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Representational image of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Source: ckybe / Adobe Stock

Who Was Thomas Aquinas and Why Is He Mentioned So Often?

Thomas Aquinas, who lived from 1225 to 1274 AD, played a crucial role in medieval Catholic theology and philosophy. Thanks to his profound insights and masterful integration of faith and reason,...
Marcus Aurelius (Matthew / Adobe Stock).

Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor (Video)

Exploring the life of Marcus Aurelius , the philosopher emperor of Rome, takes us into the history of a remarkable figure. Born in 121 AD to a prestigious family, Marcus was groomed for greatness...
Confucius among his pupils. (Public Domain)

The Enduring Legacy of Confucius: 10 Insights into the World's Most Influential Thinker

Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher, teacher, and political figure, is one of the most influential thinkers in human history. Born in 551 BC in the state of Lu, Confucius's teachings and ideas...
Death comes for us all, but some leave better stories than others. These strange deaths will make you shake your head, and think twice! Source: xlaoma / Adobe Stock

11 Very Strange Deaths from History

We all die eventually, but some of us go out in weirder ways than others. With the number of people who have existed throughout human history, at least a few strange deaths are to be expected. Below...
Medieval depiction of Empedocles of Acragas throwing himself into Mount Etna. Source: Public domain

Empedocles of Acragas Committed Suicide by Jumping into a Volcano

Empedocles of Acragas was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who lived in the 5th century BC. It is said that wanting to prove he was an all-powerful god, he decided to leap into the volcanic Mount...
Diogenes, depicted here by the French painter Jean-Léon Gérôme, was a philosopher of the cynic school of Greek philosophy and many thought he was crazy, but he was super popular with the people of Athens. Source: Jean-Léon Gérôme / Public domain

Diogenes: The Crazy Greek Philosopher Plato Called ‘Socrates Gone Mad’!

Diogenes (412 BC- 323 BC) was a Greek philosopher like no other. One of the founders of the cynic philosophy, Diogenes believed that people should live simple lives that reject all natural desires...
The Stoic philosopher Chrysippus is said to have died laughing. Image of man laughing taken from the Judge Magazine Cover published on February 4th, 1922. Source: Public domain

Chrysippus Died Laughing at His Own Deadly Joke

We’ve all heard the expression “to die laughing” to refer to a bout of uncontrollable laughter. But did you know that it actually happens? When looking at the Hellenistic bust of Chrysippus housed at...
Heraclitus by Abraham Janssens (Public Domain)

Heraclitus Died When He Covered Himself in Cow Dung

History is filled with bizarre stories about death, and the ancient Greeks are no exception. While the great intellectual Empedocles is said to have jumped into a volcano, in a misguided attempt to...
Pythagoras the Hermit: the Pythagoras Cave on Samos

Pythagoras the Hermit: the Pythagoras Cave on Samos

On the Greek island of Samos there is a famous cave, named the Pythagoras Cave due to its association with the famous ancient Greek philosopher. Pythagoras is believed to have lived in the cave for a...
Where Death Rings in the Hour: The Amazing Medieval Astronomical Clock of Prague

Where Death Rings in the Hour: The Amazing Medieval Astronomical Clock of Prague

The technical sophistication of the Middle Ages tends to be underestimated. Near the end of the High Middle Ages, mechanical technology such as clocks and water mills, for example, were becoming...
Pythagoras advocating vegetarianism.

Pythagoras: A Life Beyond Math and Science

Pythagoras is perhaps the most famous figure in the group of ancient Greek philosophers known as the Pre-Socratics. This is largely due to the Pythagorean Theorem, a mathematical theorem that is...
Atlantis underwater ruins

3 Problems to Remember When Trying to Find Atlantis

It is perhaps the greatest unsolved mystery of all time: Did the lost city of Atlantis actually exist? And if it did once exist, where was it located before its watery demise? Fortunately, the...
The Greek philosopher Diogenes was a famous pupil of the founder of Cynicism, Antisthenes. Source: Public Domain

Antisthenes and the Cynics: How to Live a Pure and Honest Life

One of the unique philosophical teachings of ancient Greece was Cynicism – a moral and virtuous teaching that really emphasized the pursuit of a pure, honest life. Today we are going to take an in-...
A 17th century painting of Heraclitus, by Johannes Moreelse.

Heraclitus: Eminent Doctrines of a Pre-Socratic Riddler who Loved Conflict

Heraclitus of Ephesus was a Pre-Socratic philosopher who lived during the 6th century BC. He wrote a book which recorded his controversial philosophical thoughts. This book, which was deposited in...
Socrates: The Father of Western Philosophy

Socrates: The Father of Western Philosophy

Socrates, the most famous philosopher of all time, had one of the most subtle and complicated minds we have on record. His death was a dark moment in Athenian and human history, but his thinking and...
Painting of Empedocles

Earth, Air, Fire, and Water: Empedocles of Acragas - The Pre-Socratic Philosopher with a Sense of Style

Socrates and his successors Plato and Aristotle are perhaps the best known and most influential philosophers of ancient Greece. Nevertheless, Greek philosophy had already been flourishing for more...
Representative image of the philosopher Anaximander.

Anaximander of Miletus and His Philosophy on the Origin of All Things

Whence things have their origin, Thence also their destruction happens, As is the order of things; For they execute the sentence upon one another – The condemnation for the crime – In conformity with...
Zeno of Elea shows Youths the Doors to Truth and False. Source: Singinglemon / Public Domain.

Zeno’s Paradoxes Verses Reality

Zeno’s Paradoxes refers to a set of ingenious philosophical problems attributed to Zeno of Elea, a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher . These paradoxes were devised in order to defend the teachings of...
Juana Ines de la Cruz Painting by Mauricio García Vega.

Juana Ines de la Cruz – 17th Century Philosopher, Composer, and Poet Who Spoke For Women’s Rights

Juana Ines de la Cruz was a 17 th century nun from colonial Mexico . She was regarded during her lifetime as a prodigy, and was a renowned scholar, poet , and playwright . Juana Ines’ works brought...
Hypatia

Living in a Man's World: The Untimely & Brutal Death of Hypatia

Hypatia was a philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer who lived in a man’s world in 4th century Alexandria. Times were turbulent and the brutal and sudden end to Hypatia’s life shows just how...
Was Jesus Greek and not Jewish?

Controversial Documentary Claims Philosopher May Have Been the Real ‘Son of God’

An explosive new documentary called ‘Bible Conspiracies’ makes the claim that the Greek religious preacher Apollonius of Tyana was actually the true 'son of God’ - not Jesus Christ as is commonly...
The mummified head of Jeremy Bentham

The Quest For The Golden Rings Of An Eccentric Mummified Philosopher

Scientists are calling out for help as they try to solve the mystery of 20 missing gold rings issued upon the death of an eccentric 19th century English philosopher, just before he was mummified and...
A depiction of Sextus Empiricus.

Sextus Empiricus: Suspending Judgement and Promoting a Skeptical Search for Truth

The following two quotes will help you gain a quick perspective on how the ancient philosopher Sextus Empiricus understood the world: Those who claim for themselves to judge the truth are bound to...
Philosopher Plotinus with his disciple

Plotinus: Platonism with a Twist for Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Thinkers

Plotinus was an ancient Greek-speaking philosopher who lived during the 3rd century AD. He is generally considered to be the founder of Neoplatonism, though Plotinus may have actually considered...

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