Who is the graetest philospher in the world?

Answer 1

It really depends on how you define "greatest," but if you are talking about the most influential, I would say Plato or Aristotle simply because they were two of the first great philosophers, and many of their ideas were reexamined or expanded upon by later philosophers.

Answer 2

Lucky you, you got a bunch of good answers and only a few silly ones. Yes, there are a lot to choose from...and it might be argued that several have been left out. The single author whose words, in a dozen-or-so pages or so, touched me the deepest, is Boetius. Wrongly imprisoned by Theodoric and awaiting execution, Boetius uses the Socratic device of dialogue by personifying Philosophy and engaging in question and answer.

Imagine yourself, in prison, tortured and close to death, being able to calmly, rationally and fairly succinctly put down in a dozen or so pages one of the clearest and comprehensive expositories of free will, predestination, God, and personal responsibility...and do it in a loving, non-bitter way. To me, the tone of the writing is just as important as the message itself. It is called "The Consolation of Philosophy" and was one of the most widely-used writings in Europe for close to 1,500 years.

Originally written in Latin about 1,500 years ago, it is often published as a companion piece with Thomas Aquinas and/or other great medieval thinkers. I cannot urge you in strong enough terms to read it. I went so far as to type it out myself after having read 4 or 5 different translations, as each author had their own slight variations of doing the translation. I then printed it in Microsoft 'Word' and mailed it to several friends, all of whom thanked me, saying that in the space of a thin book, Boetius had grasped the essence of most philosophy and did so lovingly.

Great question! Thanks for asking and thanks to the intelligent responders: you know who you are.

Answer 3

Colonel Sanders

Answer 4

As the Corinthian said, the Word of God is more to be depended upon than the words of any man, except of course of the man who was, is, and always will be "the Word of God", Jesus Christ.
His philosophy is literally life-saving, life-changing and offers only good for all who will accept and believe it and Him.

Answer 5

The greatest philosopher is debatable and is usually the one whose philosophy most closely matches the responders thinking.

Personally, I choose the word of God over the philosophies of man

Here is a list of a few Philosophers

ANCIENT GREECE
Thales: First known philosopher to seek a unifying underlying natural principle for all reality (water).

Parmenides: First example of using logic to argue that reality was (very) unlike its appearance.

Socrates: Famous for question and answer method, bringing forth hypotheses and producing counterexamples, then modifying hypotheses. Focused on value theory. "Know Thyself."

Plato: Student of Socrates, wrote eloquent dialogues in which Socratesappears. Focused on value theory, nature of ideal state, problem of how reality can be knowable.

Protagoras: Influential relativist; "Man is the measure of all things."

Aristotle: student of Plato. Remarkable for contributions to many areas: logic, math, biology, metaphysics, ethics, political theory, aesthetics (drama), etc.

EARLY MODERN
Descartes: brought epistemology to the fore. Also famous for his dualism (mind is nonphysical but interacts with physical world); "I think therefore I am," as beginning point for knowledge of reality.

Hobbes: great modern materialist and political theorist (social contract).

Locke: moderate empiricist and political theorist, influenced American "Founding Fathers".

Hume: Radical empiricist, critic of religion; also famous during his lifetime as a historian.

Kant: Famous for his argument that mind shapes reality, and his ethical theory that emphasized reason, duty and rights over desires (major rival to Utilitarianism).

Hegel: German system builder, emphasized historical development of thought.

Marx: great German revolutionary materialist , critic of Capitalism.

Mill: English genius who wrote about logic, language and math, political theory, science, ethics . Known for development of Utilitarian theory in ethics and his arguments on behalf of freedom of press/speech.

Nietszche: famous relativist, critic of Christian ethics.

William James: great American psychologist and philosopher, proponent of pragmatism and concept analysis.

TWENTIETH CENTURY
Russell: worked in all areas of philosophy. Famous for emphasizing analysis; influential critic of Hegelian philosophy, important philosopher of logic and mathematics.

Wittgenstein: brilliant student of Russell, focussed on language and knowledge

Carnap: influential scientific empiricist.

Sartre: French Existentialist, novelist, became a Marxist

Quine: influential Harvard empiricist, logician, behaviorist and pragmatist.

Answer 6

Popeye, because he lived his philosophy, "I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam" OK so he is a cartoon but that is a philosophy that we all can live with just be yourself and enjoy who you are.

Answer 7

Jim carrey

Answer 8

Socrates ... "Know Thyself!"

Answer 9

Jesus, and I am not even religious.

Answer 10

Me.