob Friedrich von AbelJacob Friedrich von AbelJacob Friedrich von Abel was a German philosopher. His main interest was the human soul and in trying to find a proof for its immortality....
, (1751–1829) - John AbercrombieJohn Abercrombie (physician)John Abercrombie FRSE FRCSE FRCPE was a Scottish physician and philosopher. The Chambers Biographical Dictionary says of him that after Dr James Gregory's death, he was "recognized as the first consulting physician in Scotland".The son of the Reverend George Abercrombie, the minister of East...
, (1780–1844) - Johann Heinrich AbichtJohann Heinrich AbichtJohann Heinrich Abicht was a German philosopher.Johann's grandfather was teacher and organist in Wilmersdorf, Gehren, and his father a teacher in Volkstedt. Johann Abicht himself finished the college in Rudolstadt and visited the university of Erlangen in 1781...
, (1762–1816) - John AdamsJohn AdamsJohn Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
, (1735-1826) - Francesco AlgarottiFrancesco AlgarottiCount Francesco Algarotti was an Italian philosopher and art critic.He also completed engravings.He was born in Venice to a rich merchant. He studied at Rome for a year, and then Bologna, he studied natural sciences and mathematics...
, (1712–1764) - Archibald AlisonArchibald Alison (Scottish author)Archibald Alison FRS FRSE was a Scottish episcopalian priest and essayist.-Early life:He was born at Edinburgh on 13 November, 1757, to Patrick Alison, the provost of the Diocese of Edinburgh, himself a younger son of an Alison of Newhall, near Coupar Angus.After studying at the University of...
, (1757–1839) - John AllenJohn Allen (historian)John Allen M.D. was a prominent eighteenth and nineteenth century political and historical writer, and Master of the College of God's Gift in Dulwich .-Early life:...
(1771-1843) - Anton Wilhelm AmoAnton Wilhelm AmoAnton Wilhelm Amo or Anthony William Amo was born in what is now Ghana, taken to Europe, and became a respected philosopher and teacher at the universities of Halle and Jena in Germany. He was the first African known to have attended a European university.-Early life and education:Amo was a Nzema...
, (1703-c. 1759) - Thomas ArnoldThomas ArnoldDr Thomas Arnold was a British educator and historian. Arnold was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement...
(1795-1842) - Robert AsplandRobert AsplandRobert Aspland was an English Unitarian minister, editor and activist. To be distinguished from his son Robert Brook Aspland .-Life:...
(1782-1845) - Georg Anton Friedrich AstGeorg Anton Friedrich AstGeorg Anton Friedrich Ast was a German philosopher and philologist.He was born at Gotha. Educated there and at the University of Jena, he became a privatdozent at Jena in 1802. In 1805 he became professor of classical literature in the University of Landshut, where he remained until 1826, when it...
, (1778–1841) - John Austin, (1790–1859)
- Pierre Hyacinthe AzaisPierre Hyacinthe AzaisPierre Hyacinthe Azais was a French philosopher.He was born at Soreze and died at Paris. He spent his early years as a teacher and a village organist. At the outbreak of the French Revolution he viewed it with favor, but was soon disgusted at the violence of its methods...
, (1766–1845)
B
- Franz Xaver von BaaderFranz Xaver von BaaderFranz Xaver von Baader was a German Roman Catholic philosopher and theologian.-Life:He was born in Munich, the third son of F. P. Baader, court physician to the Prince-elector of Bavaria. His brothers were both distinguished — the elder, Clemens, as an author; the second, Joseph , as an...
, (1765–1841) - Charles BabbageCharles BabbageCharles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...
, (1791–1871) - Samuel BaileySamuel BaileySamuel Bailey was a British philosopher and writer. He was called the "Bentham of Hallamshire".-Life:Samuel Bailey was born at Sheffield on 5 July 1791, the son of Joseph Bailey and Mary Eadon. His father was among the first of those Sheffield merchants who went to the United States to establish...
, (1791-1870) - Pierre-Simon BallanchePierre-Simon BallanchePierre-Simon Ballanche was a French writer and counterrevolutionary philosopher, who elaborated a theology of progress that possessed considerable influence in French literary circles in the beginning of the nineteenth century...
, (1776–1847) - John BallantyneJohn Ballantyne (divine)John Ballantyne , was a Scottish divine.-Life:Ballantyne was born in the parish of Kinghorn 8 May 1778; entered the University of Edinburgh in 1795, and joined the Burgher branch of the Secession Church, though his parents belonged to the establishment...
, (1778-1830) - Christoph Gottfried BardiliChristoph Gottfried BardiliChristoph Gottfried Bardili was a German philosopher and cousin of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling. He was critical of Kantian idealism and proposed his own system of philosophy known as logical realism.-Life:...
, (1761–1808) - Alexander Gottlieb BaumgartenAlexander Gottlieb BaumgartenAlexander Gottlieb Baumgarten was a German philosopher.-Biography:Baumgarten was born in Berlin as the fifth of seven sons of the pietist pastor of the garrison, Jacob Baumgarten and his wife Rosina Elisabeth....
, (1714–1762) - James BeattieJames Beattie (writer)Professor James Beattie FRSE was a Scottish poet, moralist and philosopher.He was born the son of a shopkeeper and small farmer at Laurencekirk in the Mearns, and educated at Aberdeen University. In 1760, he was appointed Professor of moral philosophy there as a result of the interest of his...
, (1735–1803) - Cesare, Marquis of BeccariaCesare, Marquis of BeccariaCesare, Marquis of Beccaria-Bonesana was an Italian jurist, philosopher and politician best known for his treatise On Crimes and Punishments , which condemned torture and the death penalty, and was a founding work in the field of penology.-Birth and education:Beccaria was born in Milan on March...
, (1738–1794) - Jacob Sigismund Beck, (1761–1840)
- Charles BellCharles BellSir Charles Bell was a Scottish surgeon, anatomist, neurologist and philosophical theologian.His three older brothers included John Bell , also a noted surgeon and writer; and the advocate George Joseph Bell .-Life:...
, (1774-1842) - Thomas BelshamThomas BelshamThomas Belsham was an English Unitarian minister- Life :Belsham was born in Bedford, England, and was the elder brother of William Belsham, the English political writer and historian. He was educated at the dissenting academy at Daventry, where for seven years he acted as assistant tutor...
, (1750-1829) - William BelshamWilliam BelshamWilliam Belsham was an English political writer and historian, noted as a supporter of the Whig Party and its principles. In 1789 he coined the term libertarian in a discussion of free will and in opposition to "necessitarian" views...
, (1752-1829) - Friedrich Eduard BenekeFriedrich Eduard BenekeFriedrich Eduard Beneke was a German psychologist.- Early life :Beneke was born in Berlin. He studied at the universities of Halle and Berlin, and served as a volunteer in the War of 1815...
, (1798–1854) - Jeremy BenthamJeremy BenthamJeremy Bentham was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism...
, (1748–1832) - William BlackstoneWilliam BlackstoneSir William Blackstone KC SL was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century. He is most noted for writing the Commentaries on the Laws of England. Born into a middle class family in London, Blackstone was educated at Charterhouse School before matriculating at Pembroke...
, (1723–1780) - Hugh BlairHugh BlairHugh Blair FRSE was a Scottish minister of religion, author and rhetorician, considered one of the first great theorists of written discourse....
, (1718–1800) - William BlakeWilliam BlakeWilliam Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
, (1757-1827) - Robert Blakey, (1795-1878)
- Bernard BolzanoBernard BolzanoBernhard Placidus Johann Nepomuk Bolzano , Bernard Bolzano in English, was a Bohemian mathematician, logician, philosopher, theologian, Catholic priest and antimilitarist of German mother tongue.-Family:Bolzano was the son of two pious Catholics...
, (1781–1848)* - Louis Gabriel Ambroise de BonaldLouis Gabriel Ambroise de BonaldLouis Gabriel Ambroise, Vicomte de Bonald , was a French counter-revolutionary philosopher and politician.-Life:...
, (1754–1840) - Charles BonnetCharles BonnetCharles Bonnet , Swiss naturalist and philosophical writer, was born at Geneva, of a French family driven into Switzerland by the religious persecution in the 16th century.-Life and work:Bonnet's life was uneventful...
, (1720–1793) - Rudjer Boscovich, (1711–1787)
- David BrewsterDavid BrewsterSir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA FSSA MICE was a Scottish physicist, mathematician, astronomer, inventor, writer and university principal.-Early life:...
,(1781-1868) - Jean Anthelme Brillat-SavarinJean Anthelme Brillat-SavarinJean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin was a French lawyer and politician, and gained fame as an epicure and gastronome: "Grimod and Brillat-Savarin...
, (1755–1826) - Benjamin Collins Brodie, (1783-1862)
- Henry BroughamHenry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and VauxHenry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux was a British statesman who became Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.As a young lawyer in Scotland Brougham helped to found the Edinburgh Review in 1802 and contributed many articles to it. He went to London, and was called to the English bar in...
, (1778-1868) - Thomas BrownThomas Brown (philosopher)Thomas Brown FRSE was a Scottish metaphysician.He was born at Kirkmabreck, Kirkcudbright, where his father Rev. Samuel Brown was parish clergyman. He was a wide reader and an eager student...
, (1778–1820) - Robert Buchanan, (1786-1873)
- Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de BuffonGeorges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de BuffonGeorges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopedic author.His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier...
, (1707–1788) - William Burdon, (1764-1818)
- Edmund BurkeEdmund BurkeEdmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
, (1729–1797) - Lawrence Butterworth, (1740-1828)
C
- Pierre Jean George CabanisPierre Jean George Cabanis-Further reading:- Further reading :----...
, (1757–1808) - George Campbell, (1719–1796)
- Thomas CarlyleThomas CarlyleThomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...
, (1795–1881) - Petr Iakovlevich Chaadev, (1794–1856)
- Heinrich Moritz ChalybäusHeinrich Moritz ChalybäusHeinrich Moritz Chalybäus was a German philosopher best known for his exegetical work on philosophy, such as his characterisation of Hegel's dialectic as positing a triad of thesis-antithesis-synthesis....
, (1796–1862) - Chang Hsueh-ch'engChang Hsüeh-ch'engChang Hsüeh-ch'eng was a Chinese scholar and historian of China's coastal province of Chekiang. His father and his grandfather had been government officials, but, although Chang achieved the highest civil service examination degree in 1778, he never held high office.Chang Hsüeh-ch'eng’s ideas...
(or Zhang Xuecheng), (1738–1801) - Tasan Chông Yagyong, (1762–1836)
- Samuel Taylor ColeridgeSamuel Taylor ColeridgeSamuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
, (1772–1834) - Auguste ComteAuguste ComteIsidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism...
, (1798–1857) - Étienne Bonnot de CondillacÉtienne Bonnot de CondillacÉtienne Bonnot de Condillac was a French philosopher and epistemologist who studied in such areas as psychology and the philosophy of the mind.-Biography:...
, (1715–1780) - Marquis de CondorcetMarquis de CondorcetMarie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet , known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher, mathematician, and early political scientist whose Condorcet method in voting tally selects the candidate who would beat each of the other candidates in a run-off election...
, (1743–1794) - Benjamin ConstantBenjamin ConstantHenri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque was a Swiss-born French nobleman, thinker, writer and politician.-Biography:...
, (1767–1830) - Victor CousinVictor CousinVictor Cousin was a French philosopher. He was a proponent of Scottish Common Sense Realism and had an important influence on French educational policy.-Early life:...
, (1792–1867) - Johann Ulrich von CramerJohann Ulrich von CramerJohann Ulrich von Cramer was an eminent German judge, legal scholar, and Enlightenment philosopher.Cramer was the most important representative of Wolffianism in the area of law; he was first a university professor at the University of Marburg and then one of the highest judges of the Holy Roman...
, (1706–1772) - Christian August CrusiusChristian August CrusiusChristian August Crusius was a German philosopher and Protestant theologian.-Biography:Crusius was born at Leuna in the Electorate of Saxony...
, (1715–1775)
D
- Jean le Rond d'AlembertJean le Rond d'AlembertJean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. He was also co-editor with Denis Diderot of the Encyclopédie...
, (1717–1783) - Joseph de MaistreJoseph de MaistreJoseph-Marie, comte de Maistre was a French-speaking Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, and diplomat. He defended hierarchical societies and a monarchical State in the period immediately following the French Revolution...
, (1753–1821) - Emerich de VattelEmerich de VattelEmer de Vattel was a Swiss philosopher, diplomat, and legal expert whose theories laid the foundation of modern international law and political philosophy. He was born in Couvet in Neuchatel, Switzerland in 1714 and died in 1767 of edema...
, (1714–1767) - Denis DiderotDenis DiderotDenis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder and chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie....
, (1713–1784) - Émilie du ChâteletÉmilie du Châtelet-Early life:Du Châtelet was born on 17 December 1706 in Paris, the only daughter of six children. Three brothers lived to adulthood: René-Alexandre , Charles-Auguste , and Elisabeth-Théodore . Her eldest brother, René-Alexandre, died in 1720, and the next brother, Charles-Auguste, died in 1731...
, (1706–1749)
E
- Johann Augustus EberhardJohann Augustus EberhardJohann Augustus Eberhard was a German theologian and "popular philosopher".-Life and career:Eberhard was born at Halberstadt in the Principality of Halberstadt, where his father was a school-teacher and the singing-master at the church of St. Martin's...
, (1739–1809) - Jonathan Edwards, (1703–1758)
F
- Adam FergusonAdam FergusonAdam Ferguson FRSE, also known as Ferguson of Raith was a Scottish philosopher, social scientist and historian of the Scottish Enlightenment...
, (1723–1816) - Johann Gottlieb Fichte, (1762–1814)
- Immanuel Hermann FichteImmanuel Hermann FichteImmanuel Hermann von Fichte was a German philosopher and son of Johann Gottlieb Fichte. In his philosophy, he was a theist and strongly opposed to the Hegelian School.-Life:...
, (1797–1879) - David FordyceDavid FordyceDavid Fordyce was a Scottish philosopher, a contributor to the Scottish Enlightenment.Fordyce was educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen . He entered the ministry and returned to Marischal as regent in 1742, teaching Moral Philosophy there until 1751, when he died by drowning at sea...
, (1711–1751) - Charles FourierCharles FourierFrançois Marie Charles Fourier was a French philosopher. An influential thinker, some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical in his lifetime, have become main currents in modern society...
, (1772–1837) - Benjamin FranklinBenjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, (1706–1790) - Jakob Friedrich FriesJakob Friedrich FriesJakob Friedrich Fries was a German philosopher from Barby .-Life and career:...
, (1773–1843)
G
- Alexander GerardAlexander GerardAlexander Gerard , philosophical writer, son of Rev. Gilbert Gerard, was educated at Aberdeen, where he became Professor, first of Natural Philosophy at Marischal College in 1750, and afterwards between 1760–1771 of Divinity, taking up the post of Professor of Divinity at King's College in 1771. As...
, (1728–1795) - Giacinto Sigismondo Gerdil, (1718–1802)
- Thomas GisbourneThomas GisbourneThomas Gisborne was an Anglican divine, priest and poet. He was a member of the Clapham Sect, who fought for the abolition of the slave trade in England.-Life:...
, (1758–1846) - William GodwinWilliam GodwinWilliam Godwin was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism, and the first modern proponent of anarchism...
, (1756–1836) - Johann Wolfgang von GoetheJohann Wolfgang von GoetheJohann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
, (1749–1832) - George GroteGeorge GroteGeorge Grote was an English classical historian, best known in the field for a major work, the voluminous History of Greece, still read.-Early life:He was born at Clay Hill near Beckenham in Kent...
, (1794–1871)
H
- Johann Georg HamannJohann Georg HamannJohann Georg Hamann was a noted German philosopher, a main proponent of the Sturm und Drang movement, and associated by historian of ideas Isaiah Berlin with the Counter-Enlightenment.-Biography:...
, (1730–1788) - Sir William HamiltonSir William Hamilton, 9th BaronetSir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet was a Scottish metaphysician.-Early life:He was born in Glasgow. He was from an academic family, including Robert Hamilton, the economist...
, (1788–1856) - Renn Dickson HampdenRenn Dickson HampdenRenn Dickson Hampden , was an English Anglican clergyman whose selection as Bishop of Hereford formed a minor cause celebre in Victorian religious controversies.-Biography:...
, (1793-1868) - David HartleyDavid Hartley (philosopher)David Hartley was an English philosopher and founder of the Associationist school of psychology. -Early life and education:...
, (1705–1757) - Julius Charles HareJulius Charles HareJulius Charles Hare was an English theological writer.He was born at Valdagno, near Vicenza, in Italy. He came to England with his parents in 1799, but in 1804-1805 spent a winter with them at Weimar, Germany, where he met Goethe and Schiller, and took an interest in German literature which...
, (1795-1855) - Graves Chamney Haughton, (1788-1849)
- Laetitia Matilda HawkinsLaetitia Matilda HawkinsLaetitia Matilda Hawkins was an English novelist, associated with Twickenham. She is also a character in Beryl Bainbridge's novel According to Queeney....
, (1759-1851) - David Ramsay HayDavid Ramsay HayDavid Ramsay Hay , Scottish decorator and colour theorist.David Ramsay Hay was the son of a published poet and friend of Robert Burns, Rebekah Carmichael. After her husband died, David was educated at the expense of an uncle, then apprenticed as a painter with the house-painters Gavin Beugo &...
, (1798-1866) - Mary HaysMary HaysMary Hays was an English novelist and feminist.- Early years :Mary Hays was born in Southwark, London on Oct. 13, 1759. Almost nothing is known of her first 17 years. In 1779 she fell in love with John Eccles who lived on Gainsford Street, where she also lived. Their parents opposed the match but...
, (1760-1843) - Francis HaywoodFrancis HaywoodFrancis Haywood was a Liverpool merchant and translator, the first person to translate Kant's Critique of Pure Reason into English.Born in Liverpool, Haywood lived there for most of his life...
, (1798-1858) - William HazlittWilliam HazlittWilliam Hazlitt was an English writer, remembered for his humanistic essays and literary criticism, and as a grammarian and philosopher. He is now considered one of the great critics and essayists of the English language, placed in the company of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. Yet his work is...
, (1778-1830) - G.W.F. HegelGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich HegelGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, one of the creators of German Idealism. His historicist and idealist account of reality as a whole revolutionized European philosophy and was an important precursor to Continental philosophy and Marxism.Hegel developed a comprehensive...
, (1770–1831) - Claude Adrien HelvétiusClaude Adrien HelvétiusClaude Adrien Helvétius was a French philosopher and littérateur.-Life:...
, (1715–1771) - Johann Friedrich HerbartJohann Friedrich HerbartJohann Friedrich Herbart was a German philosopher, psychologist, and founder of pedagogy as an academic discipline....
, (1776–1841) - Johann Gottfried HerderJohann Gottfried HerderJohann Gottfried von Herder was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the periods of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, and Weimar Classicism.-Biography:...
, (1744–1803) - John HerschelJohn HerschelSir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet KH, FRS ,was an English mathematician, astronomer, chemist, and experimental photographer/inventor, who in some years also did valuable botanical work...
, (1792-1871) - Samuel HeywoodSamuel HeywoodSamuel Heywood may refer to:*Samuel Heywood , Chief Justice of Wales*Samuel Heywood , early resident and President of the Town Board of Trustees of Berkeley, California...
, (1753-1828) - Laurens Perseus HickokLaurens Perseus HickokLaurens Perseus Hickok , American philosopher and divine, was born at Bethel, Connecticut.He took his degree at Union College in 1820...
, (1798–1888) - Hermann Friedrich Wilhelm HinrichsHermann Friedrich Wilhelm HinrichsHermann Friedrich Wilhelm Hinrichs was a German philosopher.He studied theology at Strassburg, and philosophy at Heidelberg under Hegel, who wrote a preface to his Religion im innern Verhältniss zur Wissenschaft ....
, (1794–1861) - Thomas HodgskinThomas HodgskinThomas Hodgskin was an Englishsocialist writer on political economy, critic of capitalism, free-market anarchist and defender of free trade and early trade unions...
, (1787-1869) - Josef Hoëné-Wronski, (1778–1853)
- Baron d'HolbachBaron d'HolbachPaul-Henri Thiry, Baron d'Holbach was a French-German author, philosopher, encyclopedist and a prominent figure in the French Enlightenment. He was born Paul Heinrich Dietrich in Edesheim, near Landau in the Rhenish Palatinate, but lived and worked mainly in Paris, where he kept a salon...
, (1723–1789) - Friedrich HölderlinFriedrich HölderlinJohann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin was a major German lyric poet, commonly associated with the artistic movement known as Romanticism. Hölderlin was also an important thinker in the development of German Idealism, particularly his early association with and philosophical influence on his...
, (1770–1843) - John HoppusJohn HoppusRev. John Hoppus LL.D., PH.D., F.R.S. , English Congregational minister, author, Fellow of the Royal Society, abolitionist and educational reformer, was appointed the first Chair of Logic and Philosophy of Mind at the newly formed London University , a position he secured and held against his...
, (1789-1875) - Wilhelm von HumboldtWilhelm von HumboldtFriedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt was a German philosopher, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of Humboldt Universität. He is especially remembered as a linguist who made important contributions to the philosophy of language and to the theory and practice...
, (1767–1835)* - David HumeDavid HumeDavid Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment...
, (1711–1776)
J
- Friedrich Heinrich JacobiFriedrich Heinrich JacobiFriedrich Heinrich Jacobi was an influential German philosopher, literary figure, socialite and the younger brother of poet Johann Georg Jacobi...
, (1743–1819) - Thomas JeffersonThomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, (1743–1826) - Alexander Bryan JohnsonAlexander Bryan JohnsonAlexander Bryan Johnson was an American philosopher and banker.-Biography:Born in Gosport, Hampshire, England, at age 16 he emigrated to the United States, and settled at Utica, where he was a banker for many years...
, (1786–1867) - Dr. Samuel JohnsonSamuel JohnsonSamuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
, (1709–1784) - Théodore Simon JouffroyThéodore Simon JouffroyThéodore Simon Jouffroy was a French philosopher.He was born at Les Pontets, Franche-Comté, département of Doubs. In his tenth year, his father, a tax-gatherer, sent him to an uncle at Pontarlier, under whom he began his classical studies...
, (1796–1842)
K
- Immanuel KantImmanuel KantImmanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
, (1724–1804)* - Heinrich von KleistHeinrich von KleistBernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist was a poet, dramatist, novelist and short story writer. The Kleist Prize, a prestigious prize for German literature, is named after him.- Life :...
, (1777–1811) - Richard Payne KnightRichard Payne KnightRichard Payne Knight was a classical scholar and connoisseur best known for his theories of picturesque beauty and for his interest in ancient phallic imagery.-Biography:...
, (1750–1824) - Martin KnutzenMartin KnutzenMartin Knutzen was a German philosopher, a disciple of Alexander Baumgarten and teacher of Immanuel Kant, to whom he introduced the physics of Newton....
, (1713–1751) - Hugo Kołłątaj, (1750–1812)
- Karl Christian Friedrich KrauseKarl Christian Friedrich KrauseKarl Christian Friedrich Krause was a German philosopher, born at Eisenberg, Thuringia.-Education and Life:...
, (1781–1832) - Nachman KrochmalNachman KrochmalNachman Kohen Krochmal was a Jewish Galician philosopher, theologian, and historian.-Biography:...
, (1785–1840) - Wilhelm Traugott KrugWilhelm Traugott KrugWilhelm Traugott Krug was a German philosopher and writer.-Life:He was born at Radis in Saxony, and died at Leipzig...
, (1770–1842)
L
- Julien Offray de La MettrieJulien Offray de La MettrieJulien Offray de La Mettrie was a French physician and philosopher, and one of the earliest of the French materialists of the Enlightenment...
, (1709–1751) - Jean-Baptiste LamarckJean-Baptiste LamarckJean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de la Marck , often known simply as Lamarck, was a French naturalist...
, (1744–1829) - Johann Heinrich LambertJohann Heinrich LambertJohann Heinrich Lambert was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, philosopher and astronomer.Asteroid 187 Lamberta was named in his honour.-Biography:...
, (1728–1777) - Lamennais, (1752–1854)
- Pierre-Simon LaplacePierre-Simon LaplacePierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace was a French mathematician and astronomer whose work was pivotal to the development of mathematical astronomy and statistics. He summarized and extended the work of his predecessors in his five volume Mécanique Céleste...
, (1749–1827) - Pierre LaromiguièrePierre LaromiguièrePierre Laromiguière was a French philosopher.He was born at Livignac, and died in Paris. As professor of philosophy at the University of Toulouse, he was unsuccessful and incurred the displeasure of the French parliament by his thesis on the rights of property in connection with taxation...
, (1756–1837) - Pierre LerouxPierre LerouxPierre Henri Leroux , French philosopher and political economist, was born at Bercy, now a part of Paris, the son of an artisan.- Life :...
, (1798–1871) - Gotthold Ephraim LessingGotthold Ephraim LessingGotthold Ephraim Lessing was a German writer, philosopher, dramatist, publicist, and art critic, and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of German literature...
, (1729–1781) - Georg Christoph LichtenbergGeorg Christoph LichtenbergGeorg Christoph Lichtenberg was a German scientist, satirist and Anglophile. As a scientist, he was the first to hold a professorship explicitly dedicated to experimental physics in Germany...
, (1742–1799) - Carolus LinnaeusCarolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, (1707–1778)
M
- Gabriel Bonnot de MablyGabriel Bonnot de MablyGabriel Bonnot de Mably , sometimes known as Abbé de Mably, was a French philosopher and politician. He was born in Grenoble of a legal family, and, like his younger brother, the well-known philosopher, Étienne Bonnot de Condillac , took holy orders...
, (1709–1785) - Salomon MaimonSalomon MaimonSalomon ben Josua Maimon was a German philosopher born of Jewish parentage in Belarus.-Early years:...
(or Salomon ben Joshua), (1753–1800) - Maine de BiranMaine de BiranFrançois-Pierre-Gonthier Maine de Biran , usually known simply as Maine de Biran, was a French philosopher.- Life :...
, (1766–1824) - Moses MendelssohnMoses MendelssohnMoses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah is indebted...
, (1729–1786) - James MillJames MillJames Mill was a Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher. He was a founder of classical economics, together with David Ricardo, and the father of influential philosopher of classical liberalism, John Stuart Mill.-Life:Mill was born at Northwater Bridge, in the parish of...
, (1773–1836) - John Millar, (1735–1801)
- Lord MonboddoJames Burnett, Lord MonboddoJames Burnett, Lord Monboddo was a Scottish judge, scholar of linguistic evolution, philosopher and deist. He is most famous today as a founder of modern comparative historical linguistics . In 1767 he became a judge in the Court of Session. As such, Burnett adopted an honorary title based on his...
(or James Burnett), (1714–1799) - Motoori NorinagaMotoori Norinagawas a Japanese scholar of Kokugaku active during the Edo period. He is probably the best known and most prominent of all scholars in this tradition.-Life:...
, (1730–1801)
O
- Lorenz OkenLorenz OkenLorenz Oken was a German naturalist.Oken was born Lorenz Okenfuss in Bohlsbach in Baden and studied natural history and medicine at the universities of Freiburg and Würzburg. He went on to the University of Göttingen, where he became a Privatdozent , and shortened his name to Oken...
, (1779–1851) - James Oswald, (1703–1793)
- Thomas PaineThomas PaineThomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
, (1737–1809) - William PaleyWilliam PaleyWilliam Paley was a British Christian apologist, philosopher, and utilitarian. He is best known for his exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his work Natural Theology, which made use of the watchmaker analogy .-Life:Paley was Born in Peterborough, England, and was...
, (1743–1805) - Thomas PercivalThomas PercivalThomas Percival FRS FRSE FSA was an English physician and author, best known for crafting perhaps the first modern code of medical ethics...
, (1740–1804) - Issac de Pinto, (1715–1787)
- Richard PriceRichard PriceRichard Price was a British moral philosopher and preacher in the tradition of English Dissenters, and a political pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the American Revolution. He fostered connections between a large number of people, including writers of the...
, (1723–1791) - Joseph PriestleyJoseph PriestleyJoseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
, (1733–1804)
R
- Daniel RaymondDaniel RaymondDaniel Raymond was the first important political economist to appear in the United States.He authored Thoughts on Political Economy and The Elements of Political Economy .- Economic theory :...
, (1786–1849) - August Wilhelm Rehberg, (fl. late 18th century)*
- Thomas ReidThomas ReidThe Reverend Thomas Reid FRSE , was a religiously trained Scottish philosopher, and a contemporary of David Hume, was the founder of the Scottish School of Common Sense, and played an integral role in the Scottish Enlightenment...
, (1710–1796) - Karl Leonhard ReinholdKarl Leonhard ReinholdKarl Leonhard Reinhold was an Austrian philosopher. He was the father of Ernst Reinhold, also a philosopher.-Life:...
, (1757–1823) - David RicardoDavid RicardoDavid Ricardo was an English political economist, often credited with systematising economics, and was one of the most influential of the classical economists, along with Thomas Malthus, Adam Smith, and John Stuart Mill. He was also a member of Parliament, businessman, financier and speculator,...
, (1772–1823) - Antonio Rosmini-SerbatiAntonio Rosmini-SerbatiBlessed Antonio Rosmini-Serbati was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and philosopher. He founded the Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity or Societas a charitate nuncupata.-Biography:...
, (1797–1855) - Jean Jacques Rousseau, (1712–1778)
- Claude Henri de Rouvroy, Comte de Saint-SimonClaude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-SimonClaude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, often referred to as Henri de Saint-Simon was a French early socialist theorist whose thought influenced the foundations of various 19th century philosophies; perhaps most notably Marxism, positivism and the discipline of sociology...
, (1760–1825) - Pierre Paul Royer-CollardPierre Paul Royer-CollardPierre Paul Royer-Collard , was a French statesman and philosopher, leader of the Doctrinaires group during the Bourbon Restoration .-Biography:...
, (1763–1845)
S
- Mulla Hadi SabzevariMulla Hadi SabzevariMolla Hadi Sabzavari or Hajj Molla Hadi Sabzavari was a famous Iranian Shi'ite Muslim philosopher, mystic, theologian and poet.-Life:...
, (1797–1873) - Marquis de SadeMarquis de SadeDonatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...
, (1740–1814) - Claude Henri de Rouvroy, Comte de Saint-SimonClaude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-SimonClaude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, often referred to as Henri de Saint-Simon was a French early socialist theorist whose thought influenced the foundations of various 19th century philosophies; perhaps most notably Marxism, positivism and the discipline of sociology...
, (1760–1825) - Friedrich Karl von Savigny, (1779–1861)
- Friedrich Schelling, (1775–1852)
- Friedrich SchillerFriedrich SchillerJohann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
, (1759–1805) - Friedrich von Schlegel, (1772–1829)*
- Friedrich Schleiermacher, (1768–1834)
- Arthur SchopenhauerArthur SchopenhauerArthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher known for his pessimism and philosophical clarity. At age 25, he published his doctoral dissertation, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, which examined the four separate manifestations of reason in the phenomenal...
, (1788–1860) - Gottlob Ernst SchulzeGottlob Ernst SchulzeGottlob Ernst Schulze was born in Heldrungen . Schulze was a professor at Wittenberg, Helmstedt, and Göttingen...
, (1761–1833) - Shah Wali Allah (or Qutb al-Din Ahmad al-Rahim or Waliullah), (1703–1762)
- Lady Mary Shepherd, (1777–1847)
- Heinrich Christoph Wilhelm Sigwart, (1789–1844)
- Hryhori SkovorodaHryhori SkovorodaHryhorii Savych Skovoroda was a Ukrainian philosopher, poet, teacher and composer who lived in the Russian Empire and who made important contributions to Russian philosophy and culture. He lived and worked in Ukraine and passionately and consciously identified with its people, differentiating them...
, (1722–1794) - Adam SmithAdam SmithAdam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
, (1723–1790) - Jan SniadeckiJan SniadeckiJan Śniadecki was a Polish mathematician, philosopher and astronomer at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.-Life:Born in Żnin, Śniadecki studied at Kraków University and in Paris...
, (1756–1830) - Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand SolgerKarl Wilhelm Ferdinand SolgerKarl Wilhelm Ferdinand Solger was a German philosopher and academic. He is known as a theorist of Romanticism, and of irony.-Biography:...
, (1780–1890) - Anne Louise Germaine de StaëlAnne Louise Germaine de StaëlAnne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein , commonly known as Madame de Staël, was a French-speaking Swiss author living in Paris and abroad. She influenced literary tastes in Europe at the turn of the 19th century.- Childhood :...
, (1766–1817) - Stanislaw StaszicStanislaw StaszicStanisław Wawrzyniec Staszic was a Polish priest, philosopher, statesman, geologist, scholar, poet and writer, a leader of the Polish Enlightenment, famous for works related to the "Great" or "Four-Year Sejm" and its Constitution of May 3, 1791.-Life:Staszic was born into a burgher family in the...
, (1755–1826) - Dugald StewartDugald StewartDugald Stewart was a Scottish Enlightenment philosopher and mathematician. His father, Matthew Stewart , was professor of mathematics in the University of Edinburgh .-Life and works:...
, (1753–1828)
T
- Tai Chen (or Dai Zhen or Tai Tung-Yuan), (1724–1777)
- Johannes Nikolaus TetensJohannes Nikolaus TetensJohannes Nikolaus Tetens was a German philosopher, statistician and scientist.He has been called 'the German Hume', on the basis of a comparison of his major work Philosophische Versuche über die menschliche Natur und ihre Entwickelung with David Hume's A Treatise of Human Nature...
, (1736–1807) - William Thompson, (1775–1833)
- Tominaga Nakamoto, (1715–1746)
- Abraham TuckerAbraham TuckerAbraham Tucker was an English country gentleman, who devoted himself to the study of philosophy. He wrote The Light of Nature Pursued under the name of Edward Search.-Biography:...
, (1705–1774)
V
- Emerich de VattelEmerich de VattelEmer de Vattel was a Swiss philosopher, diplomat, and legal expert whose theories laid the foundation of modern international law and political philosophy. He was born in Couvet in Neuchatel, Switzerland in 1714 and died in 1767 of edema...
, (1714–1767) - VauvenarguesLuc de Clapiers, marquis de VauvenarguesLuc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues was a minor French writer, a moralist. He died at age 31, in broken health, having published the year prior—anonymously—a collection of essays and aphorisms with the encouragement of Voltaire, his friend. He first received public notice under his own name...
, (1715–1747)
W
- William WhewellWilliam WhewellWilliam Whewell was an English polymath, scientist, Anglican priest, philosopher, theologian, and historian of science. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.-Life and career:Whewell was born in Lancaster...
, (1794–1866) - John WitherspoonJohn WitherspoonJohn Witherspoon was a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Jersey. As president of the College of New Jersey , he trained many leaders of the early nation and was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration...
, (1723–1794) - Mary WollstonecraftMary WollstonecraftMary Wollstonecraft was an eighteenth-century British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book...
, (1759–1797)