Great Thinkers

Philosophers, theologians, statesmen, poets, and artists whose ideas continue to shape our world.

The Western Tradition

The Great Thinkers

Over the course of human history, certain great thinkers wrote profoundly about the nature of things. We study these authors not for their own sake, but because they raise questions, provide answers, converse with other great thinkers, and assist us, as friends, to come to know the truth better. Their proposals and answers are not always correct; mortals are not infallible. We still, however, have much to learn from these great thinkers. They are worth reading and re-reading. Their profundity cannot be exhausted. We encourage you to read these authors with teachers and friends.

Dante Alighieri

1265–1321

Italian poet and author of the Divine Comedy. His masterwork is a synthesis of classical philosophy, Catholic theology, and medieval cosmology.

St. Thomas Aquinas

1225–1274

Dominican friar and Doctor of the Church. His synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy and Christian theology in the Summa Theologica is the pinnacle of scholastic thought.

Aristotle

384–322 BC

Philosopher, scientist, and teacher of Alexander the Great. His work on ethics, politics, logic, and metaphysics remains foundational to Western thought.

St. Augustine

354–430

Bishop of Hippo and Doctor of the Church. His Confessions and City of God shaped the theological and philosophical tradition of the West for over a millennium.

St. Benedict

480–547

Father of Western monasticism. His Rule provided the framework for the Benedictine monasteries that preserved classical learning through the Dark Ages.

Pope Benedict XVI

1927–2022

Pope Emeritus and one of the greatest theological minds of the 20th century. His writing on faith, reason, and European culture shaped the contemporary Church.

Edmund Burke

1729–1797

Irish statesman and political philosopher. His Reflections on the Revolution in France is the founding text of modern conservatism.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

1821-1881

Nineteenth-century Russian novelist. His novels address the intersection of faith and modernity.

Alexander Hamilton

1755–1804

Founding Father, first Secretary of the Treasury, and primary author of The Federalist Papers. His vision shaped American constitutionalism.

Homer

8th century AD

The teacher of the Greeks. Homer's epics are the beginning of the Western canon.

Abraham Lincoln

1809–1865

16th President of the United States. His statesmanship, grounded in natural law and the principles of the Declaration, preserved the American republic.

James Madison

1751-1836

4th President of the United States. His political thought shaped the U.S. Constitution and the development of modern republicanism.

Thomas More

1478-1535

Lord Chancellor of England under Henry VIII. He is one of the great Renaissance philosophers and Catholic apologists.

Alexis de Tocqueville

1805-1859

Nineteenth-century political philosopher. His book, Democracy in America, is the best book written about both democracy and America.