1. Socrates – Socrates is considered the founder of Western philosophy. His contributions include the Socratic Method, which is still used in teaching today, and his emphasis on self-knowledge.
2. Plato – Plato was a student of Socrates and founded the Academy in Athens. His contributions include his Theory of Forms, which asserts that there is a perfect, eternal world beyond our own.
3. Aristotle – Aristotle was a student of Plato and the tutor of Alexander the Great. His contributions include the idea of causation and his emphasis on empirical observation.
4. Rene Descartes – Descartes was a French philosopher and mathematician who is known for his dualism, which separates mind and body.
5. Immanuel Kant – Kant was a German philosopher who is known for his moral philosophy, which emphasizes the importance of rationality and respect for persons.
6. Friedrich Nietzsche – Nietzsche was a German philosopher who is known for his critique of traditional morality and his idea of the “will to power,” which emphasizes the importance of individual strength and creativity.
7. Jean-Paul Sartre – Sartre was a French philosopher who is known for his existentialist philosophy, which emphasizes the importance of individual freedom and responsibility.
8. Martin Heidegger – Heidegger was a German philosopher who is known for his contributions to the fields of ontology and hermeneutics.
9. Simone de Beauvoir – de Beauvoir was a French philosopher who is known for her contributions to feminism and existentialism. Her book, The Second ***, is considered a landmark feminist work.
10. John Rawls – Rawls was an American philosopher who is known for his work on political philosophy, particularly his theory of justice as fairness.