Notable Philosophers Educational Posters & Prints, “A...-”
individuals who made contributions to the study of knowledge itself.

Abelard and His Pupil Heloise, 1882 Giclee Print

Peter Abelard
b. 1069; Le Pallet, Brittany, France
d. 4-21-1142; Chalon-sur-Saone

Heloise
b. 1101?
d. 5-16-1164; Ferreux-Quincey, France

Abelard quote ~
• “We call the intention good which is right in itself, but the action is good, not because it contains within it some good, but because it issues from a good intention. The same act may be done by the same man at different times. According to the diversity of his intention, however, this act may be at one time good, at another bad.”
Heloise quote ~
• “Riches and power are but gifts of blind fate, whereas goodness is the result of one's own merits.” Letters

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• notable teachers

Albertus Magnus, German Scholar Bishop of Ratisbon Giclee Print

Albertus Magnus
b. c. 1193; Cologne, Germany
d. 11-15-1280

Albertus Magnus is considered the greatest philosopher and theologian of the Middle Ages. He achieved fame for his comprehensive knowledge of, and advocacy for, the peaceful coexistence of science and religion. Albertus Magnus was a teacher of Thomas Aquinas.

Anaxagorus (500-428 BC)
and Epictetus (1st century)

Anaxagorus quote ~
• “Everything has a natural explanation. The moon is not a god but a great rock and the sun a hot rock.”
Epictetus quote ~
• “All religions must be tolerated... for every man must get to heaven in his own way.”
• “Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant. ”
• “We shall be both cautious and confident, and indeed confident because of our caution.” Stoic philosopher Epictetus quote on Safety Awarness poster

Anaximander
c. 610 – c. 546 BC; Miletus, Ionia, Greece

Anaximander, a student of Thales, is the first philosopher known to have written down his studies, although only one fragment of his work remains.

Carl Sagan proposed that Anaximander conducted the earliest recorded scientific experiment, and it is possible that Pythagoras was one of his pupils

Anaximander quote ~
• “Whatever has come into existence, must also pass away with necessity.

Saint Anselm Scholastic Philosopher, Archbishop of Canterbury, Giclee Print

Saint Anselm
b. c. 1033; Aosta, Kingdom of Burgundy (present day Italy)
d. 4-21-1109; Canterbury, England

Saint Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, was a scholastic philosopher and medieval theologian famous as seeking to understand Christianity through reason and the “ontological argument” for the existence of God, “that than which nothing greater can be conceived”. He also openly opposed the Crusades.

Scholasticism a tool and method for learning which puts emphasis on dialectical reasoning.

• Anselm of Canterbury: The Major Works
• Middle Ages literature

Antisthenes
b. c. 444 BC; Greece
d. c. 365 BC

Anisthenes quote ~
• “There are only two people who can tell you the truth about yourself - an enemy who has lost his temper and a friend who loves you dearly.”
• “The investigation of the meaning of words is the beginning of education.”

Archimedes - Physicist, Engineer, Astronomer, Philosopher
b. 287 BC; Syracuse, Sicily
d. 212 BC; Syracuse, Sicily

Poster Text: “Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth.” -Archimedes, commenting on the lever.

ARCHIMEDES is considered the greatest mathematician and inventor of ancient times. He is considered a physicist, engineer, astronomer, and philosopher. He made important discoveries in geometry, hydrostatics, and mechanics. Much of his work and results were not surpassed for over 1,500 years. Also an outstanding engineer, he formulate Archimedes’ principle of buoyancy and the principle of the lever.

• more Heroes of Science & Technology posters
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• astronomers posters
• The Archimedes Codex: How a Medieval Prayer Book Is Revealing the True Genius of Antiquity's Greatest Scientist

Aristotle
b. c. 384 BC; Stageira, Chalcidice, Greece
d. c. 322 BC; Euboea

• more Aristotle posters, bio, quotes

Aristotle quote ~
• “For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”

Saint Francis of Assisi, Giclee Print

Saint Francis of Assisi
b. 9-26-1181; Assisi, Italy
d. 10-3-1226; Assisi

Saint Francis of Assisi was Roman Catholic friar and the founder of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans).

As a young man Francis had a carefree life as the son of a wealthy family which lead to a disillusionment toward the complications of the world. Francis of Assisi, noted for his aestic lifestyle, is the patron saint of animals, birds, and the environment. He believed commoners should be able to pray to God in their own languageand is considered the first Italian poet by literary critics.

• Saint Francis of Assisi: A Life of Joy by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
• Francis and Clare: The Complete Works (Classics of Western Spirituality

St. Thomas Aquinas Giclee Print

Thomas Aquinas
b. c. 1225; Naples, Italy
d. 3-7-1274; France

Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican priest, philosopher, and the foremost classical proponent of natural theology in the scholastic tradition.

Known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Universalis and Doctor Communis, he was the father of the Thomistic school of philosophy and theology which integrated Christian doctrine with elemens taken from the philosophy of Aristotle. Aquina's' Summa Theologica is considered second to the Bible in importance to the Catholic Church.

Thomas Aquinas quotes ~
• “A man has free choice to the extent that he is rational.”
• “Clearly the person who accepts the Church as an infallible guide will believe whatever the Church teaches.”
• “Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder.”
• “Love takes up where knowledge leaves off.”

Averroes (1126-98) in Conversation with Porphyry (c.232-c.305) Giclee Print

Averroes
b. 1126; Cordoba, Spain
d. 12-10-1198; Marrakesh, Morocco

Averroes, known as Ibn Rushd, was an Andalusian-Arab polymath and master of philosophy, theology, Maliki law and jurispudence, astronomy, geography, mathematics, medicine, physics, psychology and science.

His school of philosophy is known as Averroism and he is considered the founding father of secular thought in Western Europe.

• Islam posters

Page from the 'Canon of Medicine' by Avicenna (Ibn Sina) (980-1037), Giclee Print

Avicenna (Ibn Sina)
b. c. 980; present day Uzbekistan
d. c. 1037; Iran

Persian Ibn Sina was the foremost physician of his time and is considered a father of early modern medicine as well as “the most famous scientist of . . . all races, places, and times.”

Known as Avicenna in the West, he was a polymath - learned in astronomy, chemistry, Hafiz (completely memorized the Quran), logic, mathematics, poetry, philosophy, psychology, physics, science, theology, a Sheikh (elder), soldier, and statesman.

Avicenna quote ~
• “The world is divided into men who have wit and no religion and men who have religion and no wit.”
• “Now it is established in the sciences that no knowledge is acquired save through the study of its causes and beginnings, if it has had causes and beginnings; nor completed except by knowledge of its accidents and accompanying essentials.”

• Islam posters