Niccolò Machiavelli (1469—1527) Machiavelli was a 16th century Florentine philosopher known primarily for his political ideas. His two most famous philosophical books, The Prince and the Discourses on Livy, were published after his death. His philosophical legacy remains enigmatic, but that result should not be surprising for a thinker who understood the necessity to work sometimes from the shadows. There is still no settled scholarly

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788—1860) Arthur Schopenhauer has been dubbed the artist’s philosopher on account of the inspiration his aesthetics has provided to artists of all stripes. He is also known as the philosopher of pessimism, as he articulated a worldview that challenges the value of existence. His elegant and muscular prose earns him a reputation as one of the greatest German stylists. Although he never achieved

Karl Popper: Philosophy of Science Karl Popper (1902-1994) was one of the most influential philosophers of science of the 20th century. He made significant contributions to debates concerning general scientific methodology and theory choice, the demarcation of science from non-science, the nature of probability and quantum mechanics, and the methodology of the social sciences. His work is notable for its wide influence both within the

Xuanzang (Hsüan-tsang) (602—664) Xuanzang, mondialement connu pour ses seize années de pèlerinage en Inde et sa carrière de traducteur d'écritures bouddhistes, est l'une des figures les plus illustres de l'histoire du bouddhisme scolastique chinois. Né dans une famille savante au début des Tang (Soie) Dynastie, il a bénéficié d'une éducation confucianiste classique. Sous l'influence de son frère aîné, un moine bouddhiste, cependant, il a développé

Alasdair Chalmers MacIntyre (1929— ) Alasdair MacIntyre is a Scottish born, British educated, moral and political philosopher who has worked in the United States since 1970. His work in ethics and politics reaches across disciplines, drawing on sociology and philosophy of the social sciences as well as Greek and Latin classical literature. MacIntyre began his career as a Marxist, but in the late 1950s, il