List of philosophers born in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
Encyclopedia
Philosophers born in the 15th and 16th centuries (and others important in the history of philosophy), listed alphabetically:
See also:
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- Note: This list has a minimal criteria for inclusion and the relevance to philosophy of some individuals on the list is disputed.
See also:
- List of philosophers born in the centuries BC
- List of philosophers born in the 1st through 10th centuries
- List of philosophers born in the 11th through 14th centuries
- List of philosophers born in the 15th and 16th centuries
- List of philosophers born in the 17th century
- List of philosophers born in the 18th century
- List of philosophers born in the 19th century
- List of philosophers born in the 20th century
A-B
- Isaac ben Judah AbravanelIsaac AbrabanelIsaac ben Judah Abrabanel, , commonly referred to just as Abarbanel, was a Portuguese Jewish statesman, philosopher, Bible commentator, and financier.-Biography:...
, (1437–1508) - Judah ben Isaac AbravanelJudah Leon AbravanelJudah Leon Abravanel was a Jewish Portuguese physician, poet and philosopher...
, (1460?-1535?) - Alessandro AchilliniAlessandro AchilliniAlessandro Achillini was an Italian philosopher and physician.-Biography:He was born and died in Bologna, and is buried in the Church of Saint Martin there...
, (1463–1512) - Uriel Acosta, (1585–1640)
- Rodolphus AgricolaRodolphus AgricolaRodolphus Agricola was a pre-Erasmian humanist of the northern Low Countries, famous for his supple Latin and one of the first north of the Alps to know Greek well...
, (1443–1485) - Heinrich Cornelius AgrippaHeinrich Cornelius AgrippaHeinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim was a German magician, occult writer, theologian, astrologer, and alchemist.-Life:Agrippa was born in Cologne in 1486...
, (1436–1535)* - Leone Battista AlbertiLeone Battista AlbertiLeon Battista Alberti was an Italian author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, cryptographer and general Renaissance humanist polymath...
, (1404–1472) - Yohanan ben Isaac Alemanno, (1433–1504)
- Isaac ben Moses AramaIsaac ben Moses AramaIsaac ben Moses Arama was a Spanish rabbi and author. He was at first principal of a rabbinical academy at Zamora ; then he received a call as rabbi and preacher from the community at Tarragona, and later from that of Fraga in Aragon. He officiated finally in Calatayud as rabbi and head of the...
, (1420–1494) - Jacobus ArminiusJacobus ArminiusJacobus Arminius , the Latinized name of the Dutch theologian Jakob Hermanszoon from the Protestant Reformation period, served from 1603 as professor in theology at the University of Leiden...
, (1560–1609) - Francis Bacon, (1561–1626)12
- Domingo BáñezDomingo BáñezDomingo Bañez was a Spanish Dominican and Scholastic theologian. The qualifying Mondragonensis, attached to his name, seems to be a patronymic after his father John Bañez of Mondragón, Gipuzkoa....
, (1528–1604) - Sebastiano Basso, (16th century)
- Gabriel BielGabriel BielGabriel Biel was a German scholastic philosopher and member of the Brethren of the Common Life born in Speyer. In 1432 he was ordained to the priesthood and entered Heidelberg University. He succeeded academically and became an instructor in the faculty of the arts.- Life :His studies were pursued...
, (1425–1495) - Jean BodinJean BodinJean Bodin was a French jurist and political philosopher, member of the Parlement of Paris and professor of law in Toulouse. He is best known for his theory of sovereignty; he was also an influential writer on demonology....
, (1530–1596)12 - Jakob BöhmeJakob BöhmeJakob Böhme was a German Christian mystic and theologian. He is considered an original thinker within the Lutheran tradition...
, (1575–1624) - Giovanni BoteroGiovanni BoteroGiovanni Botero was an Italian thinker, priest, poet, and diplomat, best known for his work Della ragion di Stato . In this work, he argued against the amoral political philosophy associated with Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince, not only because it lacked a Christian foundation but also because...
, (c1544-1617) - Giordano BrunoGiordano BrunoGiordano Bruno , born Filippo Bruno, was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer. His cosmological theories went beyond the Copernican model in proposing that the Sun was essentially a star, and moreover, that the universe contained an infinite number of inhabited...
, (1548–1600)12*
C-E
- Thomas CajetanThomas CajetanThomas Cajetan , also known as Gaetanus, commonly Tommaso de Vio , was an Italian cardinal. He is perhaps best known among Protestants for his opposition to the teachings of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation while he was the Pope's Legate in Wittenberg, and perhaps best known among...
, (1469–1534)12 - John CalvinJohn CalvinJohn Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
, (1509–1564)2 - Tommaso CampanellaTommaso CampanellaTommaso Campanella OP , baptized Giovanni Domenico Campanella, was an Italian philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet.-Biography:...
, (1568–1639)12 - Gerolamo CardanoGerolamo CardanoGerolamo Cardano was an Italian Renaissance mathematician, physician, astrologer and gambler...
, (1501–1576) - Andrea CesalpinoAndrea CesalpinoAndrea Cesalpino was an Italian physician, philosopher and botanist....
, (1519–1603) - Pierre CharronPierre CharronPierre Charron was a French 16th-century Catholic theologian and philosopher, and a disciple and contemporary of Michel Montaigne.-Biography:...
, (1541–1603) - Ch'en Hsien-chang, (1428–1500)
- Chiao Hung, (1540–1620)
- John ComeniusComeniusJohn Amos Comenius ; ; Latinized: Iohannes Amos Comenius) was a Czech teacher, educator, and writer. He served as the last bishop of Unity of the Brethren, and became a religious refugee and one of the earliest champions of universal education, a concept eventually set forth in his book Didactica...
, (1592–1670)12 - Nicolaus CopernicusNicolaus CopernicusNicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
, (1473–1543)12 - Johannes CrelliusJohannes CrelliusJohannes Crellius was a Polish and German theologian.-Life:...
, (1590–1633) - Cesare CremoniniCesare Cremonini (philosopher)Cesare Cremonini, sometimes Cesare Cremonino , was an Italian professor of natural philosophy, working rationalism and Aristotelian materialism inside scholasticism...
, (1550–1631) - Jalal al-Din al-Dawani, (1426–1502)
- Elijah Delmedigo, (1460–1497)
- Joseph Solomon DelmedigoJoseph Solomon DelmedigoJoseph Solomon Qandia Delmedigo was a rabbi, author, physician, mathematician, and music theorist....
, (1484–1558) - Denys the Carthusian (or Denys de Leeuwis), (1402–1471)
- René DescartesRené DescartesRené Descartes ; was a French philosopher and writer who spent most of his adult life in the Dutch Republic. He has been dubbed the 'Father of Modern Philosophy', and much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day...
, (1596–1650)12 - Guillaume du VairGuillaume du VairGuillaume du Vair was a French author and lawyer.He was born in Paris. After taking holy orders, he exercised only legal functions for most of his career. However, from 1617 till his death he was Bishop of Lisieux. His reputation is that of a lawyer, a statesman and a man of letters...
, (1556–1621) - Desiderius ErasmusDesiderius ErasmusDesiderius Erasmus Roterodamus , known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and a theologian....
, (1466–1536)12
F-K
- Marsilio FicinoMarsilio FicinoMarsilio Ficino was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance, an astrologer, a reviver of Neoplatonism who was in touch with every major academic thinker and writer of his day, and the first translator of Plato's complete extant works into Latin...
, (1433–1499)12* - Robert FilmerRobert Filmerthumbnail|150px|right|Robert Filmer Sir Robert Filmer was an English political theorist who defended the divine right of kings...
, (1588–1653)12 - Robert FluddRobert FluddRobert Fludd, also known as Robertus de Fluctibus was a prominent English Paracelsian physician, astrologer, mathematician, cosmologist, Qabalist, Rosicrucian apologist...
, (1574–1637) - Pedro da FonsecaPedro da Fonseca (philosopher)Pedro da Fonseca was a Portuguese Jesuit philosopher and theologian. His work on logic and metaphysics made him known in his time as the Portuguese Aristotle.-Works:* Institutionum Dialecticarum. Lisbon: 1564....
, (1528–1599) - Fujiwara SeikaFujiwara Seikawas a Japanese philosopher, a leading neo-Confucian of the early Tokugawa Period and a teacher of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Like his student, Hayashi Razan , he had studied in Zen monasteries. But in 1598, at Fushimi Castle, he met Gang Hang , a Korean neo-Confucian scholar who was taken prisoner to Japan...
, (1561–1619) - Galileo GalileiGalileo GalileiGalileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
, (1564–1642)12 - Pierre GassendiPierre GassendiPierre Gassendi was a French philosopher, priest, scientist, astronomer, and mathematician. With a church position in south-east France, he also spent much time in Paris, where he was a leader of a group of free-thinking intellectuals. He was also an active observational scientist, publishing the...
, (1592–1655)12 - Rudolph GocleniusRudolph GocleniusRudolph Göckel or Rudolf Goclenius [the Older] was a German scholastic philosopher, credited with inventing the term psychology .-Life:He was born in Korbach, Waldeck...
, (1547–1628) - Wawrzyniec Grzymala GoslickiWawrzyniec Grzymala GoslickiWawrzyniec Grzymała Goślicki was a Polish nobleman, Bishop of Poznań , political thinker and philosopher best known for his book De optimo senatore .-Biography:...
(1530–1607) - Hugo GrotiusHugo GrotiusHugo Grotius , also known as Huig de Groot, Hugo Grocio or Hugo de Groot, was a jurist in the Dutch Republic. With Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili he laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law...
, (1583–1645)12 - Henricus RegiusHenricus RegiusHenricus Regius was a Dutch philosopher, physician, and professor of medicine. He was a vocal proponent of Cartesianism, and corresponded frequently with René Descartes...
, (1598–1679) - Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of CherburyEdward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of CherburyEdward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Chirbury was an Anglo-Welsh soldier, diplomat, historian, poet and religious philosopher of the Kingdom of England.-Early life:...
, (1583–1648) - Abraham Cohen de HerreraAbraham Cohen de HerreraAbraham Cohen de Herrera also known as Alonso Nunez de Herrera or Abraham Irira was a religious philosopher and cabbalist. He is supposed by the historian Heinrich Graetz to have been born in 1570...
(or Alonso Nunez de Herrera or Abraham Irira), (1562–1635) - Thomas HobbesThomas HobbesThomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
, (1588–1679)12 - Richard Hooker, (1554–1600)
- John of St. ThomasJohn of St. ThomasJohn of St. Thomas, , theologian, philosopher, born at Lisbon, 9 June 1589; died at Fraga, Spain, 17 June 1644....
(or Jean Poinsot), (1589–1644) - Joachim JungiusJoachim JungiusJoachim Jungius was a German mathematician, logician and philosopher of sciences.-Life:He was a native of Lübeck...
, (1587–1657) - Bartholomäus KeckermannBartholomäus KeckermannBartholomäus Keckermann in Danzig was a German writer, Calvinist theologian and philosopher. He is known for his Analytic Method...
, (1571–1609) - Johannes KeplerJohannes KeplerJohannes Kepler was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. A key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution, he is best known for his eponymous laws of planetary motion, codified by later astronomers, based on his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican...
, (1571–1630)*
L-O
- Isaac La PeyrèreIsaac La PeyrèreIsaac La Peyrère, or Pererius, was a French Millenarian theologian and formulator of Pre-Adamite hypothesis.- Life :Born into a Huguenot family in Bordeaux, and possibly of Jewish descent, La Peyrère was a lawyer by training and a Calvinist by upbringing, though he later converted to...
, (1596–1676) - Justus LipsiusJustus LipsiusJustus Lipsius was a Southern-Netherlandish philologist and humanist. Lipsius wrote a series of works designed to revive ancient Stoicism in a form that would be compatible with Christianity. The most famous of these is De Constantia...
, (1547–1606) - Liu Tsung-chou (or Ch'i-shan), (1578–1645)
- Martin LutherMartin LutherMartin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
, (1483–1546)12 - Niccolò MachiavelliNiccolò MachiavelliNiccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...
, (1469–1527)12 - John Major (or John Mair), (1467–1550)12
- Juan de MarianaJuan de MarianaJuan de Mariana, also known as Father Mariana , was a Spanish Jesuit priest, Scholastic, historian, and member of the Monarchomachs....
, (1536–1624) - Jacopo MazzoniJacopo MazzoniJacopo Mazzoni was an Italian philosopher. -Biography:Giacopo Mazzoni was born in Cesena, Italy in 1548...
, (1548–1598) - Bartolomé de MedinaBartolomé de MedinaBartolomé de Medina, Spanish theologian and mining specialist, was born in Medina de Rioseco, Spain in 1527. A member of the Dominican Order and a student of Francisco de Vitoria, he was professor of theology at the University of Salamanca and a member of the School of Salamanca...
, (1527–1580) - Philipp MelanchthonPhilipp MelanchthonPhilipp Melanchthon , born Philipp Schwartzerdt, was a German reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems...
, (1497–1560) - Marin MersenneMarin MersenneMarin Mersenne, Marin Mersennus or le Père Mersenne was a French theologian, philosopher, mathematician and music theorist, often referred to as the "father of acoustics"...
, (1588–1648) - Judah Messer Leon, (c. 1425-c. 1495)
- Mikyo DorjeMikyö DorjeMikyö Dorje , also Mikyo Dorje, was the eighth Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism.Mikyö Dorje was born in Satam, Kham. According to the legend, he said after being born: "I am Karmapa." and was recognized by Tai Situpa. In this case there was another child from Amdo who...
(or Mi bskyod rdo rje), (1507–1554) - Muhammad Baqir Mir DamadMir DamadMir Damad , known also as Mir Mohammad Baqer Esterabadi, or Asterabadi, was an Iranian philosopher in the Neoplatonizing Islamic Peripatetic traditions of Avicenna and Suhrawardi, a scholar of the traditional Islamic sciences, and foremost figure , of the cultural renaissance of Iran undertaken...
(or Sayyid al-Afadil or Ishraq or Ibn al-Damad), (d. 1631) - Luis de Molina, (1535–1600)12
- Michel de MontaigneMichel de MontaigneLord Michel Eyquem de Montaigne , February 28, 1533 – September 13, 1592, was one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance, known for popularising the essay as a literary genre and is popularly thought of as the father of Modern Skepticism...
, (1533–1592)12 - Thomas MoreThomas MoreSir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...
, (1478–1535)* - Mulla SadraMulla SadraṢadr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī also called Mulla Sadrā was a Persian Shia Islamic philosopher, theologian and ‘Ālim who led the Iranian cultural renaissance in the 17th century...
, (1571–1640)12 - Nicholas of CusaNicholas of CusaNicholas of Kues , also referred to as Nicolaus Cusanus and Nicholas of Cusa, was a cardinal of the Catholic Church from Germany , a philosopher, theologian, jurist, mathematician, and an astronomer. He is widely considered one of the great geniuses and polymaths of the 15th century...
, (1401–1464)12* - Agostino NifoAgostino NifoAgostino Nifo or Augustini Niphi or Niphas, Latinized as Agustinus Niphus or Augustinus Niphus, was an Italian philosopher and commentator.-Life:...
, (1470–1538) - Richard OvertonRichard OvertonRichard Overton was an English pamphleteer and Leveller during the Civil War. Little is known of the early life of Overton, but he is believed to have matriculated at Queens' College, Cambridge, before working as an actor and playwright in Southwark. Here he picked up Leveller sympathies, and...
, (c. 1599-1664)
P-T
- ParacelsusParacelsusParacelsus was a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist....
, (1493–1541) - Francesco Patrizi da Cherso (or Franciscus Patritius) (1529–1597)
- Giovanni Pico della MirandolaGiovanni Pico della MirandolaCount Giovanni Pico della Mirandola was an Italian Renaissance philosopher. He is famed for the events of 1486, when at the age of 23, he proposed to defend 900 theses on religion, philosophy, natural philosophy and magic against all comers, for which he wrote the famous Oration on the Dignity of...
, (1463–1494)12* - Pietro PomponazziPietro PomponazziPietro Pomponazzi was an Italian philosopher. He is sometimes known by his Latin name, Petrus Pomponatius.-Biography:...
, (1462–1525)12 - François RabelaisFrançois RabelaisFrançois Rabelais was a major French Renaissance writer, doctor, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He has historically been regarded as a writer of fantasy, satire, the grotesque, bawdy jokes and songs...
, (1493–1553) - Petrus RamusPetrus RamusPetrus Ramus was an influential French humanist, logician, and educational reformer. A Protestant convert, he was killed during the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.-Early life:...
, (1515–1572)* - Francisco SanchesFrancisco SanchesFrancisco Sanches was a Portuguese philosopher and physician of Sephardi Jewish origin.-Early life and academic career:...
, (1551–1623) - Julius Caesar ScaligerJulius Caesar ScaligerJulius Caesar Scaliger was an Italian scholar and physician who spent a major part of his career in France. He employed the techniques and discoveries of Renaissance humanism to defend Aristotelianism against the new learning...
, (1484–1558) - Michal SedziwójMichal SedziwójMichał Sędziwój of Ostoja coat of arms was a Polish alchemist, philosopher, and medical doctor....
, (1566–1636) - John SeldenJohn SeldenJohn Selden was an English jurist and a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law...
, (1584–1654) - Francesco SilvestriFrancesco SilvestriFrancesco Silvestri, O.P. was an Italian Dominican theologian. He wrote a notable commentary on Thomas of Aquinas's Summa contra gentiles, and served as Master General of his order from 1525 until his death.-Life:...
(or Francis Sylvester of Ferrara), (1474–1528) - Sosan Hyujong, (1520–1604)
- Domingo de SotoDomingo de SotoDomingo de Soto was a Dominican priest and Scholastic theologian born in Segovia, Spain, and died in Salamanca at the age of 66...
, (1494–1560) - Francisco SuárezFrancisco SuárezFrancisco Suárez was a Spanish Jesuit priest, philosopher and theologian, one of the leading figures of the School of Salamanca movement, and generally regarded among the greatest scholastics after Thomas Aquinas....
, (1548–1617)12* - Nicolaus TaurellusNicolaus TaurellusNicolaus Taurellus was a German philosopher and theologian.He was born in the County of Mömpelgard, then part of the Duchy of Württemberg. With support from Duke Georg I. of Württemberg-Mömpelgard, he read theology at University of Tübingen and medicine at the University of Basel, where he...
, (1547–1606) - Bernardino TelesioBernardino TelesioBernardino Telesio was an Italian philosopher and natural scientist.While his natural theories were later disproven, his emphasis on observation made him the "first of the moderns" who eventually developed thescientific method.-Biography:...
, (1509–1588) - Teresa of AvilaTeresa of ÁvilaSaint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer...
, (1515–1582) - Francisco ToledoFranciscus ToletusFrancisco de Toledo, born the 4 October 1532 at Cordoba and died the 14 September 1596 in Rome, was a Spanish Jesuit theologian, Biblical exegete and professor at the Roman College...
, (1532–1596)
V-Z
- Lorenzo VallaLorenzo VallaLorenzo Valla was an Italian humanist, rhetorician, and educator. His family was from Piacenza; his father, Luciave della Valla, was a lawyer....
, (1406–1457)12* - Vallabhacharya, (1479–1531)
- Giulio Cesare VaniniLucilio VaniniLucilio Vanini was an Italian free-thinker, who in his works styled himself Giulio Cesare Vanini.He was born at Taurisano, near Lecce, and studied philosophy and theology at Rome. After his return to Lecce he applied himself to the physical studies which had come into vogue with the Renaissance....
, (1585–1619) - Gabriel Vazquez, (1549–1604)
- Nicoletto VerniaNicoletto VerniaNicoletto Vernia was an Italian Averroist philosopher, at the University of Padua.-Life:He studied at Pavia, under Paolo da Pergola in Venice, and with Gaetano da Thiene in Padua, graduating with a doctorate in 1458...
, (1442–1499) - Francisco de VitoriaFrancisco de VitoriaFrancisco de Vitoria, OP was a Spanish Renaissance Roman Catholic philosopher, theologian and jurist, founder of the tradition in philosophy known as the School of Salamanca, noted especially for his contributions to the theory of just war and international law...
, (1492–1546)12 - Juan Luís VivesJuan Luís VivesJuan Luis Vives , also Joan Lluís Vives i March , was a Valencian Spanish scholar and humanist.-Biography:Vives was born in Valencia...
, (1492–1540) - Wang YangmingWang YangmingWang Yangming was a Ming Chinese idealist Neo-Confucian philosopher, official, educationist, calligraphist and general. After Zhu Xi, he is commonly regarded as the most important Neo-Confucian thinker, with interpretations of Confucianism that denied the rationalist dualism of the orthodox...
, (1472–1529)12 - Thomas White, (1593–1676)
- Yi HwangYi HwangYi Hwang is one of the two most prominent Korean Confucian scholars of the Joseon Dynasty, the other being his younger contemporary Yi I . A key figure of the Neo-Confucian literati, he established the Yeongnam School and set up the Dosan Seowon, a private Confucian academy. Yi Hwang is often...
(or Toegye) (1501–1570) - Yi IYi IYi I was one of the two most prominent Korean Confucian scholars of the Joseon Dynasty, the other being his older contemporary, Yi Hwang . Yi I is often referred to by his pen name Yulgok...
(or Yi Yulgok or Yi Yi) (1536–1584) - Jacopo ZabarellaJacopo ZabarellaGiacomo Zabarella was an Italian Aristotelian philosopher and logician. He was accused of atheism for the notable chapter "De inventione æterni motoris" in his De rebus naturalibus libri XXX....
, (1533–1589)