René Descartes (March 31, 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, mathematician and scientist. Dubbed the father of modern western philosophy, much of subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day. Descartes’s Meditations on First Philosophy (1641) continues to be a standard text at most university philosophy departments. Descartes’s influence in mathematics is equally apparent; the Cartesian coordinate system was named after him and he is credited as the father of analytic geometry. Descartes was also one of the key figures in the scientific revolution and laid the foundation for 17th-century continental rationalism. His best known philosophical statement is “Cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am), first found in Discourse on the Method (1637).
Hypatia, often called Hypatia of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematician, astronomer and philosopher in Egypt, then a part of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was the head of the Neoplatonic school at Alexandria, where she taught philosophy and astronomy. According to contemporary sources, Hypatia was murdered by a Christian mob after being accused of exacerbating a conflict between two prominent figures in Alexandria: the governor Orestes and the Bishop of Alexandria. For some historians, Hypatia’s death symbolized the end of Classical antiquity. She was born born c. AD 350-370 and died in 415.
Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, political commentator, social justice activist and anarcho-syndicalist advocate. Sometimes described as the “father of modern linguistics,” Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy. He has spent most of his career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and is the author of more than 100 books. In 1967, Chomsky entered public consciousness through his vocal opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and came to be associated with the New Left. He was arrested multiple times for his anti-war activism. Following his retirement from active teaching, he has continued his vocal public activism, including opposition to the Iraq War and support for the Occupy movement. Chomsky remains a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, neoliberal capitalism and mainstream news media. He was born December 7, 1928.
Karl Marx was a Prussian-German philosopher and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the establishment of the social sciences and the development of the socialist movement. Marx’s work in economics laid the basis for our understanding of labor and its relation to capital, and has influenced much of subsequent economic thought. He published numerous books during his lifetime, the most notable being The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Capital (1867). Marx called capitalism the “dictatorship of the bourgeoisie,” believing it to be run by the wealthy classes for their own benefit, and advocated for socialism, which would inevitably lead to a stateless, classless society called communism. Theoretical variants of Marxism include Leninism, Stalinism, Trotskyism and Maoism. Marx was born on May 5, 1818.
An Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. Known as the “father of science,” his achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism, or heliocentrism. He made Pope Urban VIII very angry. He was born on this day in 1564.
Isaac Newton was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist and theologian, and is considered one of the greatest and most influential scientists who ever lived. Newton described universal gravitation, the three laws of motion and built the first practical reflecting telescope. He was born yesterday in 1643.
A mystic philosopher of ancient China and author of the Tao Te Ching. Considered the founder of Taoism. Also an important member of South Park‘s Super Best Friends group.
P.S. “If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself. If you want to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation.” – Wang Fou, Huahujing (but often attributed to Laozi)
I’ve been working on creating 8-bit versions of all major religious figures (including every character depicted in South Park‘s Super Best Friends group) and want to be inclusive without potentially upsetting radical Islamist organizations. Thus, here is a censored (think of it as extremely backlit) visual depiction of a certain prophet from Mecca.
