Confucius
Confucius (c. 551 BCE – c. 479 BCE), known in Chinese as Kong Qiu (孔丘) or Kong Fuzi (孔夫子), was a Chinese philosopher, teacher, and political figure whose teachings have profoundly shaped East Asian culture and society for over two millennia. As the founder of Confucianism, his ideas on ethics,...
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский). Sometimes transliterated as Dostoevski or Dostoievsky. He held no titles but was occasionally called “The Prophet” by admirers.
Gautama Buddha: The Awakened One
Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha (meaning “Awakened One” or “Enlightened One”), stands as one of history’s most influential spiritual teachers and the foundational figure of Buddhism. The title “Buddha” is not a personal name but an honorific...
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment, whose ideas transformed political philosophy, educational theory, and literature. Unlike many of his Enlightenment contemporaries who celebrated reason and civilization, Rousseau argued that humans are naturally...
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc is one of history’s most extraordinary figures—a teenage peasant girl who led armies, crowned a king, and changed the course of the Hundred Years’ War. Her story of divine visions, military triumph, political intrigue, and martyrdom has inspired countless works of art,...
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach stands as one of the supreme geniuses in Western music history, a composer whose mastery of counterpoint, harmony, and musical architecture remains unmatched. Though recognized as an exceptional organist during his lifetime, Bach was primarily known as a church musician and...
John Locke
John Locke is widely regarded as one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers and the “Father of Liberalism.” His ideas on empiricism, natural rights, religious toleration, and government by consent laid the philosophical foundations for modern democracy, constitutional...
Laozi (Lao Tzu)
Full Name: Laozi (老子), also rendered as Lao Tzu, Lao-Tze, or Laotze