Who's your favorite philosopher and why?

[ajlongspiano]

Heidegger! (Because Alethia)

Best,

AJ

[georgey]

AJ – hope all is well.  Great question.  My answer will not be what you are looking for, unfortunately.  My father was a college professor that taught philosophy.  I remember overhearing discussions as a young child that he had with his college students he invited home.  My father never had philosophical discussions with me or my brother and sister.

I have very strong philosophical opinions on many areas of philosophy, but I will admit I have never read any books on philosophy or studied philosophy in any way.  So, what does that make me?  A bad philosopher?  Perhaps. What is my philosophy on existentialism?  First, I read the definition of the word – then I will have thoughts on this I am sure.  My philosophy is personal to myself and has served me well so far. 

My son is very interested in German Idealism and Kant, Hagel… His favorite is Fichte.  I may disagree with many or most of the beliefs of German idealists as he describes to me, but I listen and understand what my son describes to me and I encourage my son to study and pursue his beliefs.  Kant view of ethics - sounds good as described by my son.

So, I just looked up existentialism: a philosophy that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. It is the view that humans define their own meaning in life, and try to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational universe.

My thoughts:  We are all subject to the laws of physics.  How can I be free if my dream is to fly around like I do in my dreams and without any help from any devise?  What if I wanted to be free of the forces of gravity?  Do I have a choice?  Perhaps I need to modify my wishes and desires.  But is this by my choice or am I being forced to modify my wishes by father physics?  I could ramble on and on.

We all as humans have to be philosophers to answer questions about existence, knowledge, values, etc.  Some may need to search outwards for such answers, others may need to reach inwards.  Hopefully we all are able to be reasonably at peace with our explanations of things.

EDIT:
Why don't I read and study philosophy now?  Answer: I am very at peace with my explanation of things and I do not plan on teaching those beliefs to others.

[outin]

Karl Marx

[georgey]

Karl Marx

And why?  Unacceptable answer but still okay is "Because". 

[outin]

And why?  Unacceptable answer but still okay is "Because". 

Favorites don't really need to be explained, but who cannot love a guy who came up with the quote "Religion is opium for the people" and later turned from philosophing to things much more interesting

[maxim3]

Arthur Schopenhauer
David Stove
David Benatar

[georgey]

Favorites don't really need to be explained, but who cannot love a guy who came up with the quote "Religion is opium for the people" and later turned from philosophing to things much more interesting

Sounds good.  What is the philosophical meaning of this being your 7777th post?

[georgey]

Arthur Schopenhauer
David Stove
David Benatar

Come on all you philosophers!  WHY??  Or is this too philosophical of a question?

[outin]

Sounds good.  What is the philosophical meaning of this being your 7777th post?

Nothing really is as it first seems?

[georgey]

Nothing really is as it first seems?

My google search shows:
Number 7777 Meaning. ... The main significance of number 7 is spiritual awakening within yourself or when you gain greater knowledge in your chosen spiritual path. This is a very positive number which attracts more wisdom and knowledge, these greater knowledge will flow into you when you continue in your path.

Also:
Angels divert our attention towards a certain number (such as 7777) throughout the day and the more we see this number, the more likely it is that we’ll begin to rule out the possibility of it being merely a coincidence. The angel number 7777 is a great example but we can’t dive right in and begin looking at its meaning. The only way to understand an angel number is to explore the simplest forms.

Are you sure you don't want to change your Karl Marx quote? 

THIS BEING MY 777TH POST.  Are you not afraid?

[outin]

Are you sure you don't want to change your Karl Marx quote? 

THIS BEING MY 777TH POST.  Are you not afraid?

No (to both)... if you look up you will realize your theory already lost it's relevance

[georgey]

No (to both)... if you look up you will realize your theory already lost it's relevance

Haha! However the fact remains, that was your 7777th post even though your total number posts goes up.  But not to scare you, I will save the day with an important word to my philosophical belief system: "coincidence".

So you don't have to see an implied connection between your 7777th post and the following :

Angel Number 7777 may be seen as a lucky angel.  This angel is one of a series of lucky numbers, only made stronger by the fact the numbers are in sequence.  When numbers are doubled, or paired, the number vibration is that much stronger in meaning.  Therefore, this number 7777 is incredibly strong in meaning. Number 7777 is also strong in the sense that one must adhere to your Angel’s messages and guidance.

[lostinidlewonder]

So many but the ones I often fall back onto more often are:
Jesus Christ
Noam Chomsky
René Girard

As for why, that response is waaaay too long. Their teachings are quite relevant to my life and I find the deeper I go into what they are about the more I learn, it never ends. They also change my life in many ways, great things tend to have that effect, they change the way in which you experience life.

[mjames]

I wish I was well read enough to answer this question, fantasy novels are the only thing I consume now.

"After playing a vast quantity of notes, simplicity is the crowning achievement of art." - is as close as I'll get to appreciating philosophy.

(LOL)

Karl Marx

Okay wait never mind, THIS. Only because I don't like working 9-5 every week.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Peter Kropotkin, genuinely thought-provoking. And an AMAZING beard.

[georgey]

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[georgey]

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[outin]

Haha! However the fact remains, that was your 7777th post even though your total number posts goes up. 

You need to prove it first

[j_tour]

Edmund Husserl — without any doubt the most influential philosopher of the 20th century.  His Logical Investigations provided a method and a pattern of thought for astonishingly diverse domains of thought, and are the backbone of ontology in theoretical and applied computer science today.

Wittgenstein. 

There are many in the twentieth century who made considerable contributions, I don't think there's much question about the permanence and wide applicability of those core philosophers.  There is Frege, but his opinions often were wrong, no doubt due to some kind of influence of the German idealist school.  I suppose it's worth pointing out that both Husserl and Wittgenstein were part of an Austrian culture and tradition, which, while it seems like a small detail now, is critical to understanding the deeper histories and lineages of thinking.