Who is your favorite philosopher?

Question

And your favorite work by them?

Why? Has this philosopher made an impact on the way you see the world or are they your favorite merely because you find them interesting?

Thanks :)

Answer 1

My favorite is Aristotle, for many reasons.

He developed what I believe is the most effective theory of ethics developed to date. I say effective rather than true because there are certain insights in every moral theory that highlight one aspect or another of moral truth, but all of the theories except Aristotle's are too narrow. They hit the nail on the head in one small, specific area of ethics, but then they pretend to apply to all of morality, which they cannot do without running into fatal problems. Aristotle's theory can be said to be too broad, but its broadness is what allows it to apply to all areas of ethics instead of just a particular kind of moral dilemma.

I like his assessment of love and friendships. I think his theories on these topics are clear and cogent, and are consistent with what we observe in reality. I don't agree with them 100% (for example, the view that only morally perfect people can have friendships that aren't based on utility, pleasure, or a combination of the two, because those who are not morally perfect aren't worth loving for themselves instead of just their "uses"), but for the most part Aristotle's relationship theories lend a great deal of insight while also being refreshingly simple and clear.

I also credit Aristotle as an ancient philosopher. As time goes by and more and more philosophers introduce their ideas into the intellectual world, we are pushed forward by them. Today we stand on the shoulders of philosophical giants of many centuries, building on their theories. There were philosophers before Aristotle who he borrowed from, but not nearly as many as we can borrow from today, and his work is that much more impressive as a result of how much less philosophical history he had to build on than we have now. I am also astounded by the breadth of his work. He wrote extensively on so many different disciplines that it is absolutely mind boggling that a single person could know so much about so many different things. Most of us would need about a dozen lifetimes to attain the expertise and knowledge that he attained in a single one.

Answer 2

I don't think that one can have a "favorite philosopher"; philosophers (their ideas at least) are like songs; some go with what's happening in your life at certain moments better than others.

For instance I like Nietzsche (and other existentialist like de Beauvoir and Sartre) when I'm feeling a little down and defeated. I like Spinoza when I find myself overwhelmed by the materialism in our culture, I like Lyotard for his theory of aesthetics, Fannon for his post-colonial theories and so on.

I do find myself to be more drawn to post-modern philosophers, but that's only because they speak of our historical moment and that's what I'm interested in right now.

I think your question can be phrased a little differently in order to avoid forcing those who answer it into giving a superficial or an over simplified answer. Maybe you can ask it like "which philosophical school have you been impacted by the most and why do you think that is?" or you can ask someone who they like to read from different historical periods, like "who of the ancient philosophers has impacted you the most?" etc.

In my opinion that's the fairest way to ask this question :)

Answer 3

Rene Descartes. Although he was wrong on a few issues, especially physics, he is considered the father of modern philosophy because he was willing to call into doubt everything he had ever learned in order to find what was true. His system of doubt allowed him to be unaffected when doing ontological or moral reasoning from outside sources. He also deductively affirms that we exist, therefore allowing the pursuit of certain knowledge. As well, he created the Cartesian coordinate system that paved the way for analytic geometry and algebra. His writing style is also remarkably approachable and enjoyable to read. If anything, read Discourse on the Method.

Answer 4

Aristotle, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Hume, Voltaire, Noam Chomsky, Sam Harris and a bunch more.

Answer 5

Bertie Russell, because his essays got me through a childhood period when I had to break away from everything I had been taught. I had already reached much the same conclusions on my own but had nowhere else to go for validation.

Answer 6

Lao Zi, or tsu, in the Dao De Jing, or Tao. he deeply understood the Aristotelian unity of form and matter, in simple words, he is as enlightened as Buddha Sakyamony, but with a poetic flavor. like ibn Rushed he doesn't waist time with stupid soul that's doing nothing. his doa is as deep as Spinoza's god. and he understood opposites without Hegel's unnecessary complexity.

Answer 7

Aristotle's Poetics...got me through college.

Answer 8

David Hume. Who else could compare?

Answer 9

i like Nietzsche, the best. he showed that life had no meaning and morals are meaningless too. he was also against religeon. he said that only you can give meaning to your life. he was about existentialism and nihilism

Answer 10

Archimedes. He's greek that's why!