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Immanuel Kant
Kant (1724-1804) was with David Hume one of the most influential critics of traditional metaphysical and religious ideas. Some of his prominent works include Critique of Pure Reason, Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone and Metaphysics of Morals. Kant held that we can never really know anything. All we can know are appearances: "the thing in itself" remains unknowable. This was his so-called Copernician revolution in philosophy. He called his view Transcendental Idealism. Kant rejected the traditional arguments for God's existence.

Stuart Kaufmann
Pioneer of the new science of complexity that explores the order buried in the most complex systems. His books on complexity include At Home in the Universe: The Search for the Laws of Self-Organization and Complexity and The Origins of Order: Self-Organization and Selection in Evolution.

Lord William Kelvin
Born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1824, William Thompson was later made Lord Kelvin by Queen Victoria for his scientific work. He is best-known for his contributions to the first and second laws of thermodynamics. He calculated the value of absolute zero temperature as -273 degrees centigrade; in one system of measurements, degrees are called kelvins in his honor.

Johannes Kepler
Sometimes called the founder of modern astronomy, this 17th century German scientist is best known for his three laws of planetary motion.

Thomas Kuhn
MIT professor who introduced a radically new perspective in the philosophy of science with his The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn argues that most scientists work within the context of certain unquestioned beliefs that he called a paradigm. A scientific revolution is a paradigm-shift--but such shifts are not driven by logical grounds.