The meme humorously highlights a fundamental aspect of philosophy: the endless cycle of philosophers engaging with, critiquing, and building on each other’s ideas. It portrays a scene from Raphael's The School of Athens, but with a twist. The meme suggests that, at any given moment in philosophical history, thinkers are deeply invested in understanding or reformulating past doctrines. This repetition might appear tedious, yet it reflects the evolving nature of philosophy, despite the implied satirical take on the cyclical and often repetitive nature of philosophy throughout its own development.

In the history of philosophy, there are indeed recurring themes such as the nature of reality, ethics and the possibility of acquiring knowledge. From Plato’s ideal forms to Descartes’ skepticism, philosophers across generations have tackled these enduring questions in their own way. For instance, Plato’s student, Aristotle, modified his teacher’s views, arguing for a more empirical approach to understanding the world, setting the stage for modern science. This trend of re-evaluating past ideas is at the heart of philosophical development.

Even with such recurring themes, philosophy does not stagnate. Each era introduces new challenges and advancements that demand re-interpretation of the old questions. During the Enlightenment, for example, Kant revolutionized metaphysics and ethics, responding to Hume’s empiricism with his own critical philosophy, reshaping debates around human knowledge and freedom. Similarly, the existentialists, reacting to the anxieties of modern life, examined human freedom and meaning in a world that seemed increasingly chaotic.

So we can also understand philosophy as a centuries-long continuous dialog in which philosophers are constantly building on - or challenging - each other's ideas. This is often metaphorically referred to as “standing on shoulders of giants” and goes back to Sir Isaac Newton. This interplay of writing and criticizing shows that philosophy is often about reinterpreting established theories or examining age-old questions in new contexts, while the truly fantastic thing about this ongoing dialogue is that anyone can theoretically participate in this dialogue with the deceased philosophers and thus at least bring their ideas and conceptions back to life. You might even become a giant yourself!

Ultimately, the development of philosophy is like a spiral—though it often revisits familiar topics, it does so from different vantage points, refining and expanding our understanding with each turn. The meme underscores this dynamic, showing that even though philosophers may often appear to be repeating each other, their dialogues contribute to the growth and depth of philosophical inquiry across time.