Topics: Philosophers : B
Bachelard, Gaston
Gaston Bachelard, 1884-1962. French thinker. Known as an epistemologist and poetry critic.
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Bacon, Roger
Roger Bacon, fl. late 13th century, approximate lifespan 1220-1292. Known for his contributions to mathematics and early natural science.
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Bain, Alexander
Alexander Bain, 1818-1903. Nineteenth-century Scottish philosopher and educator. He played an important role in the history of psychology, helping to establish it as a science.
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Bakhtin, Mikhail
Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin, 1895-1975. Continental philosopher, semiotician and philosopher of language, a Russian dissident who was the leading light of the Bakhtin Circle.
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Bañez, Domingo
Domingo Bañez (Banez, Vañez), 1528-1604. Late medieval Spanish Thomist philosopher and Catholic theologian. He is known for his work on the metaphysical question of free will, opposing Luis de Molina and upholding the doctrine of God's physical predetermination of all human acts.
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Barnes, Hazel
Hazel Barnes, b.1915. American philosopher and follower of Sartre, known for her translation of Being and Nothingness.
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Bataille, Georges
Georges Bataille, 1897-1962. French writer of philosophy and fiction, known for his perspectives on sacrifice, chance, and sexuality.
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Baudrillard, Jean
Jean Baudrillard. French social theorist and philosopher, known for his writings on postmodern culture and media.
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Bauer, Bruno
Bruno Bauer, 1809-1882. German philosopher and theologian, a follower of Hegel and prominent member of the Young Hegelians movement.
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Baumgarten, Alexander Gottlieb
Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, 1714-1762. German thinker of the early modern Enlightenment period. He was the first to propose and name the discipline of aesthetics.
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Bayle, Pierre
Pierre Bayle, 1647-1706. Early modern French thinker and forerunner of the Enlightenment, strongly critical of both religious orthodoxy and philosophical rationalism.
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Beattie, James
James Beattie, 1735-1803. Philosopher and poet of the late Scottish Enlightenment who is best remembered for his opposition to Hume.
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Beccaria, Cesare
Cesaria Beccaria, 1738-1794. Italian legal scholar and political philosopher. Remembered for his denunciation of capital punishment and torture.
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Benjamin, Walter
Walter Benjamin, 1892-1940. German critic, historian, and philosopher, who came to be widely known outside Germany following World War II, after his death in 1940.
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Bentham, Jeremy
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). English economist and philosopher, best known as a founder of Utilitarianism and opponent of Adam Smith's notion of "natural rights."
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Berdyaev, Nikolai
Nikolai Aleksandrovich Berdyaev, 1874-1948. Ukrainian philosopher, later exiled, who began his intellectual career as a Marxist.
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Bergmann, Gustav
Gustav Bergmann, 1906-1987. A member of the Vienna Circle of positivist thought, Bergmann later emigrated to the United States.
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Bergson, Henri
Henri Bergson, 1859-1941. French philosopher especially known for his teachings on duration and vital force.
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Berkeley, George
George Berkeley, 1685-1743. Irish-born metaphysician and epistemologist, usually numbered among the great British Empiricists. He is particularly remembered for the argument that material objects can only be known through God.
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Berlin, Isaiah
Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997). Latvian-born British philosopher, one of the leading liberal thinkers of the 20th century.
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Bessarion, John
John Bessarion (Johannes Bessarion, Johannes Basilius), 1403-1472. Medieval Byzantine philosopher-theologian who worked to bring classical philosophy to the west.
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Blaga, Lucian
Lucian Blaga, 1895-1961. Romanian author, poet and philosopher of mind.
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Blanshard, Brand
20th century American rationalist
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Blondel, Maurice
Maurice Blondel, 1861-1949. French Catholic thinker who worked to bring systematic metaphysics together with Christian doctrine.
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Bodin, Jean
Jean Bodin, 1530-1596. French political philosopher and lawyer who argued for absolute sovereignty.
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Boehme, Jacob
Jacob (Jakob) Boehme (Behmen), 1575-1624. German mystic and early modern philosopher. Known for his radical vision of God as including a negative, painful aspect.
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Boethius
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, circa 475 - 524 AD. Late Roman or very early medieval writer, generally considered a Neoplatonist.
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Bolingbroke, Henry St. John
Henry St. John Bolingbroke, 1678-1751. English political philosopher and statesman. Follower of John Locke.
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Bolzano, Bernard
Bernard Bolzano, 1781-1848. German thinker who established a philosophical foundation of mathematics based on the theory of classes.
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Bonjour, Laurence
20th century American philosopher, professor at the University of Washington
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Bosanquet, Bernard
Bernard Bosanquet, 1848-1923. British Idealist philosopher who developed a modified form of Hegelian ontology, and held that all contradictions are illusory.
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Boscovich, Ruggero Giuseppe
Ruggero Giuseppe Boscovich (Ruggiero Giuseppe Boscovich, Roger Joseph Boscovich, Rudjer Josip Boskovic), 1711-1787. Croatian scientist and philosopher of the Enlightenment period.
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Boyle, Robert
Robert Boyle (1627-1691), Irish philosopher and physicist.
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Bradley, Francis Herbert
Francis Herbert Bradley, 1846-1924. British Idealist metaphysician who subscribed to "absolute idealism."
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Brandt, Richard B.
Richard Booker Brandt, 1910-1997. Twentieth-century American ethicist and philosopher who first separated "act" and "rule" utilitarianism.
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Brentano, Franz
Franz Brentano, 1838-1917. Philosopher and psychologist, who made particular contributions in phenomenology.
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Broad, Charlie Dunbar
Charlie Dunbar Broad (C.D. Broad), 1887-1971. British moral philosopher and parapsychologist. Today, he is remembered primarily for his historical work, carefully summarizing the various positions which had been taken in certain controversies.
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Brouwer, L. E. J.
Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer, 1881-1966. Dutch philosopher of logic and mathematician. He founded the discipline of topology and the philosophical doctrine of intuitionism.
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Bruni, Leonardo
Leonardo Bruni, 1369-1444. Late medieval Italian humanist scholar and chancellor of Florence.
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Brzozowski, Stanislaw
20th century Polish philosopher
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Buber, Martin
Martin Buber, 1878-1965. Jewish philosopher known for his writings on human relationships and community.
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Budé, Guillaume
Guillaume Budé (Guglielmus or Guilielmus Budaeus), 1467-1540. French humanist scholar and statesman who corresponded with Erasmus.
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Buridan, John
John Buridan (c. 1300-c. 1358) was one of the most influential philosophers of the late Middle Ages.
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Burley, Walter
Walter Burley (Burleigh, Burlaeus), 1273-1357. English Scholastic philosopher and pupil of Duns Scotus who advocated a middle path between the doctrines of Scotus and Ockham.
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Butler, Joseph
Joseph Butler, 1692-1752. English philosopher, theologian and Anglican bishop.
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Butler, Judith
Judith Butler. American feminist philosopher and postmodern critical theorist, whose work focuses on sexuality, violence and queer theory.
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