Most influential philosopher of all time?

[Pillager]

Ho, hum, other.

 

[Chairman Qu]

Aristotle, especially his views on ethics, and Thomas Aquinas, for reconciling Aristotlean and Christian philosophies, which was essentially the precursor to the Enlightenment.

 

[Hamlet]

Okay, where are:

- Socrates

- Plato

- Aristotle

- Hobbes

- Aquinas

- Rousseau

- Smith (Good lord, he's hardly been mentioned so far.)

To name but a few.

 

[Mîtiu Ioan]

Originally posted by Zarn
Socrates. None of these people compare.

Not even Aristotel for example ?

 

[Richard III]

Good poll! Finally, a genuinely new subject to chew over.

I am, however, a bit concerned that the list is too small. But from those listed, I'll say Locke.

 

[JoeM]

Of the options:

Calvin.

Apart from the Greeks, Machiavelli.

Why Calvin?

Well he did a nice line in clothes.

 

[stalin006]

SUN TZU!!!!!!!!

 

[redtom]

What about
-Bishop Berkeley
-Protagoras
-Descartes
-Hegel
-Rosseau
-Paine (if would include him as a Philosopher)
-Aquinas
-Stuart T. Mill
-Locke
-Bakunin
-Hobbes
-Sartre
-Wiggenstein
-Friedrich Nietzsche
-Kant
There are simply to many great philosophers, who all had such profound and intelligent things to say. However, here's mine:

Political
=======
1. Marx
Formulated the idea of class conflict.
2. Bakunin
Formulated anarchist philosophy
3. Stuart T. Mill
Leading philosopher for democracy
4. Rousseau
First to come up with social contract
5. Paine
Argues against monarchial, oligarchial and aristocratic goverments

 

[Pangur Bán]

Originally posted by redtom

4. Rousseau
First to come up with social contract

Not true, Hobbes came about 5 generations before. Rousseau, like many other "great" French philosophers, had gained fame by making previous theories fashionable.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Originally posted by stalin006
SUN TZU!!!!!!!!

Sun Zi is a strategist; hardly a philosopher. The guiding hand behind millenium of Chinese civilisation is Confucius. Plus others like Mencius, Zhu Xi who added to Confucianism thru out the ages.

 

[redtom]

Originally posted by calgacus


Not true, Hobbes came about 5 generations before. Rousseau, like many other "great" French philosophers, had gained fame by making previous theories fashionable.

Sorry about that, I've haven't read Hobbes yet, though I've just finished Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man. Wasn't that great, but made me even more republican though.

 

[Hamlet]

Originally posted by calgacus
Not true, Hobbes came about 5 generations before.

Hobbes detailed the social contract? Where?

 

[Pangur Bán]

Originally posted by Hamlet


Hobbes detailed the social contract? Where?

I'm not sure why you have chosen to use the word "detailed", so I need you to clarify.

The important difference between Hobbes' notion of a social contract and Rousseau's was that the former believed mankind to be inherently selfish and egoist whereas Rousseau thought pre-contract mankind to be good, but then he is corrupted by property.

 

[Richard III]

Re-reading this great poll, I'm thinking, where is Adam Smith?

 

[Hamlet]

Originally posted by Richard III
Re-reading this great poll, I'm thinking, where is Adam Smith?

That's what I said. (Look at the top of the page.)

Originally posted by calgacus
The important difference between Hobbes' notion of a social contract and Rousseau's was that the former believed mankind to be inherently selfish and egoist whereas Rousseau thought pre-contract mankind to be good, but then he is corrupted by property.

I'm not sure I understand you. Hobbes detailed what he thought life would be like in a state of nature, and worked from that premise into arguing for strong government - but where does the social contract come into this?

As far as I was aware, all Hobbes argued was that we should be deferential to said government, as it was the ultimate bringer of peace between individuals. I wasn't aware that a 'social contract', as defiend by Rousseau came into things.

 

[Pangur Bán]

Originally posted by Hamlet


I'm not sure I understand you. Hobbes detailed what he thought life would be like in a state of nature, and worked from that premise into arguing for strong government - but where does the social contract come into this?

As far as I was aware, all Hobbes argued was that we should be deferential to said government, as it was the ultimate bringer of peace between individuals. I wasn't aware that a 'social contract', as defiend by Rousseau came into things.

The social contract is the stage after the "state of nature". People get together to avoid mutual destruction, or something along these lines.

I don't know much about Hobbes' prescriptive philosophy.

I'm not sure either about whether or not you're genuinely requesting information or trying to find a way of saying he did not write about the social contract?

 

[Mîtiu Ioan]

Originally posted by redtom
1. Marx
Formulated the idea of class conflict.
2. Bakunin
Formulated anarchist philosophy

I'm a little bit confused ... this are good or bad features in your opinion ??

Regards

 

[Hamlet]

Originally posted by calgacus
The social contract is the stage after the "state of nature". People get together to avoid mutual destruction, or something along these lines.

Yeah. That's true.

Originally posted by calgacus
I'm not sure either about whether or not you're genuinely requesting information or trying to find a way of saying he did not write about the social contract?

If you're saying Hobbes wrote Rousseau's ideas, then you'd be wrong, and the idea that Rousseau simply 'stole' all of Hobbes' ideas would be quite wrong. They were coming from far differing viewpoints on many subjects.

If you were saying he (Hobbes) was one of the first to introduce the idea of the 'social contract' as being a decision whereby men agreed to set up an entity called society after the SoN, then that'd be true.

 

[Sultan Bhargash]

Socrates

Locke

Nietzche

Sartre

 

[Stapel]

I've only read Socrates, Plato & Aristoteles. (though Socrates didn't write).

So I guess it should be one of them!

Ãíïèé Óáõôïí

Edit: Appearently no greek allowed....