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Period: 400 BCE to 427 BCE
Plato
was a philosopher in Classical Greece and the creator of the Academy in Athens, the very first Western university. He is widely considered the important figure in the formation of Western philosophy. He maintains a virtue-based eudaemonistic conception of ethics. Plato's whole body of work is thought to have endured for more than 2,400 years in its entirety, in contrast to practically all of his philosophical contemporaries. -
Period: 400 BCE to 470 BCE
Socrates of Athens
As one of the pioneers of Western philosophy and the earliest moral philosopher in the Western ethical school of thought, was a classical Greek (Athenian) philosopher. He is a mysterious figure who left no writings and is only known via the narratives of classical writers who lived after him, especially his pupils Plato and Xenophon. He supported a moral code founded on common sense and human logic. Additionally, he created the "Socratic Method." -
Period: 384 BCE to 384 BCE
Aristotle
was a classical Greek scientist and philosopher who was born in the northern region of Chalkidiki, in the city of Stagira. He is regarded as the "Father of Western Philosophy" alongside Plato. He coined the term ethics to describe a subject of research created by his forebears Socrates and Plato. He stressed the importance of habit in behavior, according to the majority of Nichomachean Ethics. The idea that virtue is useful and that the goal of ethics is to become good is so emphasized. -
Period: 354 to 354
Augustine
was an African Roman philosopher who lived in the fourth century whose original philosophy blended Neoplatonism with Christian teaching. He is renowned for his agnostic contributions to Western philosophy as well as for being an unrivaled Catholic theologian. He contends that doubters lack any support for their argument that they know there is no knowledge. In addition, he is credited as being the first Western philosopher to advance the so-called "argument by analogy" against solipsism. -
Period: 1225 to 1225
Thomas Aquinas
was a Doctor of the Church, Catholic priest, and Italian Dominican friar. He is also known as the Doctor Angelicus and the Doctor Communis within the scholasticism tradition, and he was a hugely influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist. His moral theory combines at least two seemingly unrelated traditions: Christian theology and Aristotelian eudaemonism. He believed that ethical considerations must be included in all human interactions, including economic ones. -
Period: 1561 to 1561
Francis Bacon
Was an English philosopher, lawyer and statesman, who served as Attorney General, and as Lord Chancellor of England. He claimed all knowledge as his province. His works are credited with developing the scientific method, and remained influential through the scientific revolution. He is one of the founders of the concept of natural essence of morality. The subject of the study of ethics considered the will of man, which directs and organizes his mind and triggers the emotions. -
Period: to
John Dewey
was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educator whose theories had an impact on social and educational transformation. one of the founding figures of functional psychology. He was a key figure in the development of the American school of thought known as pragmatism.