Curated playlist
Philosophers of law
- Thomas AquinasThomas Aquinas's family held him prisoner for nearly a year. At nineteen he chose to join the Dominican preachers.
- AristotleOnly around a third of Aristotle's original writings survive, and none was meant to be published.
- Denis DiderotJailed writer Denis Diderot annotated Paradise Lost with a toothpick and ink made from slate and wine.
- Han FeiHan Fei was forced to drink poison after his former classmate Li Si turned a king against him.
- MontesquieuMontesquieu published The Spirit of Law anonymously in 1748, and the Church banned it in 1751.
- Marcus AureliusMarcus Aurelius wrote a private journal that sold 100,000 copies in 2019.
- Émile DurkheimÉmile Durkheim came from eight generations of rabbis, yet argued religion was social, not divine.
- Friedrich HayekThree days before the 1929 Wall Street crash, Friedrich Hayek wrote that no sudden collapse was expected.
- MenciusMencius said a tyrant king was no longer a ruler at all. The Chinese philosopher put common citizens above rulers.
- ConfuciusTold his stables had burned, Confucius asked only, "Was anyone hurt?" He did not ask about the horses.
- Bartolomé de las CasasBartolomé de las Casas began as a slave owner with a gold-rich estate on Hispaniola.
- Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville was sent to America to study prisons. He went far beyond that and wrote a book on democracy.