34 Important Philosophical Movements You Should Know About

Branch of Philosophy - Key Focus
aesthetics: study of art
epistemology: study of knowledge
ethics: study of behavior
metaphysics: study of existence
politics: study of society

Movement - Key Belief - Some Key Followers

1. anarchy government is evil Zeno, William Godwin, Emma Goldman
2. causality all actions have specific reactions Aristotle
3. collectivism humans are just a subset of society Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels
4. communism collective ownership of the means of production Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels
5. conservatism individualism and minimal intervention of government Edmund Burke, Thomas Hobbes, Leo Strauss
6. Cynicism people are evil Antisthenes, Diogenes, Zeno
7. democracy rule by the people EXAMPLE: ancient Athens
8. determinism all events are predetermined Jonathan Edwards, John Calvin
9. egalitarianism all people are created equal Jean-Jacques Rousseau
10. empiricism experience is the only source of knowledge John Locke, David Hume
11. Epicureanism value is measured by happiness Epicurus
12. existentialism it is up to the individual to determine his or her own meaning and purpose  Søren Kierkegaard, Jean-Paul Sartre, Martin Heidigger
13. fatalism all events are determined by fate Oswald Spengler,Arthur Schopenhauer
14. free will humans have the power to make choices  most Christian sects, with the exception of Calvinists
15. hedonism value is measured by pleasure Aristippus, Epicurus
16. idealism value is measured by mind over matter Immanuel Kant, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
17. individualism society is essentially the sum of its individuals Thomas Jefferson,  Thomas Paine
18. liberalism defense of individual freedom is the purpose of government John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, John Dewey
19, libertarianism the right to freedom from restraint trumps all other rights Herbert Marcuse
20. materialism value is measured by material goods and matter Democritus,  Thomas Hobbes
21. meritocracy government by those with the greatest ability EXAMPLE: Mongol Empire
22. nihilism value and meaning do not exist Mikhail Bakunin
23. oligarchy government by the few EXAMPLE: South Africa under apartheid
24. plutocracy government by the wealthy EXAMPLE: ancient Venice
25. positivism scientific observation is the only source of knowledge  Auguste Comte,  Rudolf Carnap
26. pragmatism value is measured by whatever works William James, John Dewey
27. rationalism deductive reasoning is the only source of knowledge René Descartes, Benedict Spinoza
28. realism reality consists of universals that humans see imperfectly as specifics Plato, Pierre Abélard
29. relativism all points of view are equally valid; truth is subjective Friedrich Nietszche, Ludwig Wittgenstein
30. skepticism all knowledge should be viewed with doubt  Pyrrho, Arcesilaus
31. Stoicism only through indifference to pleasure and pain can people know how to act Zeno, Epictetus
32. theocracy government by the religious order EXAMPLE: Islamic Republic of Iran
33. transcendentalism spiritual feelings and the process of thought are the only source of knowledge Ralph Waldo Emerson,Henry David Thorean,  Bronson Aleott
34. utilitarianism value is measured by usefulness for the group Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill