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Companion Timeline: “30 Philosophers”
This timeline encapsulates the lives and contributions of the philosophers discussed within “30 Philosophers: A New Look at Timeless Ideas,” offering a curated overview aligned with the book’s content. Included below are three additional timelines that extend the exploration begun in “30 Philosophers.” They serve as bridges between the philosophical discussions within “30 Philosophers” and the broader scientific context that frames our quest for understanding.
- The Philosophy Timeline: An expanded exploration of philosophical history.
- The Big Bang Timeline: Chapter 1 delves into humanity’s origin story, beginning with the Big Bang. This timeline expands on that narrative, tracing the cosmic events that set the stage for our existence.
- The Evolution Timeline: Although Charles Darwin does not serve as the anchor of a specific chapter, his ideas and their implications permeate the book. This timeline highlights key moments in the story of evolution, underscoring our understanding of life’s complexity and diversity.
Note on Generations: Within this timeline, a ‘generation’ is defined as spanning 25 years, aiding in the chronological arrangement and understanding of historical progressions.
30 Philosophers Timeline: By Chapter
Big Bang Expansion
NASA/WMAP Science Team, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
13.8 Billion Years Ago
Verified. Empirically supported and rationally deduced.
Free Will
Free Will: two general types. Determinism says everything that happens is set in stone and can't be changed; in contrast, indeterminism says people and animals make choices.
How predetermined are our choices?
Evolution
Darwin identified several key categories, which are often discussed today as natural selection, sexual selection, and artificial selection.
Our true origin story.
Cultural Transmission
What separates humans from animals.
First Atoms
Molecules or atom isolated on blue background
13.7 Billion Years Ago
Verified. Empirically supported and rationally deduced.
Population III Stars: Heavier Elements
NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/Spaceengine, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
13.6 Billion Years Ago
Verified. Empirically supported and rationally deduced.
Birth of the Sun
Epic sun surface flare prominence solar system
4.6 Billion Years Ago
Verified. Empirically supported and rationally deduced.
Earth is Born
Solar system planets set. The Sun and planets in a row on univer
4.5 Billion Years Ago
Verified. Empirically supported and rationally deduced.
First Atmosphere: Hydrogen & Helium
4.48 Billion Years Ago
4.49 to 4.6 Billion Years Ago
LUCA: Last Universal Common Ancestor
LUCA's form is unknown. Imagined image of various LUCA shapes.
3.75 Billion years ago (+/- 100 million)
DNA, Ribosomes, and ATP
The First True Eukaryotes
Eukaryotes divided labor within single-celled life, featuring a true nucleus and membrane-bound organelles. From them branched plants, fungi, and animals.
2.4 Billion Years Ago (+/- 300 million years)
Plant Ancestors Split from Animal and Fungi Ancestors
Plant cells feature chloroplasts, a cellulose cell wall, and a large central vacuole for holding water. They also have plasmodesmata, tiny channels between cells. And of course, photosynthetic chlorophyll.
1.65 Billion Yeas Ago (+/- 50 million)
Life that later leads to these kingdoms separates.
Emergence of the Great Apes (Great Apes LCA)
Imagined image: Circa 18 million years ago, the Proconsul, an inhabitant of the Miocene forests, stands as a landmark in the evolutionary journey toward self-awareness. Here a Proconsul ponders his image in a local watering hole.
16.5 Million Years Ago (+/- 2 Million Years)
Tool potential begins, Neocortical expansion
Chimpanzees Branch Off (CHLCA)
"<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/23165290@N00/7283201268" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sahelanthropus tchadensis adult male - head model - Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - 2012-05-17</a>" by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/23165290@N00" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tim Evanson</a> is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>
7.5 Million Years Ago
Advanced coalition politics and tool precursors
Collective Learning Emerges
Collective learning, where a parent teaches a child, started long before primates, but something like our modern approach to showing our young how to live likely started about 3 million years ago, perhaps wit a species like australopithecus in a place like Kenya, Africa.
3.3 Million Years Ago
Homo heidelbergensis
Imagined image depicting two Homo heidelbergensis individuals at different stages of their evolutionary timeline. The first individual represents what they might have looked like around 650,000 years ago, and the second shows them around 440,000 years ago, just before the transition towards Homo sapiens and Neanderthals.
Circa 640,000 Years Ago
Homo heidelbergensis on Earth from about 640,000 to 200,000 BCE.
Neanderthal-Sapien LCA
Imagined image: Homo sapiens (center) might be a hybrid of two extict human species: Homo heidelbergensis and Homo antecessor. Left is heidelbergensis with its protruding jaw. Right is antessor with his small brain and flatter face.
440,000 Years Ago (+/- 40,000 years)
Oldest Surviving Spear
350,000 BCE
400,000 to 300,000 BCE
Adam: Haplogroup A
Imagined image: Homo sapien couple, circa 275,000 years ago. Even as early as this, humans all over Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia essentially looked like we look now.
275,000 BCE
Eve: Haplogroup L
Imagined image: Homo sapien couple, circa 175,000 years ago. By this time, humans all over Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia essentially looked like we look now.
175,000 BCE
200,000 to 150,000 BCE
“The” Human DNA
Spiral strands of DNA on the dark background
70,000 BCE
2,800 Generations Ago
Oldest Known Bracelet
70,000 BCE
2,880 Generations Ago
Advanced Sewing Needles
28,000 BCE
28,000 to 21,000 BCE
Phenotype Variation: Blue Eyes
Photo by <a href="https://www.pexels.com/@valeriya?utm_source=instant-images&utm_medium=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Valeria Boltneva</a> on <a href="https://pexels.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pexels</a>
8000 BCE
Genetic Mutation from the Neolithic Era
Cuneiform Writing
3400 BCE
3400 BCE to 100 CE (end of use for scholarly work)
Gilgamesh, circa 2700 BCE
King of Uruk
King Shuruppak
No images of King Shuruppak exist. The best we can do is reimagine known aspects of Sumerian culture. This is a ziggurat typical of the time: one per each of the 30+ cities.
circa 2600 BCE
The Wise King
Indus Valley Script: Northwest India
"<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5243844" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">File:Indus seal impression.jpg</a>" by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IndusValleySeals.JPG" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">PHGCOM IndusValleySeals.JPG</a> is licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>
circa 2600 BCE
Knowledge Framework
Knowledge frameworks are the mind’s filing system. They do not just store information—they shape how we sort ideas, test claims, and decide what deserves belief.
A network of ideas.
New Look
Philosophy
The what, why, and how of life.
Rigveda Samhita, Veda Book 1 of 4
1,700 BCE
148 Generations Ago
Major Religion: Hinduism
Hinduism, one of the world's oldest religions, emerged around 1100 BCE, several centuries after the Indus Valley Civilization collapsed. Hinduism has no known roots in the IVC, but it's a topic to follow as we uncover clues.
1100 BCE (+/- 300 years)
125 Generations Ago
Gargi Vachaknavi
Hindu god Ganesha on white wooden table. Candles on background
circa 800 BCE
Ontology
Who you are is partly given, but who you become is always unfolding.
The Nature of Being.
We are more than self-aware.
Holism
Nature is the master plan.
Thales of Miletus (624 – 546 BCE)
Early or "First" Science
The Grandfather of Western Philosophy
The Birth of Logic
624 BCE
Circa 624-546 BCE
Library of Ashurbanipal
A conservative recreation of the exterior of the Library of Ashurbanipal, illustrating the architectural style of ancient Assyrian buildings. The image depicts a grand structure on a raised platform, adorned with carvings and motifs characteristic of Assyrian art. While the depiction includes speculative elements, such as the building's size and detailed adornments, it aims to capture the historical significance and imposing presence of this legendary library in the heart of Nineveh.
Built circa 700 BCE, destroyed 612 BCE.
Laozi
Laozi or Lou Tzu (604-517 BCE). Founder of Daoism, aka Taoism. The life of Laozi is shrouded in mystery, but he is the first philosopher in “30 Philosophers” that attempts to construct a precise biography.
b. circa 604 BCE
By tradition, 604-517 BCE
Spherical Earth
Realistic Earth Planet against the the star sky
600 BCE
New Look: The Flood Stories
The Great Flood myths: Sumerian and the biblical story of Noah's Ark.
600 BCE
New Look
Wu-wei or “non-action”
Go with the flow of nature.
Ziran, Authenticity, or Authentic Self
Let life unfold organically.
Yin and Yang
A good life is a balanced life.
Unknowable Dao
The Unknowable Dao reminds us that when we define something too tightly, we risk mistaking our description for the thing itself.
We can only describe nature.
Pythagoras (570-495 BCE)
Pythagoreanism
Father of Mathematics
Confucius
b. 551 BCE
551 to 479 BCE, aged 72
Normalcy, Normal, and Abnormal
Normalcy is a pattern-based idea formed from repeated experience and reinforced by social expectations.
Normal is our current experiences.
New Look
Schemas
The abstractions of life.
Gautama Buddha
Subhrajyoti07, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
b. circa 563
circa 563 to 486 BCE
Non-Self or Anatman and Self or Atman
Imagined image: The concept of non-self, emphasizing the idea that nothing lasts forever and the notion that the "self" does not exist. It captures the transient nature of existence and the dissolution of the perceived self into the natural world.
Your idea of "self" does not exist.
Nondualism and Dualism
Imagined image: The concepts of nondualism and dualism. The philosophical exploration of the mind, body, and reality, the distinctions and connections between them.
The separation of mind and body is an illusion.
Heraclitus
RoyFokker, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
born circa 535 BCE
circa 535 to 475 BCE, likely aged about 60 years old
Impermanence and Flux
Change is the only constant.
Worldview
You do not see the world raw. You see it through a worldview. That worldview grows from the frameworks you inherit and adopt, and it continues to change as your experience changes.
Your sub-culture and choices.
Identity
Identity is the personal mosaic that makes you you. It includes what you were born into, what you have chosen, and what has changed along the way. It is not fixed at birth. It is shaped over time through living, learning, belonging, and becoming.
Existence before essence.
Crafting yourself from your given traits.
Socrates (469 – 399 BCE)
Portrait of Socrates. Marble, Roman artwork (1st century), perhaps a copy of a lost bronze statue made by Lysippos
Socratic Questioning
Father of Western Ethics
Democritus (460 BCE – circa 370 BCE)
Two and a half millennia ago, Democritus imagined atoms in the void — long before microscopes, equations, or particle accelerators confirmed the intuition.
Atomist
The Laughing Philosopher
Plato
b. 428 BCE
428 to 347 BCE
Reflective Inquiry
A constant state of self-assessment.
Ignorance is Bliss
Strategic ignorance.
Aristotle
Portrait of Aristoteles. Copy of the Imperial era (1st or 2nd century) of a lost bronze sculpture made by Lysippos
b. 384 BCE
384 to 322 BCE
Plato and Aristotle’s Relationship
New Look
Syllogisms
Logically connect things.
Rationalism
Prioritize your ideas over reality.
Empiricism
Prioritize reality over your ideas.
Logic
Reality is organized and mathematical.
Logical Fallacies
Flaws in reasoning.
Eudaimonia
Flourish now and into the future.
Pyrrho of Elis
b. 360 BCE
360 to 270 BCE
Skepticism
Question your beliefs and avoid dogmatism.
Social Constructs 101
Social constructs are the human-made concepts shaping our reality.
Shared, not natural agreements.
Epicurus
Roman marble copy of a 3rd-century BCE Greek original, likely created before 1st century CE.
b. 341 BCE
341 to 270 BCE
Epicurean Happiness Toolkit: A 4-Step Structure
Epicurean Agnosticism is the indifference to unknowable mysteries that are likely to lead to unhappiness.
New Look
Agnosticism
The essence of agnosticism is the uncertainty and indifference toward the unknowable.
Don't waste time on the unknowable.
Live in the present.
Dichotomy of Pleasure
Dichotomy of Pleasure: Epicureanism highlights the difference between short-term and long-term pleasures. They assert you can live a better life by focusing on long-term pleasures like exercise and reading over short-term pleasures like overeating and getting drunk.
Prefer long term pleasures over short.
Zeno of Citium (334-262 BCE)
Stoicism
Father of Stoicism
Philo of Alexandria
b. circa 20 BCE
circa 20 BCE to circa 55 CE
Allegorical Interpretation
Imagined Image: Philo of Alexandria reinterpreting the story of Noah through allegorical interpretation. It captures the essence of his scholarly reinterpretation with symbolic elements.
Stories have complex meanings.
Seneca the Younger (4 BCE – 65 CE)
Stoic Tradition
Roman Stoic Statesman
Epictetus (50-135 CE)
circa 100 CE
78 Generations Ago
Marcus Aurelius
born 121
121 to 180 CE
Marcus Aurelius: An Explorative Agnostic
New Look
Stoic Virtue Framework: A 4-Step Structure
New Look
Cognitive Reframing
Emotions are judgements.
Negative Visualization
Contemplate the future.
Cognitive Distancing
Cognitive Distancing and the Stoic View from Above: Gain clarity and objectivity by mentally elevating yourself to see the broader perspective, reducing the emotional impact of transient thoughts.
Step outside your reality.
Badarayana
sand sculpture of Ganesha in Hinduism, the god of wisdom and well-being with the head of an elephant
circa 300 BCE to 200 CE
Cause and Effect
Cause and effect, the idea that every action has a reaction and ethical implications of personal responsibility and the acceptance of consequences.
Karma
Cognitive Biases
Cognitive bias: the mind’s attempt to simplify complexity can quietly distort perception. Without discipline, shortcuts become traps — shaping decisions, inflating certainty, and steering judgment away from reality.
Maya, Illusion.
The “Dark” Middle Ages
The Middle Ages, from the end of the classical era to the Renaissance, is traditionally seen as intellectually dark due to the dominance of a single narrative over the unknown. It is characterized by the rise of belief systems.
New Look
Holistic Eudaimonia
The psychology of Holistic Eudaimonia surfaces with the various stages of life, acts of kindness, and elements symbolizing legacy and future impact. It blends natural life with the abstract concept of time and space, highlighting the continuity of actions and their lasting effects.
New Look
Augustine of Hippo
born 354
354 to 430 CE
Chronoception
Chronoception: remembering past events, experiencing the present, and anticipating the future.
Spacetime
Eternity
Augustine's concept of eternity as 'all time at once,' positioned as a precursor to the modern block universe theory. Time existing simultaneously.
Block Theory of the Universe
New Look
Al-Farabi
born 872
872 to 950
Intellect
The Journey of Intellect: From the potential of a blank canvas, through the exploration of creating, to the mastery of refining a masterpiece. This triptych captures the evolution of human thought and creativity.
Blank slate filled with impressions
Essence and Existence
Existence precedes essence: we are born into biological structure, but identity forms over time. No prewritten metaphysical script — only structured reality, evolving memory, and the eventual fading of each life into history’s shadow.
You exist, then you mold your essence.
The Floating Man Thought Experiment
Floating Man thought experiment, Deprivation Chamber edition. Imagine you are floating in a dimly lit, minimalist room with a futuristic-looking tub filled with dense saltwater. The separation of the mind from the physical body, conveying a sense of isolation and introspection.
New Look
Alhazen
born 965
965 to 1040
The Five Senses of Humans
Olfaction or Sense of Smell Study.
Circa 1020
New Look
Touchstone: Perception
Perception, how the brain interprets sensory information and transforms it into understanding.
Interpretation
Time Trail Game: Mindful Time Travel
Time Trail Raw is you in two distinct but connected locations, pondering the raw, prelinguistic nature of thought and perception. Your prelinguistic thoughts creating a sense of mindfulness and introspection.
Mike's Spacetime Game
New Look
Bernard of Chartres (circa 1070 – 1130)
There are no surviving images of
Bernard of Chartres. As a scholastic, the best we can do is an artistic representation of scholasticism.
Neoplatonist
French Philosopher
Peter Abelard
born 1079
1079 to 1141
Intent
Good Intent vs Good Results
Object-Oriented Nature
Humans perceive a bicycle as a simple, efficient tool for movement, travel, and carrying things. However, each bike is an intricate assembly of parts like handlebars, frames, and wheels, made from materials such as aluminum, steel, and rubber. These materials themselves break down into fundamental elements like iron, carbon, and manganese. This image captures the layers of abstraction in our perception, from the complete bike to its atomic structure, showcasing the complexity behind everyday objects we use to move through the world.
Abstraction brings understanding and illusion
New Look
Pattern Recognition
Humans possess a remarkable ability to hierarchically organize the patterns they perceive, known as pattern ranking. From simple shapes and natural forms to complex abstract symbols, our minds categorize and rank these patterns, creating a structured understanding of the world. This image illustrates the cognitive process of organizing and interacting with patterns, highlighting the depth and complexity of human perception.
Patterns in Nature
The Problem of Universals
New Look
The Idea of Ideas
A personal spiritual experience may be real as an experience, meaningful as a belief, and still fall short of public proof about the material world.
New Look
Grand Rational Framework
The Grand Rational Framework is comprised of rational frameworks in which validated empirical elements form a solid foundation. There are logically consistent interconnected relationships between empirical claims which create a stable and ever-evolving understanding of the material world. This knowledge expands and is limited by the vast expanse of the universe.
New Look
Printing Press Invented
The printing press gave journalism reach, making public scrutiny possible at a larger scale.
1440
Germany
Guru Nanak
born 1469
1469 to 1539
Nicolas Copernicus
No confirmed likeness survives. These portraits are later artistic interpretations.
born 1473
Lived 1473 to 1543, aged 70.
The Five Thieves
The Sikh concept of The Five Thieves: Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment, and Ego.
5 ethical guideposts
Francis Bacon
born 1561
1561 to 1626
Galileo Galilei
Portrait of Galileo at about 74. He included a copy in his 1638 Two New Sciences book.
born 1564.
Lived from 1564 to 1642, aged 77.
Rene Descartes
1596-1649
Idea Modeling
Idea Modeling is a fresh new look at the process of creating new ideas. It is the dynamic interplay of various cognitive functions, but especially pattern recognition and conceptual blending. For this discussion let’s add in curiosity, gap-filling, and information bias. The whole thing is guided by apathetic agnosticism, our defense against bad ideas. It is in line with modern neurobiology, but to be clear, it’s just a general philosophical lens, another view of how ideas are forged.
How new ideas become.
New Look
Pragmatism
The Rational Pragmatist embraces common knowledge and accommodates their Christian faith while rejecting most other supernatural ideas. The Irrational Pragmatist does not believe in common knowledge.
3 Types: Empirical, Rational, & Irrational
New Look
Roger Williams
Detail of Roger Williams Landing Place monument in Slate Rock Park aka Roger Williams Square, Providence Rhode Island.
born circa 1602
circa 1602 to Mar 1683
Separation of Church and State
1748 with Montesquieu
Evolved from 1640 through 1748
Liberalism
Liberalism emphasizes personal freedom, individual rights, equality before the law, and limited government intervention. It is political freedom and civil liberties.
Everyone is equal.
Modern Cosmology
"<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/11304375@N07/2818891443" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">01 The Solar System PIA10231, mod02</a>" by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/11304375@N07" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Image Editor</a> is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CC BY 2.0</a>
1608
Absolute Truth
The Idea of the Unknowable Dao
New Look
Truth Hammers
A disciplined thinker does not hand confidence to a claim just because it is common. First ask whether it lives by habit, tribe, and repetition, or by testing, evidence, and open challenge.
Processes that uncover truth.
New Look
The Scientific Method
1629
Modern science started in the 1600s.
Idea Theory Framework
The transformative process of ideas through the Idea Theory Framework. Panel One: whimsical and imaginative birth of speculative ideas. Panel Two: rigorous testing of hypotheses in the scientific laboratory. Panel Three: established theories are taught and shared in the classroom. The cyclical nature of this process, including the possibility of demotion for disproven ideas, underscores the dynamic and evolving pursuit of knowledge.
New Look
Baruch Spinoza
born 1632
1632-1677, aged 44
John Locke
born 1632
1632 to 1704
Relativity Principle
Jul 1632
Law
Public belief may accuse, praise, or panic. Law slows that down and asks: what can actually be shown?
Law protects.
Modern law emerges after the Middle Ages.
Natural Rights
Life, Liberty, & Property Rights
Due Process
Protection against authority.
Emerged in the 1600s.
Infinitesimal
1638
Mind-Body Dualism
1641 - Two Substances: Body & Soul
Cartesian Dualism
Descartes Thought Experiment
Descartes' thought experiment: Descartes questioned the reliability of his senses, contemplated rational ideas with things like the influence of an evil demon. He eventually came to the realization "I think, therefore I am." This allowed him to emerge from an existential void. His cosmic and interconnected thought journey from doubt to certainty helped establish modern philosophy.
New Look
Book: The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution
1644
Monism
Imagined image emphasizing the idea of Monism with a focus on the concept of one substance and no spirit world. It highlights the continuous flow of energy and material substance, illustrating the interconnectedness of all things without any separate realms.
God is nature, nature is everything.
Western monism emerged with Spinoza in the 1600s.
Material-Spiritual Framework
The Material-Spiritual Framework's division of spirituality into agnostic, nontheistic, and theistic.
Spirituality is exploration.
New Look
Open Viewpoint Method (OVM)
Open Viewpoint Method (OVM) is a bridge between worldviews — spirituality on one side, empiricism on the other — built on disciplined listening and calibrated confidence. It does not erase disagreement; it structures it. Debate becomes harmonic dialogue when ideas are separated from identity and claims are evaluated without tribal reflex.
New Look
The Social Contract
Citizens consent to be governed.
Emerged about 1689.
Voltaire
The transformation of François-Marie Arouet into Voltaire: From a budding scholar in Paris, to a prisoner of ideas in the Bastille, to a celebrated playwright whose words ignited the Enlightenment.
born 1694
1694-1778
Fourth Estate
The Fourth Estate emphasizes freedom of the press and has a role in challenging authority.
The force of public opinion.
The fourth emerged in the 18th & 19th centuries.
Journalism
Journalism tests public claims by gathering facts, checking sources, and bringing events into the open.
Storytelling for the people.
Modern journalism started in the early 1700s.
David Hume
The Scottish Enlightenment philosopher and historian Hume was a leading exponent of empiricism. The belief that all human knowledge derives solely from experience.
born 1711
1711-1776
Immanuel Kant
born 1724
1724-1804
Transcendental Idealism
Our Ideas are Not Reality
The Eastern unknowable Dao emerged in the West in the late 1700s.
Categorical Imperative
Live by universal values.
Emerged in late 1700s.
Skeptical Empiricism
Skeptical Empiricism is the idea that all knowledge stems from experiences and challenges the concept of innate knowledge.
Knowledge is experience.
The Problem of Induction
The Problem of Induction illustrates the circular nature of inductive logic and the intellectual puzzle it presents.
Patterns might mislead.
Hume’s Fork
Life is definitions & observations.
New Look
Modern Innate Knowledge
Modern Innate Knowledge is Hume's idea of impressions and its interplay with our instincts, our innate knowledge. We can breakdown our instincts into three interconnected categories: basic instincts with primal elements, developmental instincts showing growth and learning, and situational instincts such as adaptive responses.
Instincts and Impressions
New Look
Fear-Based Ethics
Fear-Based Ethics within Consequentialism is a dark, oppressive ethical system. Morality based on things like Karma and Divine Command Theory, are faulty. They evoke fear and anxiety because right and wrong are no longer a thing, only fear exists. The fix is easy, even within fear-based ethical systems, the solution is to emphasize the intrinsic value of moral acts. This allows you to transition at a fundamental level from fear-based ethics to understanding the intrinsic value of morality.
New Look
Ethical Roadmap
An Ethical Roadmap is a winding path through different philosophical landscapes from Aristotle's virtue ethics to Mill's utilitarianism. For many, the modern path is a holistic approach to ethics, avoiding fear-based systems and embracing good intent and good results. Along the path, people reflect on their actions, evaluate their motivations, and measure their results to guide future acts as one journeys through moral decisions.
New Look
Checks and Balances
Separation of Powers
Matured about 1748.
Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer gave one of philosophy’s bleakest answers to the human condition: beneath our thoughts and ambitions lies a blind Will, endlessly driving desire, struggle, and dissatisfaction.
born 1788.
Lived from 1788 to 1860, aged 72.
John Stuart Mill
born 1806
1806-1873
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
British Naturalist
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard
Unfinished sketch of Kierkegaard by his cousin Niels Christian Kierkegaard, Royal Library, Copenhagen, c. 1840
b. 1813
1813 to 1855, aged 42
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913)
British Naturalist and Explorer
Father of Biogeography
Anxiety “Angst”
Imagined image: Soren Kierkegaard at his famous desk feeling profound existential angst.
Use angst to guide your life.
1843: “Fear and Trembling” by Kierkegaard.
Leap of Faith
Kierkegaard's Leap of Faith redefined for all. When faced with the vast unknown, you sometimes need to take a leap of faith whether that leap is rooted in religious beliefs or not. The using of angst and uncertainty to guide your life gave rise to both modern psychology and existentialism.
New Look
Friedrich Nietzsche
Chapter 30 in "30 Philosophers" explores Nietzsche's story and philosophy.
born 1844
1844-1900
Discovery: The Sumerian Flood Story
1853
Harm Principle
The Harm Principle: on left, solitary acts; on right, group acts.
Cause no harm.
In "On Liberty," pub. 1859.
Nihilism
Nihilism is the idea that life lacks objective meaning, purpose, and intrinsic value.
1862: Ivan Turgenev novel "Fathers and Sons"
New Look
Übermensch
The Übermensch, or superman, is the ideal person who transcends societal norms and self-imposed limitations.
Live Your Authentic Self
1883, 1885: From "Thus Spoke Zarathustra"
Eternal Recurrence
Live in the now.
1882/3/5: Refined in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra"
Authentic Recipe: Nietzsche’s Five-step Approach
The Nietzsche Five-step Authentic Recipe is the casting of his ideas into five steps. The journey towards an authentic self, the transformation and empowerment of your true self.
New Look
Nietzsche Mustache
Jean-Paul Sartre
born 1905
1905-1980
Consciousness
Experiencing life through the lens of consciousness.
The experience of living.
New Look
Heidegger’s Existentialism
Heidegger's existentialism centers on the concept of "being-there" (Dasein), which refers to the unique way humans exist and relate to the world. Heidegger explores the nature of being and emphasizes the importance of understanding one's own existence within the context of time and space. His philosophy delves into the idea of being authentic by confronting the inherent uncertainties and anxieties of life, and seeking a deeper understanding of one's place in the world through introspection and connection to nature.
Confront life head on.
1927: "Being and Time"
Bad Faith
The concept of "bad faith," is the contrast between living a lie and embracing one's true self.
Don't live in bad-faith, be authentic.
1943: "Being and Nothingness" by Sartre.
Sartre’s Existentialism
Sartre's existentialism emphasizes individual freedom, choice, and responsibility. It posits that existence precedes essence, meaning that individuals are not defined by any preexisting essence but instead create their own essence through actions and decisions. Sartre's philosophy focuses on the concept of "bad faith," where people deny their freedom by conforming to societal expectations, and encourages living authentically by embracing one's freedom and making deliberate, conscious choices.
Existence precedes essence.
1943: "Being and Nothingness"
Chapter 1 Quote Attribution Clarification
big bang, black hole, supermassive star, galaxy, cosmos, physical, science fiction wallpaper.
Final Word
Holistic Eudaimonia represents our lives within our Milky Way galaxy, on a tiny blue planet. We are but a figure gazing at the universe in wonder. It is the journey of life, the Butterfly Effect, and the ripples of actions extending into the vastness of space. It includes kindness, integrity, and authenticity.
Featuring Mike's mantra.
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