Philosophers

[fromsanzabar]

I've been perusing through a little philosophy, namely Sartre, and am hooked (on the study of philosophy in general). What particular schools of thought have influenced each of you?

[Another brick in the wall]

Stoicism, naturalism, and utilitarianism.

[fromsanzabar]

why?

[Another brick in the wall]

Well, it's good to be stoic in a world that can often be cruel and unfair; it's good defense against the harshness of life. Naturalism is the basis of science, without which our species wouldn't have gotten out of caves, and utilitarianism appeals to me for its simplicity. The greatest good for the greatest number is the best.

[Rhinoqulous]

Wittgenstein. W proposes an entire new way to view philosophy. Most philosophical problems are not actual problems "in the world", but stem from how philosophers think about the world. It's all about Language use, and how Language determines how we understand the world.

I'm also a big fan of W.V.O. Quine, who gave us the great concept of Ontological Relativity (if there is at least one complete true ontological system, then necessarily there is more than one), and Donald Davidson (anomalous monism; mental events are brain events, but the language of mental events is non-reducible to physical language). These are contemporary analytic philosophers though, so reading them isn't really that casual of a read (especially compared with Sartre).

If you haven't read it yet, check out Camus The Stranger, it's a great existentialist novel. If you're into stuff like Sartre, you might like Levinas, he wrote a lot about how personal identity is tied with paternal, sexual, and pain/death relations.

Rhinoq