Famous philosophers have played an important role in laying the foundations of the modern world. Their search for the meaning of everyday life and the transformation of their thoughts into a system of thoughts and logic are documented in books. When I read, for example, Kant, I feel it is still relevant today, his invaluable words can expand our consciousness, when consciousness expands, we can see the full picture in a given situation. Let’s look at the principles of a few philosophers that can influence us today in a positive way.
Immanuel Kant
Kant was one of the great thinkers of the Enlightenment, and much of his work is devoted to the question, “What can we know?” Kant argued that we can only know what can be experienced. In addition, he believes that we can know the natural, observable world, but we do not have answers to many of the deepest questions of metaphysics.
His most famous work, The Critique of Pure Reason, defines the limits and boundaries of metaphysics by combining reason with experience that goes beyond traditional philosophy.
Aristotle
Aristotle’s intellectual knowledge spanned every known field of science and art, which led him to idealize the Aristotelian syllogistic, the belief that logical argument applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two or more assumptions that are assumed to be true.
Aristotle studied with Plato after entering his Academy at the age of seventeen.
Socrates
His method laid the foundation for Western systems of logic and philosophy, instilling the belief that through the act of questioning, the mind could find truth.
Socrates believed that philosophy should achieve practical results for the greater welfare of society. He emphasized the idea that the more a person knows, the greater their ability to reason and make choices that will bring true happiness.
Plato
Plato’s logic explored justice, beauty, and equality and contained discussions in aesthetics, politics, language, and cosmology—the science of the origin and development of the universe.
Plato was a student of Socrates and later became the teacher of Aristotle. He was a rational philosopher who sought knowledge logically, not sensually. He then founded the Academy in Athens, one of the first institutions of higher learning in the Western world.
Confucius
Confucius concentrated on creating ethical social relationships, setting educational standards, and promoting justice and fairness.
His social philosophy was based on the principle of love for others. And he believed that this could be achieved using the golden rule:
What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.
