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Curated playlist

Philosophers of mind

  • Jean-Jacques RousseauRousseau refused a king's pension after Louis XV loved his opera. Friends were exasperated by his choice.
  • Jorge Luis BorgesJorge Luis Borges directed Argentina's National Library while completely blind.
  • Leo TolstoyLeo Tolstoy spent his last hours on a train, preaching non-violence to strangers.
  • Baruch SpinozaBaruch Spinoza was expelled from his Jewish community at twenty-three, and it still refuses him back.
  • Marcus AureliusMarcus Aurelius wrote a private journal that sold 100,000 copies in 2019.
  • The BuddhaNo written record of the Buddha survives from his lifetime. Ashoka's edicts name him in the 3rd century BCE.
  • MenciusMencius said a tyrant king was no longer a ruler at all. The Chinese philosopher put common citizens above rulers.
  • LaoziLaozi's name is not a name at all, but a title meaning old teacher. Tradition credits him with the Tao Te Ching.
  • Adi ShankaraAdi Shankara, now called India's most important philosopher, was probably unknown in his own time.
  • José Ortega y GassetJosé Ortega y Gasset answered Descartes with "I live therefore I think." He put lived experience before abstract reason.
  • Vladimir Solovyov (philosopher)Philosopher Vladimir Solovyov, a famous historian's son, died homeless and poor. He sought to reunite divided faiths.

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