THE 18 MAIN PHILOSOPHICAL CURRENTS AND THEIR REPRESENTATIVES - PHILOSOPHY - 2025

Some of the main philosophical currents are idealism, empiricism, rationalism or irrationalism. In this article, I list the major schools of philosophical thought in Western culture.

Since ancient times, man has asked questions such as the origin of his existence, truth or knowledge. Philosophy distinguishes itself from other disciplines that have attempted to answer these questions in the way it justifies the answers. It is based on rational arguments.

To determine which are the philosophical currents of Western civilization, it is necessary to take into account the historical context in which they develop. Historical facts mark the thinking of the time.

The philosophy of western civilization has its base in ancient Greece with the first philosophers, the pre-Socratics coming from the School of Miletus, founded by Thales of Miletus. Some of them, like Heraclitus, would have a great influence on the thinkers of the years to come, as is the case with Plato.

Later, with the splendor of the city of Athens in the 5th century BC, known as the Century of Pericles, the sophists would come. These thinkers focus on the political and social organization of the polis. In this same century the figure of Socrates is located, the first to search for an absolute truth and to create a procedure based on dialogue.

Socrates' disciple Plato is the first known Greek philosopher for whom complete works are available. With it, I begin the classification of the main philosophical currents of our culture.

Main philosophical currents of the West

1- Classical philosophy. Plato and Aristotle

Both Aristotle and Plato developed a theory that encompassed not only the universal question about Being and knowledge, but also studied ethics and politics.

Plato and the Theory of Ideas

Plato (427-347 BC) was born into a wealthy Athens family during the Peloponnesian War. He was the disciple of Socrates and is the first philosopher of which there is a complete written theory, the Theory of Ideas. With this theory he gives an answer to the origin of the world or of being and of knowledge.

The Athenian philosopher affirms that Ideas are abstract entities that govern the world. The philosopher describes in the myth of the cave, in his Republic, the world as something dual, which is divided into the world of Ideas that is only accessed through knowledge and the sensible world or the senses, which is mere appearance. The latter is changeable so it is not considered reliable. By this theory, Plato is considered the father of Objective Idealism.

Like Plato's dual world, the body is also, as it is divided into body and soul. Being the soul, the only thing that remains.

Plato was the founder of the Academy that Aristotle would attend, of which I will speak later. Plato had a great influence on his disciple, although he introduced radical changes and questioned the theory of his teacher.

Plato's philosophy is present in many other later currents of thought. In fact, his conception of a higher being as the Idea of ​​Good and the duality of his theory will have a lot of influence on religion and Christianity.

There will also be a current called Neoplatonism in the second century AD led by Plotinus and Philo. This tendency exaggerates Plato's ideas by mixing them with religious aspects.

Aristotle

Aristotle was born in the 4th century BC. He was very prolific in different disciplines such as art or science. At the age of eighteen he emigrated to Athens where he studied with Plato. The disciple differs from the teacher in his idea of ​​metaphysics. Aristotle displays greater common sense, according to Bertrand Russell in his book History of Western Philosophy.

He agrees with Plato that it is the essence that defines being, but in his Metaphysics he makes a strong criticism of his teacher's theory. He objects that he does not rationally explain the division between the world of Ideas and the sensible world, nor the relationship that Ideas have with the sensible world.

For Aristotle there has to be something else that gives movement and meaning to the universe and that links the material with the formal. Aristotle had a great importance for medieval and scholastic philosophy.

2- Hellenism

Source: pixabay.com

Hellenism is not a philosophical current as such, but a historical-cultural movement that occurred as a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great. The Greek polis became Hellenistic kingdoms that had common characteristics.

Despite the fact that politics lived through a dark age, Hellenism had a special relevance in the arts and philosophy, which contributed to a progress of civilization. Some of the most notable philosophical currents are.

• Skeptically. Founded by Pirrón. It comes from the verb skptomai (to look suspiciously). It lasted until the year 200 AD in its later aspect. He defends that the important thing is to achieve tranquility of the spirit, so it is not necessary to pretend to reach absolute knowledge, since neither the senses nor reason are reliable.
• Epicureanism. This current takes the name of its founder, Epicurus, and advocates obtaining pleasure as the ultimate goal. It is a cult of the body, because although it understands a world in which the Gods exist, they have no relationship with the human being, whose sole objective is to achieve the desires that are the engine of existence.
• Stoicism. A current founded by Zeno of Citio, it lasted for six centuries (IV century BC-II AD). According to Zeno, the course of life is determined by the laws of nature that repeat themselves cyclically. The only way to achieve happiness is to live according to nature.

Other thinkers of the time who followed this movement were Panecio of Rhodes, Cleantes of Aso, Posidonio of Apamea or Diogenes of Babylon.

3- Scholasticism or scholasticism

Augustine of Hippo

Between the eleventh and twelfth centuries, with the hegemony of the Christian religion, philosophy once again gained importance, this time to explain the existence of God.

It was Saint Augustine of Hippo who first tried to unify the Christian religion with classical Greek philosophy, but it was with the scholastic school that Aristotelian philosophy, which is used as a rational argument to demonstrate the existence of God, reaches its peak.

The term scholasticism comes from the clergy schools of the time. The father of this current is Saint Anselm of Canterbury, although others such as Saint Thomas Aquinas stand out, whose theory also combines Aristotelianism and Christian faith. This trend that encompasses philosophy and religion would extend into the 14th century.

Get more information about this philosophical current: Scholasticism: history, characteristics, importance, representatives.

4- Humanism

Portrait of Nicolás de Cusa

Master of the Life of the Virgin

Humanism is a cultural trend that was born in the fourteenth century in Italy and spreads throughout Europe. It covers up to the 16th century and is characterized by its interest in the classics.

In the philosophical field, thinkers such as Nicolás de Cusa, Marsilio Ficino or Pietro Pomponazzi stand out, who develop the Aristotelian and Platonic theories, adapting them to the times.

It is noteworthy that, at this time, the Catholic religion is no longer on the rise due to events such as the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther.

5- Rationalism

Rene Descartes

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the scientific revolution took place, which established a new method of knowledge and new disciplines such as mathematical physics. In this context, modern philosophy was born with currents such as rationalism.

The doctrines classified as rationalists defend that reality can only be known through reason and that ideas are something that are given a priori, are innate and do not come from the world of the senses.

The creator of rationalism is René Descartes (1596-1650), who designs a philosophical theory based on the method of analysis of mathematics, where he left no margin for error. It is the well-known method of doubt or Cartesian method.

This form of knowledge is described in his main work, Discourse on Method (1637). Also noteworthy in Cartesian theory is the dual conception of man in soul and body, thinking substance (res cogitans) and extensive substance (res Amplia), which will be questioned by empiricists like Hume.

His doctrine revolutionized philosophy, since with the Renaissance, currents such as skepticism at the hands of Montaigne had resurfaced, which were reconsidering whether a true knowledge of the world was possible for man.

Skeptics who Descartes criticizes because, he claims, by denying the existence of true knowledge they are already demonstrating the presence of human thought.

In this rationalist current there are other exponents such as Spinoza (1632-1677) and Leibniz.

6- Encyclopedism and Mechanism

Portrait of Voltaire, French thinker (1694-1778)

The 18th century is the Age of Enlightenment due to the birth of the Enlightenment. A movement that extols knowledge and changes the God-centered order for an anthropocentric model in which reason is given priority.

The Enlightenment is symbolically identified with the French Revolution, which defends the equality of all men, regardless of their origin. With this fact, the Old Regime is put aside to establish a new political order based on reason.

The revolution would not have been possible without great thinkers of this time such as Voltaire (1694-1778), Rousseau (1712-1778) and of course, without Diderot (1713-1784) and the Encyclopedia, which he published with D'Alembert (1717- 1783). The first great dictionary of human knowledge that gives its name to this intellectual and philosophical movement.

Diderot and D'Alembert take as reference Francis Bacon, a philosopher of the previous century. Bacon already criticized the traditional knowledge that had science as an instrument and defended its social work and its importance for the progress of the human being.

Therefore, during the Age of Enlightenment, the prevailing philosophical current is mechanism and the defense of experimental philosophy. A philosophy that, according to Diderot, allowed knowledge within the reach of all, since it was not necessary to know the mathematical methods that Descartes uses with his rationalism.

Get more information about this philosophical trend: What is encyclopedism?

7- Empiricism

Portrait of John Locke

Another current that reacts critically to rationalism is empiricism, which defends knowledge through sensible experience.

However, empiricism cannot be considered totally contrary to rationalism, since the two theories are based on reason and ideas, what varies is where these come from, if they are innate or based on experience. This doctrine is also framed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and its main exponents are John Locke and David Hume.

Empiricism or "English empiricism" was born with John Locke's Essay on Human Understanding, where he argues that knowledge is acquired based on experience. Based on this conception, he proposes a method, the "historical method" based on the description of those ideas given by experience.

For his part, David Hume takes Locke's empiricism further, to the point of rejecting Cartesian duality. For Hume, the concepts of "substance," "transcendence," and "self" are the product of his own imagination. Everything comes from the senses.

It only distinguishes two human faculties, immediate perception or impressions and reflection or ideas. In accordance with this, only the present matters, what our senses touch.

Based on this, it develops a cause and effect relationship, referring to the fact that we know that something is going to happen because it happens constantly or continuously. David Hume's most important works are Treatise on Human Nature (1739-40) and Essays on Human Understanding (1748).

Get more information about this philosophical current: The 5 Main Contributions of Empiricism.

8- Criticism or Transcendental Idealism

Immannuel Kant

The main reference of Transcendental Idealism is the Prussian philosopher Immannuel Kant (1724-1804). This doctrine, collected in his work Critique of Pure Reason (1781) and later in Critique of Practical Reason (1788) and Critique of Judgment (1790), defends that the subject influences knowledge of the given object with imposed conditions.

In other words, when the subject tries to know something, he brings with him universal elements or substances (phenomena that remain in time) that are given a priori.

The research method that Kant advocates based on this theory is criticism, consisting of finding out where the limits of knowledge are. He tries to bring together the empiricist and rationalist thoughts that he criticizes for having focused on a single part of reality.

Another element of great importance in Kantian theory is the categorical imperative, a formula with which Kant explains his conception of reason, which for him was the greatest right of the human being.

This formula says the following: "Act in such a way that you never treat man as a mere means or instrument for your own ends, but always and at the same time consider him as an end." Here you can see the egalitarian conception of reason that Kant has, any man has the same right as you to defend his reason.

In fact, although in this classification I frame Kant as an idealist, it is not entirely clear from his constant references in studies on Enlightenment Philosophy.

Kant, in a text published in a German newspaper in 1784 defines the Enlightenment as an escape route from the minority state in which man was through his own fault.

9- Marxism and Historical Materialism

Karl Marx, thinker born in a province of Prussia (present-day Germany)

Materialistic doctrines are those that conceive a single reality based on matter and where consciousness is only a consequence of that matter.

The main materialist current of the 19th century is Marxism. This philosophical, historical and economic doctrine is based on the class struggle. It affirms that the history of humanity is the history of the power struggle between some classes and others.

This theory is strongly marked by the context of the Industrial Revolution and the appearance of the capitalist system. The fathers of Marxism are Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895).

Marxist theory is based on historical materialism by stating that "the history of humanity is the history of the class struggle." According to these two thinkers, the economy (a material concept) is the engine of the world and of social inequalities. This materialist conception is taken from Hegel, the main reference of absolute idealism.

Marx's most important works are Capital (1867) and Communist Manifesto (1848), the latter written in collaboration with Engels.

10- Utilitarianism

John Stuart Mill. London Stereoscopic Company / Public domain

Utilitarianism is a philosophical trend created by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). According to this doctrine, things and people should be judged by the pleasure and good they produce, with the ultimate goal being happiness. Therefore, according to this approach, what provides happiness to the greatest number of people is useful.

Although utilitarianism is a contemporary movement to the Enlightenment, he placed it after Marxism, in the 19th century, due to the dimension that John Stuart Mill gave it. John is the son of James Mill (1773-1836), also a follower of this theory.

John Stuart Mill brings a novel aspect to this theory with the important distinction between satisfaction and happiness, establishing the former as a punctual state, while happiness is something more abstract. Following this statement, he affirms that a life full of satisfactory events does not have to be related to a happy life.

11- positivism

Comte

Movement created by Auguste Comte (1798-1857). Bet on a social reform through a science (sociology) and a new religion based on solidarity between men.

Based on this theory, he raises the law of the three stages; the theological stage that takes God as its center, the metaphysical stage in which the protagonist is man himself and the positive stage where science prevails and men cooperate with each other to solve problems.

12- Irrationalism

Friedrich Nietzsche

Irrationalism defends the prevalence of the will of the human being over reason. It emerged in the 19th century and is represented mainly by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) and Nietzsche (1844-1900).

The theories of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche differ in many aspects, but they also coincide in others that make these two theories classify as irrational. Both put reason at the service of the individual.

Schopenhauer defends the principle of individuation, by which man tries to dominate reality through reason to extend the life of the individual as long as possible.

This desire for survival does not occur only in men, but in all living beings, so in the end there is a "cosmic struggle" to continue existing. This desire is what the philosopher calls the "will to live."

Nietzsche also focuses on the individual but conceives it differently from Schopenhauer who paints an individual disillusioned with life, while Nietzsche's individual has an illusion, to become a "superman."

Schopenhauer's most important work is The World as Will and Representation (1818).

The works where Nietzsche develops his theory are The Origin of Tragedy (1872), The Gay Science (1882 and 1887), Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883-1891), Beyond Good and Evil (1886) and Genealogy of Morality (1887).

14- Existentialism

Jean paul sartre

This current emerged at the beginning of the 20th century and, as its name suggests, the main question that arises is human existence. One of its predecessors is Kierkegaard (1813-1855). For existentialists, the existence of man is above his essence.

Among the existentialists we also find Jean-Paul Sartre or Albert Camus. The Spanish Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955) was also strongly influenced by existentialist approaches.

If you are interested in this philosophical trend, do not forget to visit The 50 best existentialist phrases.

15-Cynicism

Diogenes of Sinope. Attributed to Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein / Public Domain Domain

Philosophical school founded by Antisthenes in the fourth century BC. It defends that virtue is the only good, leading a life that despises riches. Among the cynics, Diogenes stands out.

16-Absolute idealism

Hegel. Alte Nationalgalerie / Public domain

18th century movement led by Hegel (1770-1831). This doctrine defends that the spirit is the only absolute reality. Other philosophers like Schelling (1775-1854) also spoke of the absolute.

17-Subjective idealism or immaterialism

George Berkeley. John Smybert / Public domain

The real is what the observing subject perceives. Movement represented by Berkeley (1865-1753)

18-Structuralism

Claude Lévi-Strauss. Author: UNESCO / Michel Ravassard. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Cultural movement with philosophical aspects that analyzes systems or structures until reaching a complete concept. This current is started by Claude Lévi-Strauss. Another representative of this movement was Michel Foucault.

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