Favorite Philosopher

[Senator Robert A. Taft]

Which philosopher is your favorite, or has had the most influence on you?  John Locke has had an enormous impact on me, and A Letter Concerning Toleration, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, and Two Treatises of Government all occupy prominent spaces in my personal library, as do a myriad of other works by and about Locke.

[Bo]

John Locke and Thomas Paine.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Probably Nietzsche.

[Deldem]

Some of the ones I enjoy most are Locke, Voltaire, and Marx.

[k-onmmunist]

Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Sartre, Spinoza, Mill, James, Heidegger.

[Gustaf]

I like Kant.

[anvi]

My favorite philosopher is probably a second-century guy from India named Vatsyayana.  He wrote a very important commentary on Hindu epistemology and logic, and, according to tradition, he was also the author of the Kamasutra.  Can't beat that combination, in my book.

But it's hard for me to pick one favorite.  If we're talking Western philosophers, in no particular order, I like Aristotle, Kant (though not his ethics) and Dewey a lot.  If we're takling about Asian philosophers, I'm a fan of Mozi, Laozi and Nagarjuna (though they are very different from one another).

[LastMcGovernite]

Jimmy Buffett.

[Earth]

Foucault, Bergson, Marcuse, Merleau-Ponty, Schopenhauer, Adorno, Marx, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Virilio

[ARescan]

John Locke, Adam Smith, F.A. Hayek, MLK Jr. and Thomas Paine.

[Psychic Octopus]

Warren Buffet!

In all seriousness, probably John Locke.

[KeeptheChange]

Jesus Christ or maybe Ayn Rand.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Jesus Christ or maybe Ayn Rand.

A little too stupid, I think. Going to have to try harder, o ye of little trolling skill.

[Vepres]

Saddartha (The Buddha) is certainly one of my favorites, even if I don't agree with everything he believed.

Socrates is up there as well.

John Locke is interesting, if extreme. He certainly was good for the time. Same goes for Adam Smith.

Joseph Campbell is another one of my favorites.

Laozi is interesting.

Admittedly, I am not as well versed in specific philosophers/philosophy, though I have a strong interest in the whole subject matter.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Machiavelli, Locke, Beccaria, and Montesquieu get high marks in my book.

[KeeptheChange]

Jesus Christ or maybe Ayn Rand.

A little too stupid, I think. Going to have to try harder, o ye of little trolling skill.

Um.  Wait.  They are NOT philosophers?  I have read the writings of both.  Now, one could argue that Rand was simply a novelist.  That's like saying T.S. Elliot was just a poet.  The teachings of Christ have changed my life and so have the writings of Ayn Rand.  Well, I have to admit...I haven't read "The Fountainhead" yet.  But "Atlas Shrugged" is precisely what my life needed at the time.  (And quite frankly, it has the underpinnings that this country needs in order to turn our nation around.)

But by all means -- continue to accuse everyone you disagree with of being a troll. It's much easier than engaging actual ideas.

[patrick1]

Jesus Christ or maybe Ayn Rand.

A little too stupid, I think. Going to have to try harder, o ye of little trolling skill.

Um.  Wait.  They are NOT philosophers?  I have read the writings of both.  Now, one could argue that Rand was simply a novelist.  That's like saying T.S. Elliot was just a poet.  The teachings of Christ have changed my life and so have the writings of Ayn Rand.  Well, I have to admit...I haven't read "The Fountainhead" yet.  But "Atlas Shrugged" is precisely what my life needed at the time.  (And quite frankly, it has the underpinnings that this country needs in order to turn our nation around.)

But by all means -- continue to accuse everyone you disagree with of being a troll. It's much easier than engaging actual ideas.

The teachings of Christ and Ayn Rand are pretty much in direct conflict with each other.

[KeeptheChange]

Jesus Christ or maybe Ayn Rand.

A little too stupid, I think. Going to have to try harder, o ye of little trolling skill.

Um.  Wait.  They are NOT philosophers?  I have read the writings of both.  Now, one could argue that Rand was simply a novelist.  That's like saying T.S. Elliot was just a poet.  The teachings of Christ have changed my life and so have the writings of Ayn Rand.  Well, I have to admit...I haven't read "The Fountainhead" yet.  But "Atlas Shrugged" is precisely what my life needed at the time.  (And quite frankly, it has the underpinnings that this country needs in order to turn our nation around.)

But by all means -- continue to accuse everyone you disagree with of being a troll. It's much easier than engaging actual ideas.

The teachings of Christ and Ayn Rand are pretty much in direct conflict with each other.

Not really.  Rand never condemned charity.  In fact, she would say that if giving to the poor makes you happy or fulfilled, you owe it to yourself to do it.  The idea is that no one should be FORCED to hand over their hard-earned money or do anything charitably. Jesus taught that good deeds should come from the heart and not at the point of a sword.  I think the two dovetaile very nicely.  And both show the current, slouching-toward-socialsm culture of the United States to be a case of "The Emperor Has No Clothes".

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Jesus, however, condemned greed. Repeatedly. So often that you might think it important to his message or something.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Jesus, however, condemned greed. Repeatedly. So often that you might think it important to his message or something.

     It makes the concept of a wealthy Christian flying around in a private jet rather silly, does it not?

[Deldem]

"I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
-Jesus Christ

This obviously is something that works completely with Objectivism...

[KeeptheChange]

When did Rand adovate greed?  She said a person should make himself happy but that his right to be happy ended where someone else's began.  Seems consistent, both with Jesus and the Constitution.

I am sure some people use Rand (and Jesus) to justify all kinds of bad behavior.  But for the sake of this discussion, let's just leave it that both philosophers are among my favorite of all time.  That was the original question.

[patrick1]

When did Rand adovate greed?  She said a person should make himself happy but that his right to be happy ended where someone else's began.  Seems consistent, both with Jesus and the Constitution.

I am sure some people use Rand (and Jesus) to justify all kinds of bad behavior.  But for the sake of this discussion, let's just leave it that both philosophers are among my favorite of all time.  That was the original question.

Rand advocated selfishness. Jesus spoke of selflessness.  Jesus did not teach us to be charitable and loving if they feel like it- it was a command.

I swear by my life, and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for me." Rand

Vs.

You know Jesus dying for our sins.

I could juxtapose quotes all day but it is a pointless exercise. Rand herself stated that the altruism of Christianity was incompatible with objectivism.  You are either misinterpreting Rand, Jesus or both.