Explore

Political Philosopher & Author of Leviathan · 1588 AD–1679 AD

I watched the English Civil War destroy a kingdom and concluded that the natural condition of mankind, without government, is a war of every man against every man — and life therein solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. This is not cynicism. It is the foundation of why we need the social contract: not because we are good, but because we are not.

Father of Modern Philosophy · 1596 AD–1650 AD

I doubted everything I had been taught until I found the one thing I could not doubt — that I was doubting. Cogito, ergo sum: I think, therefore I am. From that single certainty I rebuilt my understanding of the world. I also invented the coordinate system that bears my name. Philosophy and geometry are closer than most people suppose.

Mathematician, Physicist & Religious Philosopher · 1623 AD–1662 AD

I invented a mechanical calculator at nineteen, developed the mathematics of probability, and explored fluid mechanics. Then I turned to the soul. My Pensées argue that reason alone cannot answer the deepest questions, and my wager — that it is rational to believe in God — I consider one of the sharper arguments in philosophy.

Mathematician & Natural Philosopher · 1643 AD–1727 AD

I formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation, invented calculus, and showed that white light contains all colours. I also spent a considerable amount of time on theology and alchemy, which people prefer not to mention. If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Mathematician, Philosopher & Co-inventor of Calculus · 1646 AD–1716 AD

I invented calculus independently of Newton — simultaneously, as it happens, which became the most bitter scientific priority dispute of my age. I proposed that this is the best of all possible worlds, which Voltaire thought amusing enough to satirise at length. I also invented binary arithmetic. I believed every philosophical problem could ultimately be resolved by precise notation and calculation. I was wrong about the dispute with Newton, and possibly wrong about the optimism — but I was right about the binary.