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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Metacognition ×

c. 50-135 CE · Hierapolis, Asia Minor (now Turkey)

Epictetus (c.50-135 CE) was a Greek Stoic philosopher who was born into slavery in Hierapolis, a city in what is now Turkey. His name means…

Self regulation Resilience Ethical thinking Metacognition +1

"Of things, some are up to us and some are not up to us."

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980-1037 CE · Persia and Central Asia (present-day Uzbekistan and Iran)

Ibn Sina (980-1037 CE), known in the Western world as Avicenna, was a Persian Muslim philosopher and physician. He was born near Bukhara in what…

Scientific thinking Health literacy Critical thinking Research skills +1

"The knowledge of anything, since all things have causes, is not acquired or complete unless it is known by its…"

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John Maynard Keynes

1883–1946 · Cambridge, England

John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) was a British economist whose ideas changed the way governments manage their economies. He grew up in Cambridge, England, studied mathematics…

Critical thinking Critical literacy Metacognition

"In the long run we are all dead."

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1870–1945 · Japan

Kitaro Nishida (1870–1945) was a Japanese philosopher and the founder of what is known as the Kyoto School — the first major tradition of Japanese…

Critical thinking Metacognition Intercultural competence Critical literacy

"At the base of our existence, there must be something that unifies the opposition of subject and object."

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Marcus Aurelius

121-180 CE · Rome, Roman Empire

Marcus Aurelius (121-180 CE) was Roman Emperor from 161 until his death in 180 CE, and one of the most important philosophers in the Stoic…

Self regulation Resilience Ethical thinking Metacognition +1

"You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realise this, and you will find strength."

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1867–1934 · Warsaw, Poland / Paris, France

Marie Curie (1867–1934) was a physicist and chemist born in Warsaw, Poland, at a time when Poland was occupied by Russia and women were barred…

Critical thinking Resilience Metacognition Intercultural competence

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood."

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c. 150-250 CE · India, South Asia

Nagarjuna (approximately 150-250 CE) was an Indian Buddhist philosopher, widely considered one of the most important and influential thinkers in the entire history of Asian…

Metacognition Ethical thinking Scientific thinking Critical thinking +1

"Whatever is dependently arisen, that is explained to be emptiness. That, being a dependent designation, is itself the middle way."

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1921–1997 · Brazil, Latin America

Paulo Freire (1921–1997) was a Brazilian educator and thinker. He grew up during a time of great poverty and saw how many poor people could…

Critical literacy Critical thinking Metacognition Resilience +1

"Education either functions as an instrument to bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom."

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Business & Management

1856–1939 · Austria / Czech Republic

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis — one of the most influential and contested intellectual movements of the 20th…

Critical thinking Metacognition Resilience Critical literacy

"The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind."

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1909-1943 · France

Simone Weil (1909-1943) was a French philosopher, political activist, and mystic. She was born in Paris into a secular Jewish family of considerable intellectual distinction…

Ethical thinking Metacognition Self regulation Learning how to learn +1

"Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity."

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c. 470–399 BCE · Athens, Ancient Greece

Socrates (c. 470–399 BCE) was a philosopher in ancient Athens, Greece. He wrote nothing himself — everything we know about him comes from the writings…

Critical thinking Metacognition Collaboration Resilience

"I know that I know nothing."

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Søren Kierkegaard

1813-1855 · Denmark, Northern Europe

Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher, writer, and theologian. He was born in Copenhagen, the youngest of seven children, and spent almost his entire…

Ethical thinking Metacognition Self regulation Learning how to learn +1

"The most common form of despair is not being who you are."

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1922-1996 · United States

Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996) was an American philosopher and historian of science. He studied physics at Harvard University and then became interested in the history of…

Scientific thinking Research skills Critical thinking Metacognition +1

"Normal science does not aim at novelties of fact or theory and, when successful, finds none."

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