Culture Explorer Profile picture
Apr 20, 2024 17 tweets 7 min read Read on X
The Greatest Minds to Have Ever Lived (A Four-Part Series) - Part 2.

Here are the luminaries who have laid the foundations for the arts, philosophy, and the sciences that shaped our world sometimes at cost of their lives.

Let's look at how they were immortalized in art.🧵⤵️ Triumph of St Thomas Aquinas, Doctor Communis, between Plato and Aristotle depicting Aquinas (top center), a major Averroes critic, "triumphing" over Averroes (bottom), Benozzo Gozzoli, 1471. Louvre, Paris.
Aryabhata

Aryabhata was an Indian mathematician and astronomer. His pioneering work in the 5th century, notably the "Aryabhatiya," introduced the concept of zero, outlined the methods of algebra, and offered a heliocentric theory of the solar system, significantly influencing both Indian and Islamic mathematics and astronomy.Statue depicting Aryabhata on the grounds of IUCAA, Pune By Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1266822
Al Biruni

A Persian scholar who made contributions to the fields of mathematics, philosophy, and geography and wrote extensively on religious and cultural practices. His "Kitab al-Hind" (Book on India) provides a comprehensive cultural and scientific study of India. The statue of Al-Biruni in United Nations Office in Vienna. Photo: Pinterest/Wikimedia Foundation
Ibn Rushd (Averroes)

A medieval Andalusian polymath known for his extensive commentaries on Aristotle, he had a profound influence on both Muslim and Christian European thought and is referred to as the bridge between Muslim and Christian philosophy.

His work "Bidayat al-Mujtahid" (The Distinguished Jurist's Primer) is among his most important.Estatua de Averroes (Ibn Rushd) en Córdoba Statue of Averroes (Ibn Rushd) in Córdoba, Spain, Averroes was an Islamic theologian, Philosopher, Mathematician, Medicine, Physicist, Astronomer  Photo by Saleemzohaib (Wikimedia CC BY 3.0)
Nicolaus Copernicus

A Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than Earth at its center. His revolutionary ideas were published in "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres).Nicolaus Copernicus Monument in Kraków
Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas was a pivotal figure in medieval philosophy and theology, known for synthesizing Aristotelian philosophy with Christian doctrine, thereby laying the foundational framework for much of Western theology.

His major works, the "Summa Theologica" and "Summa Contra Gentiles," systematically outlined Christian teachings and rational arguments for faith, influencing centuries of religious and philosophical thought.Thomas is girded by angels with a mystical belt of purity after his proof of chastity. Painting by Diego Velázquez.
Zhu Xi

Zhu Xi was a prominent Chinese philosopher during the Song dynasty, who profoundly influenced the development of Neo-Confucianism by synthesizing Confucian thought with elements of Daoism and Buddhism.

His systematic approach to education and his commentaries on the Four Books became the basis for civil service examinations, shaping the intellectual, moral, and social frameworks of East Asia for many centuries.Image
Avicenna (Ibn Sina)

A Persian polymath whose contributions spanned medicine, philosophy, and science. His "The Canon of Medicine" was a standard medical text at many medieval universities. Avicenna at the sickbed, miniature by Walenty z Pilzna, Kraków (ca 1479–1480)
William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

An English playwright and poet, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. His works include "Hamlet," "Macbeth," and "Romeo and Juliet." Shakespeare's funerary monument in Stratford-upon-Avon By Sicinius - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68457210
Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727)

An English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, and author, known for his laws of motion and universal gravitation which formed the cornerstone of classical physics. His seminal work, "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica" (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), laid the foundations for much of modern science.Newton's tomb monument in Westminster Abbey by John Michael Rysbrack By Javier Otero, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=133473000
Rumi (Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rumi)

A 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic best known for his poems that form the basis of much Persian literature and have been widely translated into various languages. His major work is "Masnavi," a six-book spiritual epic.Jalal ad-Din Rumi gathers Sufi mystics Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=997371
Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher known for his profound and provocative ideas on culture, morality, religion, and philosophy.

His works, such as "Thus Spoke Zarathustra," "Beyond Good and Evil," and "The Genealogy of Morals," challenged the foundations of traditional morality and introduced concepts like the "will to power," "eternal recurrence," and the "Übermensch," which have had a lasting impact on modern philosophical and cultural thought.Portrait of Nietzsche by Edvard Munch, 1906 By Edvard Munch - http://www.munch150.no/no/Presse/Pressebilder, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37738947
René Descartes

René Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist, often regarded as the father of modern philosophy for his development of a new, systematic method of rational deduction.

His famous assertion "Cogito, ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am") underpins his approach to philosophy, and his contributions to mathematics, notably the Cartesian coordinate system, have fundamentally shaped the development of modern science and analytical geometry.Descartes in conversation with Queen Christina in Stockholm By Snow Minister - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=106013940
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A German writer, poet, and statesman whose works span the fields of poetry, drama, literature, theology, humanism, and science. "Faust," his two-part dramatic work, is his most famous masterpiece. Goethe in the Roman Campagna (1786) by Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein
Immanuel Kant

A German philosopher who is a central figure in modern philosophy, he established a comprehensive and complex theory in epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics. His critical philosophy is best encapsulated in "Critique of Pure Reason." Kant with friends, including Christian Jakob Kraus, Johann Georg Hamann, Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel and Karl Gottfried Hagen
Adam Smith

A Scottish economist and philosopher best known for his theories on free markets, laissez-faire economic policies, and the division of labor. "The Wealth of Nations" is his most famous work, and it is considered one of the founding texts of economic theory. A statue of Smith in Edinburgh's High Street, erected through private donations organised by the Adam Smith Institute Photo: Andreas Praefcke - Wikimedia CC BY 3.0
If you found this thread enlightening, we'd be grateful if you could share the initial post and consider following this account.

This thread is a sequel to the first installment of our series. ⬇️

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Culture Explorer

Culture Explorer Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @CultureExploreX

Jul 5
Most people visit Rome for the Colosseum or the Vatican.

But Rome is a city of cathedrals.

And these 18 churches aren’t just places of worship, they’re where architecture, power, and beauty collided to shape Western civilization.

You won’t believe #3 and #4. 🧵 Basilica de Santa Maria Maggiore, Roma, Italia. Credit: juans83
1. Sant’Agnese in Agone

Francesco Borromini’s boldest move.

He took geometry, crushed it, and turned it into emotion.
Step inside and you’ll feel space bend. Image
2. Santa Maria Maddalena

Baroque at its most unhinged.
Designed by Carlo Fontana and Giuseppe Sardi who curved the façade like it was dancing.

Don’t blink. The walls almost move.
Read 21 tweets
Jul 3
Tomorrow is July 4th. Independence Day.

We’ll hear about Lexington. Muskets. War. But remember this:

The American Revolution didn’t begin with a gunshot; it began with a boycott.

Before the first shot fired, ordinary Americans had already overthrown British rule. 🧵 Detail from Washington Crossing the Delaware, an 1851 portrait by Emanuel Leutze depicting Washington and Continental Army troops crossing the river prior to the Battle of Trenton on the morning of December 26, 1776.
From 1765 to 1775, colonists ran a full-blown civil resistance campaign.

They shut down courts.
Refused to import goods.
Built parallel governments.

It wasn’t protest for show. It was rebellion in plain sight. Spirit of '76 by Archibald Willard
Britain passed the Stamp Act in 1765.

Americans didn’t riot.
They simply refused to comply.

Printers ran papers without stamps.
Lawyers stopped using courts.
Ports either closed or defied British orders. Burning of Stamp Act, Boston. 1 photomechanical print (postcard) : color.
Read 22 tweets
Jul 2
Latin America holds some of the most stunning architecture in the world.

Most of it was built by Europeans on top of Indigenous empires.

These 20 buildings reveal a continent shaped by beauty and conquest.

And the first three will leave you speechless. 🧵 Templo de Santo Domingo - Oaxaca, Mexico Credit: @kobe_sylvester
1. Las Lajas Cathedral – Colombia

It’s not built on a canyon.
It’s part of it.

Bridging cliffs like a miracle frozen in stone.

Built after a woman claimed the Virgin Mary appeared inside the gorge. Image
2. Church of San Francisco – Quito, Ecuador

500 years old.
Baroque on the outside.
Moorish on the inside.

And built by the hands of indigenous artisans during Spanish rule. Image
Read 23 tweets
Jul 1
We talk about globalization like it’s new.

But 2,000 years ago, merchants were already trading silk, spices, and stories from China to Italy.

Not through the internet.
Through deserts, mountains, and war zones.

Here are the 16 cities that shaped the Silk Road. 🧵 The Ark of Bukhara Credit: @fopminui on X
It began in Xi’an, China.

Not just the home of the Terracotta Army but the launchpad of the world’s most ambitious trade route.

Silk, porcelain, and even Buddhist monks left from here.

Every empire west of here would feel it. Credit: @archeohistories
Next stop: Lanzhou.

Sitting on the Yellow River, this city wasn’t just scenic, it was strategic.

If you controlled Lanzhou, you controlled the gateway west.

And everyone wanted it. Image
Read 19 tweets
Jun 30
What makes Russian literature unmatched?

It doesn’t escape pain.
It sits with it. Names it, breaks it open, redeems it.

Before War and Peace, Russian writers had already turned suffering into sacred text.

Let’s walk through it. Then we’ll get to Tolstoy. 🧵 Chekhov and Tolstoy, 1901
Dostoevsky doesn’t flinch.

In The Brothers Karamazov, Ivan demands justice from God.
A child is tortured. A murderer walks free.
There is no easy answer.

Faith isn’t comfort.
It’s a decision you make in the presence of unbearable truth. Image
Pushkin gave us beauty with blood underneath.

Eugene Onegin is a mirror held to wasted youth, pride, and regret.
Tatiana offers love. Onegin rejects her.
Years later, he begs for it. Too late.

In Russian fiction, the cost of love is always real. The pistol duel between Onegin and Lensky. Watercolour by Ilya Repin (1899)
Read 16 tweets
Jun 28
They look alive.

But every one of these sculptures is made of stone.

18 masterpieces that shatter the line between reality and illusion.

You won’t believe they’re real. 🧵👇 Modesty (La Pudicizia) by Antonio Corradini
1. Pietà – Michelangelo, 1499

She doesn’t weep.
She endures.

Michelangelo gave us a Madonna so full of sorrow, the marble itself seems to grieve.
2. The Abduction of Proserpina – Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1622

Look at the hand.
The fingers sink into her thigh.

Look at the face.
Do you see the tear under the eye?

Stone isn’t supposed to do this.
Bernini was able to make marble scream. Image
Read 21 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(