Catalogue of ideas

Explore thinkers and schools through their ideas, their context, and the sources that document them.

Explore entries

110 entries

Religions and doctrinesSchool of thought

Advaita Vedānta

India, Upaniṣadic exegetical tradition

The non-dual tradition understands the transcendental self as identical with Brahman. Knowledge of that identity is central to liberation.

Political ideologiesSchool of thought

Affirmative action

Contemporary inclusion policies

It includes measures aimed at remedying exclusion or widening opportunities for underrepresented groups.

PhilosophySchool of thought

African ethics

African philosophical traditions

One strand of inquiry examines character, common welfare, and communal life.

PhilosophySchool of thought

African sage philosophy

Kenya and contemporary African philosophical debate

Henry Odera Oruka’s programme documented the reasoning of thinkers versed in oral traditions.

PhilosophySchool of thought

Africana philosophy

Africa and its diasporas

It studies philosophical traditions of African peoples and their diasporas, including their historical experience.

Forms of governmentThinker

Al-Farabi

Islamic world, ninth–tenth centuries

His political philosophy connects the order of the virtuous city with attaining human happiness.

Religions and doctrinesThinker

Al-Ghazali

Islamic world, eleventh–twelfth centuries

He examined the reach of philosophical demonstration and the place of spiritual practice in knowledge.

Economic thoughtSchool of thought

Alienation at work

Social philosophy and critique of political economy

It explores forms of separation between workers, their activity, and the products of their work.

PhilosophyThinker

Aristotle

Classical Greece

Happiness consists in activity in accordance with virtue over a complete life.

Religions and doctrinesThinker

Augustine of Hippo

Roman North Africa, fourth–fifth centuries

He analysed the order of love, the will, and the role of grace in Christian life.

PhilosophyThinker

Baruch Spinoza

Netherlands, seventeenth century

In the Ethics, understanding natural necessity is central to human freedom.

Political ideologiesDoctrine

Burkean conservatism

Britain, debate on the French Revolution

The Burkean tradition values knowledge accumulated in historical practices and institutions.