John Stuart Mill 1806-1873 Life Background Pax Britannica (1815 -1 914): industrialization and increase in prosperity Expansion of rights, transformation of government Victorian Age (1837 - 1901) Early life 1806: Born in Pentonville, northern suburb of London Had received classical education at a young age Raised in the tradition of Philosophical Radicalism Father wanted him to be the ultimate Victorian intellectual and utilitarian reformer Tasked with the education of his siblings at th...

Life Early life 1712: Jean-Jacques Rousseau is born in Geneva Mother died nine days after his birth Rousseau was raised and educated by his father until the age of ten. His father was a watchmaker and citizen of Geneva, which his son inherited From his accounts, the education he received from his father included the inculcation of republican patriotism and the reading of classical authors who dealt with the Roman republic. He is put under the care of a pastor in Bossey after his father’s exi...

Life Bento (Baruch/Benedictus) Spinoza (1632 - 1677) Early life Born in Amsterdam in 1632 Son in a prominent family of moderate means in the Portuguese-Jewish community It was a thriving center of Jewish commerce and thought His ancestors, Sephardic Jews, fled the Spanish peninsula after their expulsion in 1392 He had a traditional jewish schooling, but later embraced other views Star pupil in the congregation’’s Talmud Torah school Intellectually gifted from a young age Perhaps being prep...

John Rawls (1921-2002) Life Early life Born in Baltimore Second of 5 children Father was an attorney, mother involved in the League of Women Voters Two of his brothers died of illness he passed to them Attended Episcopalian prep school, then Kent School in CT Entered Princeton and earned his bachelor’s degree in 1943 Became more interested in theology, had an idea of preaching He enlisted in the army later that year and served in the South Pacific until 1945 Part of the occupying army and b...

Life Life Born 1982 Born to Jewish mother who had to leave town due to anti-semitism Notion of not belonging follows him Part of Germany’s Social Democratic Party Bachelors in History from Cambridge PHD from Harvard in Government Became a U.S Citizen in 2017 Becomes professor at John Hopkins University Online newsletter since 2020 called Persuasion Works The Age of Responsibility (His PhD work) Stranger in my own country Relations to Germany and Jewish heritage Not fitting in The People V...

Life Martha C. Nussbaum Context Post WWII philosophy was analytical Stoicism and utilitarianism Economic revival 1945-1952, superpower status and global importance Civil Rights movement and Red Scare 1953-1958 Contemporary feminism 1953-1965 Life Born 1947 First studies were theater and classics Studied at University of New York and Harvard Critical of the stoics Rebellious Involved in social justice movements teaches at UChicago \ Philosophy The Fragility of Goodness Nature of go...

Life Early life Born 1924 in France Born to affluent family, father was a surgeon Ashamed of his bourgeoise roots Academically proficient 1946: enrolls in Ecole Normale Superieur He was reclusive, put into a psychiatric hospital 1950: joins communist party under influence of Louis Althusser Leaves after a few years after experiences with homophobia and antisemitism Writes about psychology, knowledge, prison system, and sexuality He was the best paid-professor in French uni system “Professor ...

Benito Mussolini Life Pre-fascist era: Liberalism Small government Free market capitalism Individual rights Democracy Great Depression created growing support for extremist illiberal ideas Leads to a rise of fascism and communism 1917-1945: Crisis of democracy Formation of Italy Congress of Vienna 1815: Monarchical absolutism Italian revolutions: spread from Spain, occur throughout Italy Return of the French in 1849: Reinstate pope Italy 1861” Victor Emmanuel II is King, Kingdom of Sardi...

Life Early life Born 1906 into a German-Jewish family in Hannover Also lived in Konigsberg, Prussia Expelled at the age of 15 after an argument with a teacher that she subsequently started a boycott against that teacher In 1924, went to Marburg University Studied with Martin Heidegger, with whom she had a brief love-affair, had a lasting influence He became an important Nazi philosopher After a year, she moved to Freiburg University and spent a semester attending the lectures of Edmund Husse...

Life 1844 - 1900 Context Rise of the imperial British, French, other nations in Africa Early life Born in Saxony, Prussia Grandfather published works defending Protestantism and had ecclesiastical position Other grandfather was a parson Father was appointed pastor Röcken by order of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia (who he is named after) Father died before Nietzsche’s 5th bday Lived with his mother, sister, and two aunts Education 1850: moved to Naumburg Nietzsche attended a priva...

\ Life Context China in the 19th century 80% agricultural population Did not industrialize Imperialism from the Japanese and British Suffered during the opium wars Xinhai Revolution of 1911 replaced the 2132 year old dynasty for a republic Caused political division Communist revolution six years later Mao life Born to prosperous peasants in 1893 Studies to become a teacher Engaged in the army during the revolution but did not see combat 1921: Founding the Chinese Communist Party ...

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770 - 1831) Life Early Life Born 1770 in Stuttgart Son of a revenue officer Early education at the Stuttgart grammar school until 18 1788: Studied classics and philosophy in Tübingen for 2 years He was impatient with the orthodoxy of his teachers, and his certificate shows that, while dedicated to philosophy, less proficient in theology Was said to be a poor orator Career Wanting to study philosophy of Greek literature, he became a private tutor Lived in B...

Life Alexis de Tocqueville (1805 – 1859) Key events Born just before Napoleon crowned Emperor (1804) 1815: Restoration of Bourbon monarchy, end of Napoleon Congress of Vienna: restore l’ancien regime Restoration was a failure, ideas already spread 1830: July Revolution, overthrow of Bourbns 1848: Another revolutions, Orleans overthrown De Tocqueville was a member of parliament at this time He believed in the transition towards a republic or parliamentary democracy Elections had to be organi...

Life Context Late 19th early 20ths Russia Is Czarist state: they are conservative Caused hostility in peasant society Still an unindustrialized, agrarian society, serfdom Destabilizing wars 1904-1905: Russo-Japanese war humiliates Russia 1905 Revolution: protest to petition at Winter Palace, ended in a massacre of 150 people October Manifesto permitted to establish the Duma and grant rights, not respected by Czar WWI: Czar defends ally Serbia triggering world war despite not having the tech...

1818 - 1883 Life Context Industrial revolution Large factory worker population More apparent wealth inequality Undesirable working conditions for many French revolution Inspired social reforms, belief in the peasant revolution German revolution wanted a single state, with a liberal democracy (1848) Romanticized Feeling of social estrangement from one another Industrialization was a large change \ Family Born in Trier Eldest surviving son of nine children Jewish parents from a lin...

Life John Locke (1632 - 1704) Early life Early Life Grew up during a busy period of English political and intellectual history Born in Wrington to Puritan parents of modest means His father was a lawyer that served in a cavalry company on the Puritan side early in the the English Civil War His father’s commander (Alexander Popham) later became the local MP, who supported Locke’s studies 1647: Locke does to Wesmtinster School in London 1652: He moves to Christ Church, Oxford He was critical...

Immanuel Kant 1724-1804 Life Early life Born in Königsberg, Prussia Lived in the remote province in which he was born According to him, his father was a descendant of a Scottish immigrant Parents were followers of the Pietist branch of the Lutheran Church Pietists taught that religion belongs to inner life expressed in simplicity and obedience to moral law Education Enters the Pietist school at the age of 8, directed by his pastor Latin school, Kant acquired a love for Latin classics 17...

Jeremy Bentham 1748 - 1832 Life Early life Born in London Elder son of an attorney Child prodigy, learned Latin at a young age Finished his studies at Oxford at 15 Experiences at Westminster and Oxford inspired an interest in educational reform Family was conservative and wealthy Product of self-study, believed in study by interest Career Not so interested in law or judge Hoped to follow a political career Critical of law and judicial and political institutions Friends with James Mill D...

Machiavelli Life Early Life Bio Philosopher, historian, statesman, writer Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469 - 1527- (Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli) Born in Florence, a thriving center of philosophy and art at the time Florence It was a prosperous oligarchic republic Sea access and trade brought wealth Christians and protestants are at war during Machiavelli’s time Family Born to a prominent family They occasionally held office in Florence His father, Bernardo, was a doctor of laws Bern...

Life England in the 17th Century Between the renaissance and the reformation of monarchy in England Little Ice Age period led to increased diseases English Civil War 1642-`651 Monarchy is restored in 1660 with King Charles II Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) Everything he is known for today was written when after he was 60 (he lived to be 91) The English Civil war was extremely influential on him It lasted a decade, pitted the King and parliament against each other, and led tot he deaths of 200,...

Presentation Life Early life Milton Friedman (1912 to 2006) He was born to Jewish immigrant parents in Brooklyn, N.Y., and grew up in New Jersey, 20 miles from New York City His family was not financially stable as he was growing up His father died during his senior year, Friedman had to work various jobs to earn his undergrad degree in economics and mathematics from Rutgers University Friedman was awarded a scholarship to an economics graduate program at the University of Chicago in 1932 E...

Guide Philosopher State of Nature Duty of Citizen Rights of citizen Role of Gov Type of Gov Plato Learn \n Follow reason Class-based soc Help subjects achieve wisdom Philosopher king \n Guardians Aristotle Hierarchies \n beings have function Achieve telos \n Achieve happiness Polity is most important \n Social cooperation \n Strong middle class \n Impartial law Polity/aristocracy \n Strong middle class Hobbes Choas \n Exited through gov Obey gov \n None, rebel maybe under threat of li...

\ Life Early life Born 1689: Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu Born the year of the Glorious Revolution From a notable and prosperous family Educated at the Oratorian Collège de Juilly 1708: received a law degree from the University of Bordeaux and went to Paris to continue his legal studies 1713: His father dies, he returns to La Brède to manage his estates and inherits his titles 1715 he married Jeanne de Lartigue (a Protestant) and had three children with her...

Life Early life Edmund Burke is born in Dublin in 1729 when it was part of the British Empire Father was a prosperous attorney His father was protestant, mother was catholic Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, bastion of the Anglican Church He went to the Middle Temple at London to qualify for the bar He married in 1756 and had a son 1758, disqualifying him from celibate expectations Career Felt a political career and became a writer He was a writer and then a public figure It was imposs...

The Roman Republic A kingdom from 783 to 509 B.C.E There was a king in charge of this city-state There was a senate (from a word meaning old men), they were the patricians Plebeians had assemblies with influence Republic 509-27 B.C.E People had freedom of speech within government Senate contained 900 members Two consuls: the head of state and commander of the army. They would change who was in charge day by day, Hannibal exploited this by facing the weaker of the consuls Praetor: In charg...

Socrates: Mentor of Plato Died at the hand of the state in 399 Everything we know about Socrates comes from others who wrote about him, sometimes in works of fiction One of the first professional philosophers Socratic Method attributed to him: a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presuppositions Creates necessary doubt and uncertainty, proves which ideas wi...

Aristotle’s Life Born 384 B.C.E in Stagira in northern Greece (Classical Period) His father was a doctor, so he was introduced to Greek medicine and biology When his parents died, he was sent to Athens to study at Plato’s Academy Therefore, he could not participate politically due to his status as a foreigner In 343 B.C.E King Philip of Macedon requested Aristotle tutor his son, Alexander the Great, though there is little evidence of the influence He studied with Plato for roughly 10 years unt...