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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56 thinkers
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Religion
Kimpa Vita
c. 1684-1706 · Kingdom of Kongo (Angola / Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita was a Kongolese Christian prophetess and political leader. She founded the Antonian movement, which imagined Christianity in Kongolese terms. She was…
Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Critical thinking Creative expression +1
"Jesus was born in São Salvador, which is Bethlehem, and he was baptised in Nsundi, which is Nazareth."
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Literature
Laozi
c. 6th century BCE (traditional) / 4th century BCE (modern view) · China
Laozi is the name given to the author of the Daodejing, one of the most important books in Chinese thought. The name means 'Old Master'.…
Critical thinking Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Emotional intelligence +1
"The Dao that can be spoken of is not the true Dao. The name that can be named is not…"
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Philosophy
Ludwig Wittgenstein
1889-1951 · Austria-Hungary / United Kingdom
Ludwig Wittgenstein was an Austrian-British philosopher. Many consider him the greatest philosopher of the twentieth century. He was born on 26 April 1889 in Vienna,…
Critical thinking Creative expression Research skills Ethical thinking +1
"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world."
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Arts
Ludwig van Beethoven
1770 - 1827 · Germany / Austria
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. He was born in 1770 in Bonn, in what is now Germany. He is one of…
Creative expression Emotional intelligence Problem solving Cultural heritage and identity +1
"Music can change the world."
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Education
Malala Yousafzai
1997-present · Pakistan
Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani education activist. She is the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She was born on 12 July…
Critical thinking Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Emotional intelligence +1
"One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world."
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Philosophy
Martha Nussbaum
1947-present · United States
Martha Craven Nussbaum is an American philosopher. She is one of the most influential and widely read philosophers of the past fifty years. She was…
Ethical thinking Critical thinking Emotional intelligence Cultural heritage and identity +1
"The best approach to the question of social justice is the capabilities approach: what are people actually able to do…"
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Philosophy
Mencius
c. 371-289 BCE · China
Mencius was a Chinese philosopher. His Chinese name was Meng Ke, which means 'Master Meng'. Later Chinese tradition called him the 'Second Sage', meaning second…
Ethical thinking Critical thinking Emotional intelligence Cultural heritage and identity +1
"The feeling of pity is the beginning of kindness. The feeling of shame is the beginning of doing right. The…"
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Literature
Mirabai
c. 1498-c. 1547 · India (Rajasthan)
Mirabai was a sixteenth-century Indian poet and saint. She is one of the most loved figures in the bhakti movement, a Hindu devotional tradition that…
Creative expression Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Emotional intelligence +1
"Mira's lord is the clever Mountain Lifter; she is his slave forever, at the dust of his lotus feet."
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Literature
Murasaki Shikibu
c. 973-c. 1014 · Japan
Murasaki Shikibu was a Japanese writer and lady of the imperial court. She is the author of The Tale of Genji, often called the world's…
Creative expression Cultural heritage and identity Emotional intelligence Critical thinking +1
"At the court of an emperor (he lived it matters not when), there was among the many gentlewomen of the…"
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Law
Nelson Mandela
1918-2013 · South Africa
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African lawyer, freedom fighter, and statesman. He led the long struggle to end apartheid, the racist system that ruled…
Ethical thinking Critical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Emotional intelligence +1
"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and…"
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Arts
Nina Simone
1933 - 2003 · United States (African American, exiled in Europe in later life)
Nina Simone was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. Her real name was Eunice Kathleen Waymon. She was born in 1933 in the small town…
Creative expression Ethical thinking Emotional intelligence Cultural heritage and identity +1
"An artist's duty is to reflect the times."
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Literature
Oodgeroo Noonuccal
1920 - 1993 · Australia (Noonuccal people, Stradbroke Island/Minjerribah)
Oodgeroo Noonuccal was an Aboriginal Australian poet, activist, teacher, and artist. She was the first Aboriginal Australian to publish a book of poetry. Her work…
Creative expression Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Critical thinking +1
"We are nature and the past, all the old ways gone now and scattered."
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Politics
Patrice Lumumba
1925-1961 · Democratic Republic of the Congo
Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese political leader and the first Prime Minister of the independent Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was born in…
Critical thinking Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Creative expression +1
"We have known the mockery, the insults, the blows we had to endure morning, noon, and night because we were…"
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Sociology
Patricia Hill Collins
1948-present · United States
Patricia Hill Collins is an American sociologist. She is one of the most important thinkers on race, gender, and power in recent decades. She was…
Critical thinking Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Research skills +1
"Self-definition is a way of resisting oppression."
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Philosophy
Peter Abelard
1079 - 1142 · France
Peter Abelard was a French philosopher, theologian, and teacher. He was one of the most influential and controversial intellectual figures of the 12th century. He…
Critical thinking Ethical thinking Creative expression Research skills +1
"By doubting we come to inquiry; by inquiry we perceive truth."
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Philosophy
Peter Singer
1946-present · Australia (currently United States)
Peter Singer is an Australian philosopher. He is one of the most widely read living philosophers and one of the most controversial. He was born…
Ethical thinking Critical thinking Problem solving Cultural heritage and identity +1
"The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?"
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Philosophy
Plato
c. 428 BCE - c. 348 BCE · Athens, Greece
Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher. He is one of the most important thinkers in human history. The whole tradition of Western philosophy has been…
Critical thinking Ethical thinking Creative expression Research skills +1
"The unexamined life is not worth living."
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Religion
Rabia of Basra
c. 717 CE - c. 801 CE · Basra, Iraq (Abbasid Caliphate)
Rabia of Basra was an early Sufi mystic and saint. Sufism is the mystical tradition within Islam. It emphasises the inner experience of God rather…
Ethical thinking Emotional intelligence Creative expression Cultural heritage and identity +1
"O God, if I worship Thee for fear of hell, burn me in hell. If I worship Thee for hope…"
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Arts
Ravi Shankar
1920 - 2012 · India (later based in California)
Ravi Shankar was an Indian musician. He played the sitar, a long-necked string instrument from northern India. He is the most famous Indian classical musician…
Creative expression Cultural heritage and identity Emotional intelligence Research skills +1
"Our music is not entertainment. It is much more."
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Literature
Rumi
1207-1273 · Khorasan / Anatolia (Persian Sufi)
Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-1273), known throughout the Islamic world as Mawlana (our master) and in the West by the short name Rumi, was a…
Creative expression Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Critical thinking +1
"Listen to this reed, how it complains, telling tales of separation."
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Literature
Seamus Heaney
1939-2013 · Northern Ireland / Ireland
Seamus Heaney was an Irish poet. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest English-language…
Creative expression Cultural heritage and identity Emotional intelligence Ethical thinking +1
"Between my finger and my thumb / The squat pen rests; snug as a gun."
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Religion
Simon Kimbangu
1887-1951 · Democratic Republic of the Congo
Simon Kimbangu was a Congolese religious leader and the founder of Kimbanguism, one of the largest African-initiated churches in the world. He was born on…
Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Critical thinking Emotional intelligence +1
"It is now time for me to turn myself in to the authorities; let impatient men prone to anger be…"
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Religion
Teresa of Ávila
1515-1582 · Spain (Catholic, Discalced Carmelite)
Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582), born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, was a Spanish Carmelite nun, mystic, reformer, and writer whose works on contemplative prayer…
Ethical thinking Emotional intelligence Cultural heritage and identity Creative expression +1
"Mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to…"
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Education
The Buddha
c. 480 BCE - c. 400 BCE · South Asia (modern Nepal/India border)
The Buddha was a teacher who lived in northern India around 2,500 years ago. His personal name was Siddhartha Gautama. 'Buddha' is a title. It…
Ethical thinking Emotional intelligence Critical thinking Cultural heritage and identity +1
"All conditioned things are impermanent. Work out your own salvation with diligence."
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