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2006-09-03 18:38:13 · 13 answers · asked by dan.herbel@sbcglobal.net 1 in Arts & Humanities Philosophy

13 answers

Socrates.

His thoughts and philosophy are recorded by his student, Plato, in most of his writings. Probably the most famous is the "Republic."

2006-09-03 18:50:54 · answer #1 · answered by dredude52 6 · 0 0

I personally like Socrates, Plato and Marx. I believe that Jesus Christ is the best philosopher. His best work is us.

I believe that I am a great philosopher and I there will come a time that people will recognize my work. My work is still in construction. There are undoubtedly many great philosophers among us, but they will forever remain in darkness. The majority of humanity hasn't reached the level of maturity to understand great wisdom. Therefore, it is a tragedy that the world will remain in ignorance and chaos only because they cannot discern the plane truth due to the cave they are trapped within.

2006-09-04 01:57:33 · answer #2 · answered by Michael M 6 · 0 0

There is no BEST philosopher (like there is no best food), there is just YOUR favorite - the one you can relate to more than others. ... For me, that person happens to be Martin Heidegger (as in the guy who wrote: Being and Time, An Introduction to Metaphysics, etc.) for being courageous enough (some might say stupid enough) to try and tackle questions like: "Why is there something, anything at all, rather than Nothing?" and other phenomenological concerns of that nature. ... Like I said, to each its own. But does that mean I don't enjoy reading Aristotle, or Nietzsche, or Sartre, or Wittgenstein, or ...? Obviously NOT! … You cannot eat the same darn food everyday of the week (though some of us sure take a crack at it at the Holy Church of McDonald’s around the corner).

2006-09-04 12:39:32 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

james joyce - there isnt anyone who is a patch on him - he represents a quantum leap in human intelligence - his works form a unity, including his biography

the best introduction to him is a free book at nigel.orcon.net.nz, called 'again', which has been called a great read and very very helpful and remarkable and very interesting and well written

his last book, his greatest, is in the form of a brainteaser, to increase mental muscle, to increase human intelligence, to pull the subconscious up into the conscious, to unite focussed thinking and holistic, big-picture thinking

about a 10th of it is readable and has a great unique spirit and humour and energy - the rest is to research and ruminate your way to highest consciousness and knowledge - the darkness of the puzzle is what stimulates the subconscious to come to the party - the idea is to take a page at random and study the heck out of it till you know why every letter on that page is there - which will take a few years - but it will give you insights into life like you wouldnt believe - what has never been even imagined in human culture to date

the book 'again' will give you some idea, but only taking on the puzzle yourself can give you the mental muscle of highest awakeness

plato is regarded as the greatest philosopher but james joyce's last book knocks plato right out of the ring

james joyce's last book [called 'finnegans wake'], for the first time in culture, joins all the bits of culture and wisdom and learning together into one coherent whole - so you can see that it is right - because it includes everything

it is like culture so far has been jigsaw puzzle pieces - and finnegans wake puts all the pieces together for the first time - so all the pieces start to make sense for the first time

if you want the best, you want finnegans wake

if you want very very much less, any great thinker will do

to research finnegans wake, you will have to quicktour through all the great thoughts of all the great thinkers [poets, philosophers, writers] anyway

2006-09-05 02:43:07 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

I really don't think there is a "best" philosopher, because that's like trying to determine the "best" political party. There are too many differences in opinion, ways of thinking, different ideas, etc.

However, Rene Decartes is one of the most influential in the more modern sense. His most notable book is "Meditations on First Philosophy."

http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-First-Philosophy-Distinction-Demonstrated/dp/0872201929/sr=1-1/qid=1157348715/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0156602-2595172?ie=UTF8&s=books

2006-09-04 01:48:04 · answer #5 · answered by Paley Pale 5 · 0 0

Douglas Adams -- if one would consider him to be a philosopher.

His best book would be "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" of course -- in which he figured out "42" is the answer to everything, if we formulate the questions correctly.

2006-09-04 02:10:19 · answer #6 · answered by : ) 6 · 0 0

There's no way to determine who the best was, because one may have been more appropriate to his era, or our personal interpretations may make one more meaningful than the other. It's the comparing apples and oranges argument.
We can have personal favorites though.
I think my favorite is one of the more contemporary ones, Alan Watts.

2006-09-04 01:58:06 · answer #7 · answered by fra_bob 4 · 0 0

Philosophy is a collective discipline and each philosopher is great in his/her own right.

2006-09-07 05:31:51 · answer #8 · answered by xavier w 2 · 0 0

Steve Irwin, who taught us to love nature through his work on the Croc Hunter

2006-09-04 02:16:31 · answer #9 · answered by Tuna-San 5 · 1 0

Friedrich Nietzsche, who requires no introduction.

2006-09-04 01:41:58 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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