Law of the Twelve Tables
A good legal system slows judgment so public claims can be tested fairly. Think well by asking not only what was ruled, but how the claim was tested.
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Philosophy
Natural philosophy includes dividing ideas into empirical, rational, and irrational as well as understanding their philosophical context. Philosophical context includes understanding the timing of discoveries and rediscoveries as well as the philosophers behind them and their publications.
Voltaire
13 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 26: Voltaire and Modern Journalism Voltaire was a French Enlightenment philosopher born François-Marie Arouet. He was an advocate of civil liberties and satirized intolerance, and religious dogma in a time one was punished with censorship, jail, banishment, or worse. Some of my favorite Voltaire quotes translated from French: Those
David Hume
Hume is important to history because he taught us that belief should be earned. Let confidence rise with evidence, logic, testing, and lived experience.
Baruch Spinoza
16 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 25: Spinoza and Monism The Dutch philosopher Spinoza was a lens grinder by profession, a proponent of Rationalism, and an early founder of Enlightenment. My favorite concept of Spinoza’s is that God is nature, and nature is God. For me, whenever I read God in prayers and such I
Zeno of Citium (334-262 BCE)
94 Generations Ago Zeno is considered the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy. When events occur in life, people react. Life is a series of events and immediate reactions. A stoic introduces a third middle step, a judge step. On their life journey, a stoic strives for a series of event-judge-react experiences. When you introduce
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Pythagoras (570-495 BCE)
103 Generations Ago The Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras was born in Ancient Greece on the island Samos which is about a mile off the coast of modern Turkey. History looks at Pythagoras as an educator and philosopher as well as a cult leader. He discovered the musical octave, used deductive reasoning, and embraced an
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Augustine of Hippo
Life is full of hard choices. In situational ethics, clear-cut right and wrong tend to give way to reducing harm or choosing the lesser of two evils.
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Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)
20 Generations Ago (from 2020 CE) Montaigne was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. In addition to furthering skepticism, he also extended stoicism. He also extended literary style by promoting the essay format and by breaking norms of his day. For example, talking about himself in his own writing. My favorite translated Montaigne
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Immanuel Kant
12 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 28: Kant and Kantianism The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a central figure of the Enlightenment which put reason as the tool of choice when discussing God, nature, and humanity. Some of my favorite translated quotes include: All our knowledge begins with
Seneca the Younger (4 BCE – 65 CE)
81 Generations Ago The stoic philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger has the distinction that more of his writings survived the test of time and is therefore a valuable primary source for stoic philosophy. Some of my favorite translated Seneca quotes: Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. All cruelty springs from weakness. Religion is
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Cicero (106-43 BCE)
The stoic philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero was one of Rome’s greatest orators and had an immense influence on the Latin language. Some of my favorite translated Cicero quotes: If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the
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Epictetus (50-135 CE)
Epictetus stressed that philosophy is a way of life and not simply analytical. The stoic philosopher Epictetus was cited by Marcus Aurelius in his Meditations. Epictetus was one of the future emperor’s teacher’s during childhood up to the age of 14. Although no writings by Epictetus are known, his students documented his beliefs and sayings
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Epicurus
Live better by building a life of care, friendship, and shared dignity. Epicureanism reminds us that flourishing is not a solo project. The people around you shape your peace, your joy, and your moral life.
Pyrrho of Elis
95 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 10: Pyrrho of Elis and Skepticism Pyrrho, the skeptic, believed no one knows anything. Everything can be questioned. The best approach is to keep an open mind. Like Socrates, Pyrrho himself left no writings. We know of his teachings through his students and later writers. Phrases that best represent
Spherical Earth
The Greeks knew the Earth is spherical. For example, Pythagoras (570-495 BCE), Aristotle (384-322 BCE), and Euclid (circa 450 BCE) wrote about the Earth as a sphere. Eratosthenes (276-194 BCE) even calculated the circumference of the Earth to within 1%. He also wrote about the idea that India could be reached by sailing westward from
Aristotle
96 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 9: Aristotle and Empiricism Aristotle was the greatest Greek philosopher and covered nearly all subjects including physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theatre, music, rhetoric, psychology, linguistics, economics, politics, meteorology, geology, and government. His Aristotelian philosophy characterized by deductive logic and an analytic inductive method. Some of
Plato
98 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 8: Plato and Rationalism Plato was a Greek philosopher born in Athens. He was a student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle. Plato’s Theory of Forms asserts that the reality is only a shadow, or image, of the true reality of the Realm of Forms — abstract, perfect,
Thales of Miletus (624 – 546 BCE)
106 Generations Ago Thales of Miletus was a Greek philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer. Considered by many including Aristotle to be the first philosopher in the Greek tradition. He is also considered the father of science by many. Some of my favorite translated sayings are: Know thyself. A multitude of words is no proof of a
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Socrates (469 – 399 BCE)
99 Generations Ago Socrates was a Greek philosopher and is frequently credited as the founder of Western philosophy. He left no writings, but his student Plato documented his philosophy. Some of my favorite translated sayings attributed to Socrates: Enjoy yourself — it’s later than you think. He who is not content with what they have
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Neolithic Symbols: China
Good journalism slows the spread of error by checking what happened, who said it, and what supports it.
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