Vote here for -in your opinion- the best, most influential philosopher in history. Do provide some arguments for your choice.
please note, I’ve left out religious persons/leaders, but if you wish you can specify them under ‘other’.
Re: Best philosopher(s) ever...
best and influential two different things. While A is influential doesnt mean they are the best in my opinion.
Re: Best philosopher(s) ever...
^adding to that, best consists of various dimensions, the one i want to focus on is influence
Re: Best philosopher(s) ever…
Hey, why cant I vote in here, it says admin disabled my acc…
Re: Best philosopher(s) ever…
Nexi bhai, I CANT vote, it takes me to that restricted page…
the best philosopher ever was an arab dude, cant remember his name
Re: Best philosopher(s) ever...
aristotle.
Re: Best philosopher(s) ever...
I can't vote either.
** Confucious **
Might be the best and the most influential.
Re: Best philosopher(s) ever...
Ibn Khaldun..
Re: Best philosopher(s) ever...
'Best' and 'influential' these are two separate concepts and may give entirely opposite meanings in certain case. Aristotle can be considered to be most influential. Whereas Socrates may be considered to be the best.
Re: Best philosopher(s) ever...
Staying in the Western world, since everyone on the list is from there, the most influential has to be Aristotle. Thinkers used his work for centuries to build the Christian cosmology. His astronomy, as further defined and solidified by Ptolemy, ruled until the likes of Copernicus and Kepler tore it down. If you ask me, the reliance on Aristotle in medieval Europe, not just for astrological stuff, helped keep Europe stagnant scientifically far too long. So, for that negative impact I'd say his influence was greater than Einstein's positive contribution in physics and modern life. Because he had more of a direct impact than any others on the list (though the others contributed heavily indirectly) for so long and in such a way he has to be it.
The others:
Marx's influence proved transitory. Though it still lingers in ways, and discounting the already forgotten history of the 20th century, it's negligible compared to other economists and sociologists of the same era. Things were happening anyway and he was on the wrong side.
Socrates and Plato are cute and probably rank on a list of the best, but they're too obscure to the average person to be considered influential.
I'd like to root for Descartes as he was fairly influential in a critical time in the evolution of thought, but I don't know how far I can take that one.
Re: Best philosopher(s) ever...
my fav one is luwig wittgenstein and his works on language.......and plato...this guy was years ahead of his time in his thought
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Socrates... an annoying and influential philosopher
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Socrates.......teacher of Plato who is teacher of Aristotle who is teacher of Alexander the great.
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Machievelli...his sentiments are still in implementation today...
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Yeah and managed to confuse us all with his discovery of Atlantis.
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Galileo Galilei --- Not only did he greatly contribute to science but also changed the way people used to think of religion as the absolute truth.
Re: Best philosopher(s) ever...
Jefus.....
Re: Best philosopher(s) ever...
Plato, because of his theory of forms, (if u get a chance read it) he believed the physical world cannot be trusted because eveything in it changes and our senses can deceive us, we can access the non physical world through our non physical intellect.