Philosophy · Curated list
Aristotle, Confucius, Karl Marx and 37 more, ranked by how much of the world has written about each one.
Most written-about first. Each description summarises the philosopher's Wikipedia article, which its name links to.
1
Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath (384–322 BC)
A philosopher and polymath of ancient Greece whose writings range over philosophy, the natural sciences, psychology, politics, economics, linguistics and the arts.
Wikidata · Photo: After Lysippos, Public domain
2
Chinese philosopher (c. 551 – c. 479 BCE)
Born Kong Qiu, a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period, traditionally held up as the model of the Chinese sage. Much of the cultural heritage shared across the Sinosphere comes from his philosophy and teaching.
Wikidata · Photo: Anonymous Chinese painter of the Western Han period, Public domain
3
German philosopher and socialist (1818–1883)
A German revolutionary socialist, philosopher, and social and political theorist. He developed historical materialism, a theory analysing how society is structured and changes, above all through class struggle under capitalism, and predicting that communism would eventually replace that system.
Wikidata · Photo: John Jabez Edwin Mayall, Public domain
4
Ancient Greek philosopher (c. 428-347 BC)
A philosopher of ancient Greece, from Classical Athens, most often seen as the thinker on whom the Western philosophical tradition was founded. He pioneered the literary forms of dialogue and dialectic, influenced every major area of theoretical and practical philosophy, and founded the Academy, a school of philosophy in Athens where he taught the body of theories later called Platonism.
Wikidata · Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 2.5
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5
Founder of Buddhism
Siddhartha Gautama, usually called the Buddha, who founded Buddhism: a religious teacher who travelled from place to place in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains in the 6th or 5th century BCE. Buddhist legend says he was born to royal parents of the Shakya clan in Lumbini, in today's Nepal, and gave up life at home to wander as an ascetic.
Wikidata · Photo: พระมหาเทวประภาส วชิรญาณเมธี (ผู้ถ่าย-ปล่อยสัญญาอนุญาตภาพให้นำไปใช้ได้เพื่อการศึกษาโดยอยู่ภา่ยใต้ cc-by-sa-3.0)…, CC BY-SA 3.0
6
Ancient Greek philosopher (c. 470–399 BC)
A philosopher of ancient Greece, from Classical Athens, perhaps the first moral philosopher of the West, and a major inspiration for his student Plato, who did most to found Western philosophy. An enigmatic figure, he wrote nothing himself and is known mostly from what classical writers, above all his students Xenophon and Plato, wrote after his death.
Wikidata · Photo: Copy of Lysippos (?), Public domain
7
German philosopher (1844–1900)
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, a German writer and philosopher who began as a classical philologist and moved to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, he was made Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Basel.
Wikidata · Photo: Friedrich Hermann Hartmann, Public domain
8
German philosopher (1724–1804)
One of the Enlightenment's central thinkers, a philosopher from Germany, born at Königsberg when it belonged to the Kingdom of Prussia.
9
French philosopher and mathematician (1596–1650)
A French mathematician, scientist and philosopher whose work underpins both mathematics and modern philosophy. He joined geometry and algebra, until then separate, into analytic geometry, and set out a systematic method of inquiry that shaped early modern philosophy.
Wikidata · Photo: After Frans Hals, Public domain
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10
Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer (1712–1778)
A philosophe, writer and composer from Geneva. His political philosophy influenced the course of the Enlightenment across Europe, affected parts of the French Revolution, and helped form modern thinking on politics, economics and education.
Wikidata · Photo: Maurice Quentin de La Tour, Public domain
11
Scottish economist and philosopher (1723–1790)
A Scottish philosopher and economist who pioneered political economy and was a key figure of the Scottish Enlightenment. Called by many the "father of economics" or the "father of capitalism", he is known chiefly for two classic books: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, and The Theory of Moral Sentiments, from 1759.
Wikidata · Photo: Etching created by Cadell and Davies (1811), John Horsburgh (1828) or R.C. Bell (1872)., Public domain
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12
Ancient Chinese philosopher associated with Taoism
By tradition, the name of an ancient Chinese philosopher, also called Lao Dan or Li Er, regarded as the author, or the first teacher, of the Tao Te Ching, a founding text of Taoism. Tradition places him in the state of Chu in the 6th century BC, in China's Spring and Autumn period, says he kept the archives at the Zhou court, and remembers him as an older contemporary of Confucius.
13
Greek philosopher (c. 570 – c. 495 BC)
An Ionian Greek philosopher and polymath from Samos who founded Pythagoreanism, the school named after him. His political and religious teachings were widely known in Magna Graecia, and they shaped the thought of Plato and Aristotle and, through them, Western philosophy.
Wikidata · Photo: The original uploader was Galilea at German Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0
14
English philosopher and physician (1632–1704)
An English physician and philosopher, widely seen as one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment and often called the "father of liberalism". His major works include An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689/90), and A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689) and Two Treatises of Government (1689/90), the last two published anonymously.
Wikidata · Photo: Godfrey Kneller, Public domain
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15
German polymath (1646–1716)
A German polymath who worked as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is generally credited, together with Isaac Newton, with inventing calculus.
Wikidata · Photo: Christoph Bernhard Francke, Public domain
16
French philosopher and writer (1913–1960)
A French writer, philosopher and political activist. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957 at 44, the second-youngest winner ever, and was the first literature laureate born in Africa.
Wikidata · Photo: Photograph by United Press International, Public domain
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17
French philosopher (1905–1980)
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre, a French writer, political activist and philosopher, seen as a leading figure of 20th-century French philosophy and Marxism. He was central to existentialism as a philosophy and advocated Libertarian Marxism.
Wikidata · Photo: Moshe Milner, CC BY-SA 3.0
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18
German philosopher and socialist (1820–1895)
A German revolutionary socialist, philosopher, and social and political theorist. He is best known for working with Karl Marx throughout his life: in 1848 they wrote The Communist Manifesto together, and they built the system of political philosophy later known as Marxism.
Wikidata · Photo: William Hall (1826–ca. 1898) (cropped and sepia tone removed), Public domain
19
German philosopher (1770–1831)
A German philosopher and a major figure of German idealism. His influence on Western philosophy reaches across many subjects, from the metaphysical questions of ontology and epistemology to political philosophy and the philosophies of religion and art.
Wikidata · Photo: Jakob Schlesinger, Public domain
20
English philosopher and statesman (1561–1626)
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban, an English statesman and philosopher who was Lord Chancellor and Attorney General of England under King James I. He argued that natural philosophy, led by the scientific method, mattered, and his writings stayed influential throughout the Scientific Revolution.
Wikidata · Photo: Paul van Somer I / Formerly attributed to Frans Pourbus the Younger, Public domain
21
French philosopher, social theorist and activist (1908–1986)
Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir, a writer and existentialist philosopher from France, a social theorist and an activist for feminism. Although she did not see herself as a philosopher, and was not regarded as one when she died, she was a significant influence on feminist existentialism and on feminist theory alike.
Wikidata · Photo: Moshe Milner, CC BY-SA 3.0
22
English philosopher and logician (1872–1970)
An English logician, philosopher and social reformer whose full name and title were Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell. He helped found analytic philosophy, is counted among the 20th century's most influential philosophers, and wrote more than 70 books along with thousands of essays, articles, lectures and letters.
Wikidata · Photo: Bassano Ltd, Public domain
23
Portuguese-Dutch philosopher (1632–1677)
Also known by his Latinised pen name, Benedictus de Spinoza, a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish descent who was born in the Dutch Republic and lived there. He anticipated the Enlightenment, strongly influenced Dutch intellectual culture, 17th-century rationalism and modern biblical criticism, and stands out among early modern philosophers as one of the most radical and important.
24
German philosopher (1788–1860)
A German writer and philosopher, also called the “Philosopher of Pessimism”. He is known for The World as Will and Representation, of 1818, which describes the world of phenomena as the expression of a noumenal will that is blind and irrational.
Wikidata · Photo: Johann Schäfer, Public domain
25
Austrian philosopher and logician (1889–1951)
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein, an Austro-British philosopher who worked on the philosophies of language, mind and mathematics, and on logic.
Wikidata · Photo: Moritz Nähr, Public domain
26
Ancient Greek philosopher (c. 626 – c. 545 BC)
A Greek philosopher from before Socrates, from Miletus, in the Ionian region of Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages, held to be founding figures of Ancient Greece.
Wikidata · Photo: Wilhelm Meyer, Public domain
27
Greek philosopher and historian
A Greek, later a Roman, philosopher of Middle Platonism, who was also a historian, biographer and essayist, and a priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known mainly for the Parallel Lives, a series of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans, and for the Moralia, a collection of speeches and essays.
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28
English philosopher and political theorist (1588–1679)
An English political theorist and philosopher, best known for Leviathan, his 1651 book setting out an influential version of social contract theory. Modern political philosophy is considered to have begun partly with him.
Wikidata · Photo: John Michael Wright, Public domain
29
French jurist, historian, and political philosopher (1689–1755)
Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, usually called just Montesquieu: a French political philosopher, historian and jurist.
Wikidata · Photo: After Jacques-Antoine Dassier, Public domain
30
Scottish philosopher, historian, economist and essayist (1711–1776)
A Scottish essayist, economist, historian and philosopher known for a very influential system of empiricism, metaphysical naturalism and philosophical scepticism. Starting with A Treatise of Human Nature (1739–40), he tried to build a naturalistic science of man that studied the psychological roots of human nature.
Wikidata · Photo: Allan Ramsay, Public domain
31
Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman and dramatist (c. 4 BC–AD 65)
Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger, usually known just as Seneca: a Stoic philosopher, statesman and playwright of Ancient Rome, of the post-Augustan age of Latin literature, who also wrote satire in one work, the Apocolocyntosis.
32
American philosopher (1803–1882)
Known by his middle name, Waldo, an American poet, essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister and abolitionist who led the transcendentalist movement in the middle of the 19th century. He was seen as a champion of critical thinking and individualism, and as a far-sighted critic of society's opposing pressures towards conformity.
Wikidata · Photo: User:Scewing derivative work: 2009, Public domain
33
Greek philosopher (c. 460–c. 370 BC)
A pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Abdera, remembered today mainly for his atomic theory of the universe. He wrote at length on many subjects.
Wikidata · Photo: user:shakko, CC BY-SA 3.0
34
French philosopher and writer (1713–1784)
A French writer, art critic and philosopher, best known for co-founding the Encyclopédie with Jean le Rond d'Alembert, editing it as chief editor and writing for it. He was a prominent figure of the Age of Enlightenment.
Wikidata · Photo: Pierre-Michel Alix, Public domain
35
English politician and philosopher (1806–1873)
An English politician, political economist and philosopher. A model philosopher of liberalism, he has been called "the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century" by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Wikidata · Photo: London Stereoscopic Company, Public domain
36
Ancient Greek philosopher (341–270 BC)
An ancient Greek philosopher, founder of the school called Epicureanism. It teaches that a pleasant life and lasting happiness, the highest good, come from friendship, virtuous living, managing one's desires and getting rid of needless fears.
Wikidata · Photo: Unknown artist, Public domain
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37
German philosopher (1889–1976)
A German philosopher whose work was central to the rise of existentialism, hermeneutics and phenomenology. He has had a significant influence on later philosophy, the humanities, the social sciences and theology.
Wikidata · Photo: Willy Pragher, CC BY-SA 3.0
38
Ancient Greek philosopher (fl. c. 500 BC)
A pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Ephesus, a city then within the Persian Empire. He has a wide influence on Western philosophy, ancient and modern, through writers such as Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger.
Wikidata · Photo: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
39
English writer and philosopher (1894–1963)
Aldous Leonard Huxley, an English philosopher and writer whose nearly 50 books include poems, narratives and essays as well as non-fiction.
Wikidata · Photo: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain
40
Russian revolutionary anarchist (1814–1876)
Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin, a Russian political philosopher and revolutionary anarchist. One of the most influential figures of anarchism, he was a leading figure in its collectivist and social anarchist currents and in revolutionary socialism.
Every Wikidata item that is a person whose occupation is philosopher, and whose one-line description on Wikidata names philosophy first — so that the poets, lawyers and statesmen Wikidata also records as philosophers are left to their own lists, and that has its own English Wikipedia article, ranked by the number of Wikimedia sites with a page about it — Wikipedia's language editions, mostly, and sister projects such as Wikiquote. That counts how many communities independently thought it worth describing, and nobody can buy a place on it. The top 40 are shown.
Fetched from Wikidata on 2026-09-25. Each description is this site's summary of the entry's Wikipedia article, which its name links to: the wording is ours, the facts are Wikipedia's, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. To correct an entry, correct it there; the next refresh carries the change.
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