History of Philosophy
History’s Most Influential Philosopher?
Probably not who you’d guess
Join Medium to read great articles from independent writers.
In asking the question of who is history’s most influential philosopher, we’re looking back at the entirety of history, not who’s the most influential today. Across the 2,400 years of Western philosophy, one philosopher’s writings have had the most direct influence on the most scholars over the most years.
Accidents of History
Believe it or not, Plotinus (204–270 CE) is that single most influential philosopher in European history. Yes, even over Plato and Aristotle. That’s because Plotinus was very widely read by scholars starting in the 200s CE, and for more than a thousand years Plotinus was the chief means by which they understood Greek philosophy. Plotinus cosmology of a Divine Intellect above and beyond the world inspired Christian philosophers to synthesize Greek philosophy with their religion.
Compared to what we have today, people in the medieval period had very few of Plato’s and Aristotle’s writings. Those in the West did not have much at all of Greek philosophy because the great works of the philosophers were lost to them. By the 400s, the only work of Plato available in Latin was Timaeus, giving…
