French philosophy French philosophy French philosophy, here taken to mean philosophy in the French language, has been extremely diverse and has influenced Western philosophy as a whole for centuries, from the medieval scholasticism of Peter Abelard, through the founding of modern philosophy by René Descartes, to 20th century philosophy of science, existentialism, phenomenology, structuralism, and postmodernism. Peter Abelard (1079 – April 21, 1142) was a scholastic philosopher, theologian and logician. The story of his affair with and love for Héloïse has become legendary. The "Chambers Biographical Dictionary" describes him as "the keenest thinker and boldest theologian of the 12th Century". The general
David Charles (philosopher) of mind and metaphysics. David Charles (philosopher) David Owain Maurice Charles is a Professor of Philosophy and Classics at Yale University. He has previously been Colin Prestige Fellow, and Professor of Philosophy at Oriel College, Oxford, and CUF Lecturer in Philosophy, Faculty of Philosophy, Oxford University, and has been a Visiting Professor at the University of California at Los Angeles and at Rutgers University, New Jersey. Charles holds a doctorate (D.Phil.) in philosophy from Oxford University. His research interests lie in issues concerning meaning, definition and practical skill and interconnections between philosophy and psychiatry. He has published on Greek philosophy