Philosopher Quick Map 🗺️

This is a one-glance map of major thinkers, their lane, and why they matter.

Fast Progression Paths

• Foundations first: Plato -> Aristotle -> Confucius
• Ethics and self-mastery: Epicurus -> Epictetus -> Marcus Aurelius
• Faith and reason bridge: Augustine -> Avicenna -> Maimonides -> Aquinas
• State and legitimacy: Hobbes -> Locke -> Rousseau -> Mill
• Critique path: Hume -> Marx -> Nietzsche
• Logic and language path: Aristotle -> Frege -> Russell -> Wittgenstein

Classical and Early Foundations

• Plato -> justice, forms, education, political order
• Aristotle -> logic, virtue, causation, practical reason
• Confucius -> role ethics, social harmony, self-cultivation
• Epicurus -> tranquility, desire discipline, fear reduction
• Epictetus / Marcus Aurelius -> Stoic agency and resilience

Faith and Scholastic Synthesis

• Augustine -> interiority, time, will, theology and self
• Avicenna -> essence/existence, metaphysical necessity
• Maimonides -> reason + scripture reconciliation
• Aquinas -> natural law, faith and reason architecture

Modern State and Knowledge Debates

• Descartes -> certainty, method, mind-body dualism
• Hobbes -> social contract, security-first sovereignty
• Locke -> empiricism, rights, political consent
• Hume -> skepticism, causation challenge, is/ought
• Spinoza -> monism, God/Nature unity, rational ethics

Ideology, Social Order, and Critique

• Rousseau -> civic freedom, inequality critique
• Kant -> autonomy, duty, conditions of knowledge
• Hegel -> history, institutions, dialectical development
• Mill -> liberty, harm principle, civic pluralism
• Marx -> class conflict, capitalism critique, communism framework
• Nietzsche -> morality/religion critique, value revaluation

Analytic and Language Turn

• Frege -> predicate logic and sense/reference
• Russell -> logical analysis method
• Wittgenstein -> language games, meaning as use

4-Lane Study Labeling

Use this quick tagging in your notes:

• M: Metaphysics and epistemology
• E: Ethics and value
• P: Political and social theory
• L: Logic and language

Prerequisite Guide (Practical)

If you want to read	Read first
Kant	Hume + Rousseau
Hegel	Kant
Marx	Hegel + Smith basics
Nietzsche	Plato basics + Kant basics
Frege	Aristotle logic basics
Wittgenstein	Frege + Russell

Outcome Focus by Path

• Foundations path -> build shared vocabulary and canonical questions.
• Ethics path -> improve practical reflection and habit-level reasoning.
• Political path -> compare authority, rights, freedom, and institutions.
• Critique path -> test assumptions behind morality, economy, and culture.
• Logic path -> strengthen precision in arguments and definitions.