Philosophers by Core Belief

Question 1

Pythagoras

Answer 1

Deepest reality is composed of numbers; souls are immortal; allegedly vegetarian

Question 2

Heraclitus

Answer 2

Change is fundamental; unity of opposites; “Man cannot step in the same river twice.”

Question 3

Socrates

Answer 3

Socratic method, pursuit of virtue through questioning

Question 4

Plato

Answer 4

Theory of Forms, philosopher-kings, allegory of the cave

Question 5

Aristotle

Answer 5

Ethics, metaphysics, logic, golden mean, scientific inquiry

Question 6

Epicurus

Answer 6

Hedonism, pursuit of pleasure, simple living; openly allowed women and slaves to study

Question 7

Zeno

Answer 7

Stoicism, virtue, acceptance of fate, endurance in adversity

Question 8

Euclid

Answer 8

“Father of Geometry,” elements, foundational math principles

Question 9

Archimedes

Answer 9

Eureka moment, lever, buoyancy, math contributions

Question 10

Chrysippus

Answer 10

Stoic philosophy, rationality, determinism, virtue as knowledge

Question 11

Hipparchus

Answer 11

Astronomical observations, cataloging stars

Question 12

Cicero

Answer 12

Roman orator, Stoicism, natural law, political philosophy

Question 13

Seneca the Younger

Answer 13

Stoic philosophy, moral letters, on tranquility

Question 14

Plutarch

Answer 14

Parallel Lives, moral essays

Question 15

Marcus Aurelius

Answer 15

Stoic Emperor, “Meditations”, duty and virtue

Question 16

St. Augustine

Answer 16

Christian theology, original sin, Confessions, City of God

Question 17

Anselm

Answer 17

Ontological argument for God’s existence, Christian theology

Question 18

Abelard

Answer 18

Scholasticism, logic, ethics, tragic love story with Heloise

Question 19

Fibonacci

Answer 19

Fibonacci sequence

Question 20

St. Francis of Assisi

Answer 20

Franciscan order, poverty, love of nature and animals

Question 21

Thomas Aquinas

Answer 21

Scholasticism, summa theologica, natural law, reason and faith

Question 22

Bonaventure

Answer 22

Franciscan theologian, mysticism, spiritual writings

Question 23

Dante Alighieri

Answer 23

Divine Comedy, medieval epic, journey through Hell

Question 24

William of Ockham

Answer 24

Ockham’s Razor, simplicity in explanation

Question 25

Machiavelli

Answer 25

Political realism, The Prince, amoral politics

Question 26

Copernicus

Answer 26

Heliocentrism, on the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres

Question 27

Sir Thomas More

Answer 27

Utopia, humanism, martyr for conscience

Question 28

Martin Luther

Answer 28

Protestant Reformation, 95 Theses

Question 29

John Calvin

Answer 29

Calvinism, predestination, Reformation theologian

Question 30

Francis Bacon

Answer 30

Scientific method, empiricism, Novum Organum

Question 31

Galileo Galilei

Answer 31

Heliocentrism, telescopic observations, father of modern physics