Philosopher File

The Buddha was a wandering renunciant in Ancient India who kick-started a two and a half thousand-year-old religious and philosophical tradition. But who was he?

Diogenes was the original drop-out philosopher. A fierce critic of the hypocrisy of society, he chose instead to live in accord with nature.

The legendary Chinese philosopher Laozi is associated with the long tradition of Daoism (or Taoism). But his work is famously elliptical and difficult.

What does it mean to be sick or well? What is health? The Greek doctor and philosopher Alcmaeon, who came from the city of Croton, was one of the earliest thinkers to systematically address questions of health and illness.

Questions of time, ritual and identity lie at the heart of Maya philosophical traditions. Find out more in our fascinating interview with Alexus McLeod.

Sunzi's "The Art of War" is an ancient Chinese text that has become famous worldwide for its insights into strategy. Even today, it is still a go-to reference for military and business leaders.

Empedocles was a philosopher, wandering poet and shamanic healer who claimed the entire universe was underpinned by the forces of Love and Strife.

Deng Xi was a lawyer and philosopher associated with the so-called "School of Names". He was skilled in debate and frequently caused confusion by simultaneously arguing opposite viewpoints.

The Presocratic philosophers are famously strange and difficult; but of all of them, Anaxagoras, who saw the universe as essentially gunky, is one of the strangest.

Philosopher Anna Ezekiel talks about Karoline von Günderrode, and about the German philosopher's distinctive philosophy of free will, identity and death.

Xenophanes was a wandering philosopher and poet, who was fiercely critical of his contemporaries' views on the nature of the gods.

Jing Jiang is one of the earliest women in Chinese recorded history to engage in philosophical debate. She was a thinker with a keen grasp of politics, and a considerable skill in argument.