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OakTree
Schmoak Tree

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Who's the best philosopher?
#24020693 - 01/18/17 05:05 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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Recently there was a thread titled "who's the best philosopher?", and I am sad to see that it no longer exists.
I though it would be a discussion on who the best philosophers have been throughout antiquity. I am an avid philosophy reader and am always looking for new philosophy to read about, as well as hearing others' ideas, so if anyone has a philosopher they would like to recommend, or has any of their own thoughts to offer, offer them up!
Thanks, however, to liquidlounge, for starting that thread. I thought it was a great idea! And I apologize to DividedQuantum if my philosophical thoughts were not appropriate for the Philosophy, Sociology & Psychology thread. Perhaps I should read the rules, and I will, but I sincerely thought the thread would be about philosophy.
Peace to all.
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LunarEclipse
Enlil's Official Story


Registered: 10/31/04
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Re: Who's the best philosopher? [Re: OakTree]
#24020786 - 01/18/17 05:41 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.
“Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems”
-------------------- Anxiety is what you make it.
Edited by LunarEclipse (01/18/17 05:44 PM)
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Buster_Brown
L'une


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"no men are esteemed less fit to direct public affairs than theorists or philosophers"- Spinoza
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DividedQuantum
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Re: Who's the best philosopher? [Re: OakTree]
#24020824 - 01/18/17 05:53 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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Parenthetically, the other thread devolved into OT, pointless banter, and I'm not blaming you. Hardly anyone even mentioned a particular philosopher. But that's neither here nor there.
I've always been partial to Nietzsche, Hegel, Epicurus, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Plotinus, St. Augustine and others. I don't claim to know who the best is.
-------------------- Vi Veri Universum Vivus Vici
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sudly
Darwin's stagger


Registered: 01/05/15
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Re: Who's the best philosopher? [Re: OakTree]
#24020843 - 01/18/17 06:03 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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I think Plato is the greatest philosopher because his idea of the Tripartite Soul has stuck out to me on a personal level more than ideas from other philosophers.
'Scientia est Potestas, Knowledge is Power.'
Quote:
Kurt said: "Power is the demonstrability of force, in a closely related way knowledge respectively can be conceived as the theoretical calculability and determinism, of a finite field of nature, in which humankind increasingly ascribes and embeds itself in implicit relations.
To say nature is determined or determinant, is theoretically appropriate. But we know nature is not ever and in any proportion "determining" things as logic-bound or intelligible as it may seem to be. At least thus far in history, it is a human, a being in and of nature, who "determines" the world as much as finds it determined. Man finds nature in his terms in a matrix of determinability and calculability, as what he calls his knowledge."
The concept of what the human experience is, has been reinterpreted by cultural diversity into a spectrum of ideas that often do have a logical sounding basis, while logic can get us far it can also create our illusions so there is a lot to question and be questioned still. With that said, energy is a strange and curious thing but it's all around us and all throughout our bodies, and I think, maybe, that biology is intertwined with thoughts and emotions.
-------------------- I am whatever Darwin needs me to be.
Edited by sudly (01/18/17 06:09 PM)
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DividedQuantum
Outer Head


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And Socrates. Can't leave him out.
-------------------- Vi Veri Universum Vivus Vici
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sudly
Darwin's stagger


Registered: 01/05/15
Posts: 10,810
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What about Aristotle?
-------------------- I am whatever Darwin needs me to be.
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Huehuecoyotl
Fading Slowly


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Re: Who's the best philosopher? [Re: OakTree]
#24020884 - 01/18/17 06:20 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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I am dammit. The others all suck.
-------------------- "A warrior is a hunter. He calculates everything. That's control. Once his calculations are over, he acts. He lets go. That's abandon. A warrior is not a leaf at the mercy of the wind. No one can push him; no one can make him do things against himself or against his better judgment. A warrior is tuned to survive, and he survives in the best of all possible fashions." ― Carlos Castaneda
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sudly
Darwin's stagger


Registered: 01/05/15
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Re: Who's the best philosopher? [Re: Huehuecoyotl] 1
#24020922 - 01/18/17 06:31 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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-------------------- I am whatever Darwin needs me to be.
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clock_of_omens
razzle them dazzle them


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Re: Who's the best philosopher? [Re: OakTree]
#24021033 - 01/18/17 07:02 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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What does best philosopher even mean? It's a pretty ridiculous question OP.
I was fond of Donald Davidson when I read some stuff of his for classes.
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sudly
Darwin's stagger


Registered: 01/05/15
Posts: 10,810
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Re: Who do you think the best philosopher is? [Re: clock_of_omens]
#24021039 - 01/18/17 07:03 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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...
-------------------- I am whatever Darwin needs me to be.
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Brian Jones
Club 27



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Quote:
DividedQuantum said: And Socrates. Can't leave him out.
Often hard to tell what was Plato and what was Socrates.
-------------------- "The Rolling Stones will break up over Brian Jones' dead body" John Lennon I don't want no commies in my car. No Christians either. The worst thing about corruption is that it works so well,
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Buster_Brown
L'une


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Re: Who's the best philosopher? [Re: OakTree]
#24021099 - 01/18/17 07:20 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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In terms of fame the best philosopher is a dead philosopher, and in terms of fortune the best philosopher is King Solomon.
Ergo in terms of fame & fortune king Solomon is the best philosopher.
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OakTree
Schmoak Tree

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Last seen: 7 months, 23 days
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Quote:
DividedQuantum said: Parenthetically, the other thread devolved into OT, pointless banter, and I'm not blaming you. Hardly anyone even mentioned a particular philosopher. But that's neither here nor there.
I've always been partial to Nietzsche, Hegel, Epicurus, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Plotinus, St. Augustine and others. I don't claim to know who the best is.
Cool man. I mentioned Lao Tzu and Alan Watts in the first post and was then told by the OP that he was not asking for great philosophers, but which one of us could be the best philosopher, so I wrote a few personal thoughts because I thought that's what he wanted, then he made a comment about "shit" so I wrote a philosophical post about "shit". I didn't mean to get it closed down, and I apologize.
I love Nietzsche and St. Augustine! The rest I have only gone ankle deep into, so to speak. I will go back to them; thanks for the suggestions!
Have you (or anyone) read "The Cloud of Unknowing"? It was written in the 14th century and It's author is anonymous, which I think perfectly coincides with it's message of the surrendering of the ego in order to enter the realm of "unknowing". It is written in Middle English, so it takes a while to read, but it is in my opinion one of the most beautiful philosophical works ever written.
The basic tenet of The Cloud of Unknowing is that the way to know God (or whatever you choose to call it; it's all semantics ) is to abandon consideration of "God's" activities and attributes, and be courageous enough to surrender one's mind and ego to the realm of "unknowing", at which point one may begin to glimpse the actual and true nature of God. (partially copied from wikipedia b/c I like the way they worded part of it )
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sudly
Darwin's stagger


Registered: 01/05/15
Posts: 10,810
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Re: Who's the best philosopher? [Re: OakTree]
#24021200 - 01/18/17 07:54 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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Quote:
OakTree said: The basic tenet of The Cloud of Unknowing is that the way to know God (or whatever you choose to call it; it's all semantics ) is to abandon consideration of "God's" activities and attributes, and be courageous enough to surrender one's mind and ego to the realm of "unknowing", at which point one may begin to glimpse the actual and true nature of God.
To me that creates a cycle of unknowing because if you truly consider surrendering your own mind to 'the realm of unknowing', how can one be sure there is a true nature to the idea of a God?
If semantics is the issue then maybe the word 'god' doesn't mean what many think it does as a benevolent entity, but more so as the form of a beautiful mistress in the existence of nature and the cycles of life.
-------------------- I am whatever Darwin needs me to be.
Edited by sudly (01/18/17 08:03 PM)
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DividedQuantum
Outer Head


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Re: Who's the best philosopher? [Re: OakTree]
#24021223 - 01/18/17 08:00 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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Quote:
OakTree said:
Quote:
DividedQuantum said: Parenthetically, the other thread devolved into OT, pointless banter, and I'm not blaming you. Hardly anyone even mentioned a particular philosopher. But that's neither here nor there.
I've always been partial to Nietzsche, Hegel, Epicurus, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Plotinus, St. Augustine and others. I don't claim to know who the best is.
Cool man. I mentioned Lao Tzu and Alan Watts in the first post and was then told by the OP that he was not asking for great philosophers, but which one of us could be the best philosopher, so I wrote a few personal thoughts because I thought that's what he wanted, then he made a comment about "shit" so I wrote a philosophical post about "shit". I didn't mean to get it closed down, and I apologize.
I love Nietzsche and St. Augustine! The rest I have only gone ankle deep into, so to speak. I will go back to them; thanks for the suggestions!
Have you (or anyone) read "The Cloud of Unknowing"? It was written in the 14th century and It's author is anonymous, which I think perfectly coincides with it's message of the surrendering of the ego in order to enter the realm of "unknowing". It is written in Middle English, so it takes a while to read, but it is in my opinion one of the most beautiful philosophical works ever written.
The basic tenet of The Cloud of Unknowing is that the way to know God (or whatever you choose to call it; it's all semantics ) is to abandon consideration of "God's" activities and attributes, and be courageous enough to surrender one's mind and ego to the realm of "unknowing", at which point one may begin to glimpse the actual and true nature of God. (partially copied from wikipedia b/c I like the way they worded part of it )
All good, man.
-------------------- Vi Veri Universum Vivus Vici
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OakTree
Schmoak Tree

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Re: Who's the best philosopher? [Re: sudly]
#24021246 - 01/18/17 08:07 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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If semantics is the issue then maybe the word 'god' doesn't mean what many think it does as a benevolent entity, but more so as the form of a beautiful mistress in the existence of nature and the cycles of life.
I agree with you; I think that may be the point. The word "God", after all, is nothing more than a 3 letter word agreed upon by the translators of the Bible when they translated it to English. I think that "God", "Tao", "Brahman", "Allah", etc. are just sounds that we make with our mouths depending on the language we speak and the religion that we witnessed growing up that all basically refer to the ultimate essence from which all existence sprouts. I think the Tao Te Ching, written by Lao Tzu (or sometimes spelled Laozi) comes closest to expressing that which cannot be expressed. If I remember correctly (I have recently loaned my copy to a friend so it is not in my apartment at the time) the first line of the book is something like "the Tao that can be explained is not the true Tao; the Tao that can be understood is not the true Tao" or something similar. That sums it all up for me. We are all on our own journey, and shouldn't be constricted by the dogmas of those who came before us.
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sudly
Darwin's stagger


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Posts: 10,810
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Re: Who's the best philosopher? [Re: OakTree]
#24021262 - 01/18/17 08:12 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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I don't think we should be constricted by the dogmas of those who came before us but I think it's fair to say it could be helpful for us to try and learn from their dogmas in order to widen our own perspectives to be inclusive of a wider array of ideas.
-------------------- I am whatever Darwin needs me to be.
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OakTree
Schmoak Tree

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Re: Who's the best philosopher? [Re: sudly]
#24021286 - 01/18/17 08:19 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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Agreed. Definitely. We learn by listening to those who came before us, and then adding our own perspectives, so that those who come after us can do the same. May we add small steps for others to walk on, and may they add small steps for those who come after. Peace!
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sudly
Darwin's stagger


Registered: 01/05/15
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Re: Who's the best philosopher? [Re: OakTree]
#24021290 - 01/18/17 08:20 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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-------------------- I am whatever Darwin needs me to be.
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