The Most Famous

Philosophers from Germany

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This page contains a list of the greatest Germans Philosophers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,267 Philosophers, 151 of which were born in Germany.

Top 10 Philosophers

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Germans Philosophers of all time. This list of famous Germans Philosophers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Germans Philosophers.

  1. #1
    Photo of Friedrich Nietzsche

    Friedrich Nietzsche

    1844 - 1900

    HPI 90.17174 langs

    Nietzsche was a German philosopher who is most famous for his idea of the Übermensch.

  2. #2
    Photo of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

    Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

    1770 - 1831

    HPI 88.27137 langs
    Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is most famous for his dialectical philosophy, which is a system of thought that moves through thesis,...Read moreShow less

    Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is most famous for his dialectical philosophy, which is a system of thought that moves through thesis, antithesis, and synthesis.

  3. #3
    Photo of Friedrich Engels

    Friedrich Engels

    1820 - 1895

    HPI 85.72127 langs

    Friedrich Engels is most famous for co-writing the Communist Manifesto with Karl Marx.

  4. #4
    Photo of Martin Heidegger

    Martin Heidegger

    1889 - 1976

    HPI 84.92113 langs

    Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher who is most famous for the idea of "being-in-the-world."

  5. #5
    Photo of Hannah Arendt

    Hannah Arendt

    1906 - 1975

    HPI 82.2991 langs

    Hannah Arendt is most famous for her book "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil."

  6. #6
    Photo of Johann Gottlieb Fichte

    Johann Gottlieb Fichte

    1762 - 1814

    HPI 81.4080 langs

    Johann Gottlieb Fichte is most famous for his philosophy of transcendental idealism.

  7. #7
    Photo of Nicholas of Cusa

    Nicholas of Cusa

    1401 - 1464

    HPI 80.3966 langs

    Nicholas of Cusa is most famous for his work on the infinite and the infinitesimal.

  8. #8
    Photo of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling

    Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling

    1775 - 1854

    HPI 80.3269 langs
    Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling was a German philosopher who was most famous for his work in the philosophy of nature and the philosophy...Read moreShow less

    Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling was a German philosopher who was most famous for his work in the philosophy of nature and the philosophy of mythology.

  9. #9
    Photo of Karl Jaspers

    Karl Jaspers

    1883 - 1969

    HPI 80.2873 langs
    Karl Jaspers is most famous for his philosophical work in the field of existentialism. He was a German psychiatrist and philosopher who was...Read moreShow less

    Karl Jaspers is most famous for his philosophical work in the field of existentialism. He was a German psychiatrist and philosopher who was active in the 20th century. He was born in Oldenburg, Germany, on October 18, 1883, and died in Basel, Switzerland, on February 26, 1969.

  10. #10
    Photo of Ludwig Feuerbach

    Ludwig Feuerbach

    1804 - 1872

    HPI 80.2273 langs

    Ludwig Feuerbach was most famous for the idea that God is simply a projection of human qualities.

People by Birth Decade

Browse notable Germans Philosophers grouped by birth decade. Each decade shows the top 10 by HPI; expand to see everyone.

1950s(1)

1410s(1)

1290s(1)

Overlapping Lives

Which Philosophers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 25 most globally memorable Philosophers since 1700.

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