Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784) was an English writer who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic,...

Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 1689 – 10 February 1755) was a French judge, man of letters, and political philosopher. He is famous...

Lucius Annaeus Seneca (c. 4 BC – AD 65) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and—in one work—satirist of the Silver Age of Latin literature. Seneca was born...

François-Marie Arouet (21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778), known by his nom de plume Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit,...

Publilius Syrus (fl. 85 – 43 BC) was a Latin writer, best known for his sententiae. He was a Syrian who was brought as a slave to Italy, but by his wit and talent he won the...

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin KBE (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. Chaplin became...

Immanuel Kant (22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher who is a central figure in modern philosophy. In his doctrine of transcendental idealism, he argued...

Epicurus (341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher who founded a highly influential school of philosophy now called Epicureanism. For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was...

Confucius (551–479 BC) was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. The philosophy of Confucius, also known as...

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, philologist, and a Latin and Greek scholar whose work...