Great Thinkers

Meet the great minds whose ideas have shaped the world — philosophers, scientists, artists, leaders, and revolutionaries whose thinking still matters today.

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Critical thinking × Page 11 of 11
Philosophy
Umberto Eco
1932-2016 · Italy, Southern Europe
Umberto Eco (1932-2016) was an Italian philosopher, semiotician, literary theorist, and novelist. He was born in Alessandria in northern Italy and studied philosophy at the…
Critical literacy Media literacy Storytelling and narrative Critical thinking +1
"A book is a fragile creature, it suffers the wear of time, it fears rodents, the elements and clumsy hands.…"
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Anthropology & Culture
Umm Kulthum
c. 1898 - 1975 · Egypt
Umm Kulthum was an Egyptian singer. She was probably the most famous Arab cultural figure of the 20th century. She was born around 1898 in…
Creative expression Cultural heritage and identity Emotional intelligence Critical thinking +1
"Sing a beautiful song with a strong meaning, and the people will love you."
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Literature
Ursula K. Le Guin
1929-2018 · United States
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin was an American novelist, essayist, and poet. She is one of the most important writers of science fiction and fantasy in…
Creative expression Critical thinking Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity +1
"We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be…"
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Philosophy
V. Y. Mudimbe
1941-2025 · Democratic Republic of the Congo (later United States)
Valentin-Yves Mudimbe was a Congolese philosopher, novelist, and linguist. He was one of the most important African thinkers of the late 20th century. He was…
Critical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Research skills Ethical thinking +1
"There exists an African way of interpreting the world which presents the universe as a totality."
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Literature
Vine Deloria Jr.
1933 - 2005 · United States (Standing Rock Sioux)
Vine Deloria Jr. was a Native American scholar, writer, and activist. He was the most influential Native American intellectual of the 20th century. His books…
Critical thinking Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Research skills +1
"We are the only humans who became Indians."
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Literature
Virginia Woolf
1882-1941 · England
Virginia Woolf was an English novelist, essayist, and literary critic. She is one of the most important writers of the 20th century. She was born…
Creative expression Critical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Emotional intelligence +1
"A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."
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Politics
Vladimir Lenin
1870-1924 · Russian Empire / Soviet Union
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian revolutionary and political theorist. He led the October Revolution of 1917 and founded the Soviet Union, the world's first…
Critical thinking Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Problem solving +1
"Peace, Land, Bread."
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Philosophy
Vladimir Vernadsky
1863-1945 · Russian Empire / Soviet Union (Ukrainian descent, founded Ukrainian Academy of Sciences)
Volodymyr Ivanovych Vernadsky (in Russian: Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky) was a mineralogist, geochemist, and philosopher of science. He helped found three modern scientific disciplines: geochemistry, biogeochemistry,…
Scientific thinking Critical thinking Research skills Ethical thinking +1
"Life is not just present on Earth's surface. Life is a planetary force."
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Literature
Voltaire
1694-1778 · France
Voltaire was a French writer, philosopher, and campaigner who became the most famous voice of the European Enlightenment. His real name was François-Marie Arouet. He…
Critical thinking Ethical thinking Creative expression Cultural heritage and identity +1
"We must cultivate our garden."
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Mathematics
W. Edwards Deming
1900-1993 · United States
William Edwards Deming (1900-1993) was an American statistician and management consultant whose work on quality control and systematic thinking about production reshaped manufacturing in Japan…
Scientific thinking Critical thinking Research skills Ethical thinking +1
"In God we trust; all others must bring data."
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Sociology
W.E.B. Du Bois
1868-1963 · United States
W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) was an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, and one of the most important intellectual figures of the twentieth century. His…
Critical thinking Citizenship Cultural heritage and identity Research skills +1
"The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the colour line."
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History
Walter Rodney
1942-1980 · Guyana, Caribbean / South America
Walter Rodney (1942-1980) was a Guyanese historian, political thinker, and activist. He was born in Georgetown, Guyana, then a British colony in South America, and…
Systems thinking Citizenship Civic media and democracy Financial literacy +1
"African development is possible only on the basis of a radical break with the international capitalist system, which has been…"
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Philosophy
Wang Yangming
1472 - 1529 · Ming dynasty China
Wang Yangming was a Chinese philosopher, scholar, and military general. He is one of the most important Confucian thinkers of the second millennium CE. His…
Ethical thinking Critical thinking Creative expression Emotional intelligence +1
"There is a sage in every person, but they do not believe in themselves and so they bury this sage."
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Arts
Wassily Kandinsky
1866-1944 · Russia / Germany / France
Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist usually credited as one of the pioneers of abstract painting in the European tradition. He…
Creative expression Scientific thinking Critical thinking Cultural heritage and identity +1
"Colour is a power which directly influences the soul."
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Literature
William Shakespeare
1564-1616 · England
William Shakespeare was an English writer. He is often called the greatest writer in the English language. He was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, a…
Creative expression Emotional intelligence Critical thinking Cultural heritage and identity +1
"To be, or not to be, that is the question."
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Literature
Wole Soyinka
1934 - present · Nigeria (Yoruba)
Wole Soyinka is a Nigerian playwright, poet, novelist, essayist, and political activist. In 1986 he became the first African writer to win the Nobel Prize…
Creative expression Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Critical thinking +1
"A tiger does not proclaim its tigritude. It pounces."
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Arts
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1756-1791 · Salzburg (now Austria)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer. He is one of the most celebrated composers in European classical music. He was born in 1756 in…
Creative expression Emotional intelligence Cultural heritage and identity Critical thinking +1
"I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings."
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Arts
Zaha Hadid
1950 - 2016 · Iraq (later United Kingdom)
Zaha Hadid was an Iraqi-British architect. She was one of the most important architects of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. She was the…
Creative expression Problem solving Scientific thinking Cultural heritage and identity +1
"I don't believe in a 'female sensibility' in architecture. I think there are women who design well, just like there…"
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Philosophy
Zera Yacob
c. 1599-c. 1692 · Ethiopia
Zera Yacob was an Ethiopian philosopher of the seventeenth century. His main work is a short book called the Hatata, which means 'inquiry' or 'investigation'.…
Critical thinking Ethical thinking Research skills Cultural heritage and identity +1
"All men are equal in the presence of God; and all are intelligent since they are his creatures."
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Philosophy
Zhu Xi
1130-1200 · China
Zhu Xi was a Chinese philosopher, teacher, and government official of the Southern Song dynasty. He was born on 18 October 1130 in Youxi, in…
Ethical thinking Critical thinking Research skills Cultural heritage and identity +1
"If we wish to extend our knowledge to the utmost, we must investigate the principles of all things we come…"
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Philosophy
Zhuangzi
c. 369-286 BCE · China
Zhuangzi was a Chinese philosopher of the 4th century BCE. His name means 'Master Zhuang'. His personal name was Zhuang Zhou. He lived during a…
Critical thinking Creative expression Emotional intelligence Ethical thinking +1
"Once Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as…"
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Education
bell hooks
1952–2021 · United States
bell hooks (1952–2021) was an American educator, professor, feminist theorist, and cultural critic. She was born Gloria Jean Watkins in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, into a working-class…
Critical thinking Critical literacy Resilience Intercultural competence +1
"To educate as the practice of freedom is a way of teaching that anyone can learn."
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Business & Management
Émile Durkheim
1858-1917 · France
Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) was a French scholar who is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern sociology. He was born in Épinal, in…
Scientific thinking Critical thinking Research skills Ethical thinking +1
"A social fact is any way of acting, whether fixed or not, capable of exerting over the individual an external…"
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