Aristotle praised the political organization of ant colonies while ancient Chinese Daoists appreciated ants as illustrative symbols showing how ephemeral human ambitions and power are.

Aristotle never wrote those words. Instead, the quote first appeared in a 1926 book by U.S. historian and philosopher Will Durant titled "The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the ...

In particular the political philosophy of the Puritan revolution claims attention. Thomas Hobbes, though writing in the midst of the revolution, was by nature a closet philosopher.