Who's your favorite philosopher?

Albert Camus, you would only have to read the short essay The Myth of Sisyphus to realize how great his work is. His words are simple and clear yet intellegent and very well thought out. He does a lot of work on Absurdism and can be compared to Kafka.

Rene Descartes- Doubted everything that could be doubted, including our senses which we perceive the world with. Most well known for his famous line “Cogito Ergo Sum” or “I think, therefore I am”.

Boethius- 6th century philosopher who believed that we are all subject to fortune and misfortune and that the world operated in a continuous, never-ending cycle of the two. He also thought that because of that cycle, the world operated in a predictably-unpredictable manner.

@imhotep, my favorite aspect about Socrates was that he taught by asking questions.

I’m definitely coming back to this thread when I have some more time to really put some valuable thoughts down.

Me. But I like Da Vinci, Archimedes, Socrates, Plato, Artstotle, pretty much all of them, including those not recognized as philosophers such as Shakespeare and religious icons, Tesla, etc etc. I think everyone has to philosophize at some point in their life, to establish any belief, and I like anyone who does, I even have an interest in the most horrific conclusions, not that I have to like them.

@mghensley,

This is a tough one. I guess it really depends on the subject.

If we’re talking politics, I’ll quote Hobbes’ view of state of nature over Locke or Spinoza at any time. But if we’re talking will, Kane seems to be the only person I’ll turn to. Ethics? Gotta be Kant and his categorical imperative. Questions about religion are best answered by Hitchens. And death is best covered by Nagel (even thought I disagree with him).

I guess Nagel would be the best, though. He’s one of the few philosophers I’ve seen take on every field of study there is and come out as one of the best intellectuals on that field. Definitely one of the few geniuses of our time.

I wish that I could sit down and have conversations with Plato, Einstein, Hobbes, Spinoza, and Nagel.That would be the best round table discussion ever.

Myself – because I create it.

‘life of reasoning is the happiest one’ – was plato or socrates i can’t remember it right

having knowledge and knowing truth is good thing that ignorance world have to realize

My favourite of all time is probably Nietzsche: “Now I advise you to forsake me, and find yourselves; and only when you have denied me will I return to you!”

There is a great book called Nietzsche and Zen for those interested, and can afford it.

I am also really getting into Slavoj Zizek right now, his radical left interpretation of capitalism rings very true to me.

Can I say that I love them all?
They all have something interesting to contribute to what I feel and believe– if I don’t agree with it entirely, I still find it beautiful in a way.

Its hard to pick a favorite, but for today ill go with Douglas Adams.

“A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.”

“He was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher… or, as his wife would have it, an idiot.”

I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be.

“There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.”

“He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.”

Mark Twain. I know he’s not an “official” philosopher, but I can’t disagree with anything he said about life. :) But then again, I don’t have a least favorite. Funny topic, I can’t see any good thing about having a favorite philosopher.

Douglas Adams, George Carlin and Louis C.K.