Essentialism

Entities—including humans—have an intrinsic, underlying set of core traits or predefined purpose (“essence”) that dictates what they are prior to their existence.

  • Key Figures: Aristotle, Plato.

Buddhism

Life’s suffering stems from attachment to impermanent things, and liberation (Nirvana) is achieved by recognizing the absence of a permanent self (Anatta) and following a path of mindfulness, wisdom, and ethical conduct.

  • Key Figures: Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha), Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu.

Existentialism

Humans are born without inherent purpose and must define their own meaning and values through conscious choices and personal actions.

  • Key Figures: Jean-Paul Sartre, Friedrich Nietzsche, Søren Kierkegaard.

Stoicism

True peace and virtue come from distinguishing between what you can control and what you cannot, while mastering your internal reactions through reason.

  • Key Figures: Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus.

Utilitarianism

An action is morally right if it maximizes overall happiness and well-being for the greatest number of people while minimizing harm.

  • Key Figures: Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill.

Nihilism

Life lacks objective meaning, moral value, or ultimate truth, suggesting that human existence is fundamentally without purpose.

  • Key Figures: Friedrich Nietzsche (who analyzed and warned against it), Arthur Schopenhauer.

Empiricism

All knowledge comes primarily or solely from sensory experience and observable evidence rather than innate ideas or pure intuition.

  • Key Figures: John Locke, David Hume, Francis Bacon.

Rationalism

Reason and intellectual deduction, rather than sensory observation, are the primary sources and ultimate tests of human knowledge.

  • Key Figures: René Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.

Rational Egoism / Objectivism

An individual’s own self-interest, rational thought, and personal happiness should be the primary moral standards for living.

  • Key Figures: Ayn Rand.

Absurdism

Humanity’s desperate search for inherent meaning conflicts directly with a cold, silent universe—a confrontation we should accept with rebellious freedom rather than despair.

  • Key Figures: Albert Camus.

Daoism (Taoism)

Harmony is achieved by living in accord with the natural order of the universe (the Dao) through humility, simplicity, and effortless action (wu wei).

  • Key Figures: Laozi, Zhuangzi.

Idealism

Physical reality is fundamentally shaped or constructed by the mind, meaning ideas form the ultimate foundation of existence.

  • Key Figures: Plato, Immanuel Kant, George Berkeley.

Philosophy