Who is your favourite thinker?

by The Rebel 41 Replies latest jw friends

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  millie210

  The Rebel
  A) Who do you consider the great thinkers are who have influenced the way you think today and why?

  Bertrand Russell.

  I like the way his thoughts evolved throughout his life.

  B) Do you think great thinking often comes about by average thinkers debating together?

  No, but I guess it would depend on what one calls "average". I do not believe great minds exist only in the realm of the well educated or affluent.

  Money and education are enhancers that may unleash a great mind that is already there but so can other things such as exposure. Travel is one form of exposure for example.

  I think there are great minds all around us, the way to find them is to be open eyed and eared enough to recognize them and focus on them. Just like the empty tin can makes the most noise - so it is with people. We have to really be aware to seek out the treasures amongst us.

  as the song goes..."the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls"

  
  
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  macys

  Anthony Morris III. Hands down. Brilliant man. Who else could mislead so many people with absolute devotion?
  
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  LoveUniHateExams

  do you think to be a great thnker it is necessary to be correct in ones thinking? - well, it does help. It also helps if people can be flexible, acknowledge any mistakes and modify their thinking.

  Another self-evidently important quality is to keep connected to reality.

  Did you see that verbal sparring between Douglas Murray and the YAB Monster in the youtube link I posted?

  Compare and contrast Murray's sense of moral equivalence and Yasmin's.

  Murray came across as a very sharp, on-the-ball and sensible (and perhaps a tad arrogant and cold-hearted); YAB came across as confused, angry, detached from reality and with little to say in the way of achievable Western strategy.
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  88JM

  If not Hitchins, then probably one of those who inspired him - Bertrand Russell.

  The Rebel - I don't think it necessarily goes that great thinking and correctness go hand in hand. The obvious example that comes to mind is Christopher Hitchens' brother Peter. While being raised in the same household and debatably an equally thoughtful person, the two brothers differed fiercely on many matters.
  
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  OrphanCrow

  Saintbertholdt: The opening to Baudrillard's simulations - "The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth - it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true." He attributes it to Ecclesiastes, but its nowhere to be found :)

  And that is why I like Baudrillard - he was brilliant. His use of Ecclesiastes as a source quote was performative. It is actually humourous, I think. Doing what he said in his opening - creating a simulacrum....what is "truth"? Is it in Ecclesiastes? Or, was his 'truth' simulated? Or is the simulation the truth?

  Baudrillard makes me laugh. :)
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  Xanthippe

  Now my observation is that most of the great thinkers mentiond are considerd correct in their thinking. So my question is do you think to be a great thnker it is necessary to be correct in ones thinking?
  The Rebel.

  To be thought of as a great thinker it is only necessary for many people to think you are correct. It doesn't mean you are.
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  kaik

  I actually never had favorite thinker. We had to study some of them at university, but I never developed significant attachment to any of them. However, I liked some of the reasoning and thinking they presented. I find St. Augustine and his City of God to be interesting and deeply influential of Western European Christian theology. I liked Plotinus and still have his book on the shelve. I never got into Orwell, even when I have read him during the communist time as he was illegal, probably, because the system was already in place.
  
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  The Rebel

  Interesting thoughts and suggestions. I guess in conclusion great origional thinkers are few and far between, but each individual can strive to become a better critical thinker.

  " Of one thing we can be sure: The quality of our life will be determined by the quality of our thinking" Edward De Bono.

  The Rebel.
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  Lieu

  The person who came up with the idea for socks or some item that has improved life around the world. That's great thinking.

  Solely opining about everything is useless. Talk is cheap ... do.
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  doofdaddy

  C.G Jung Aldous Huxley Tolkein and always enjoy Mark Twain's observations. All could be classed as "ahead of their time" but I guess they had (the possible over) confidence to push their passion into their study at all costs.