Alright, so here are some of the philosophers I've studied this summer and liked for some reason. It could be that I agreed with an idea or maybe just enjoyed their personality, but these are the men that I've come to regard with a certain warmth. Here's my academy award acceptance speech (a list of people who have influenced me these last three months).
1. Socrates:
The dad of philosophy. My favorite of the "Big 3" from Ancient Greece. He gave thought that could tear down anything in its path. Yet, as a person he owned a kindness and humble understanding that was the foundation of the love that his disciples had for him. Plato's retelling of his death is a moving work.
2. Soren Kierkegaard:
Soren is maybe the favorite person of my summer. He is a Christian of a different breed, the father of existensialism (that's right all you Nietzsche fans- Soren beat him to it). I most like his ideas on faith- that doubt is essential to faith, and without doubt, it is no longer faith. Also, his relationship between faith and reason must be noted I think- he believed that faith was in spite of reason (instead of the current accepted idea that faith is merely a supplement to reason). Always a harsh critic of the church and even more a critic of people who never questioned, I think I would have gotten along quite well with Soren Kierkegaard.
3. Baruch, Baruch, Baruch is on fire:
The gentle giant of philosophy, Baruch Spinoza, worked out the most important philosophical works of the millenia in the quiet upstairs of a family house after he was excommunicated from the Jewish church in the 17th century. I really like the fact that though he had developed an overwhelming philosophy of his own, he got along with and never undermined the Christian family that was living downstairs. He was loved and studied very much by many people (including Al Einstein). I disagree with his pantheism, which is central to his philosophy but I really admire the all-encompassing "completeness" of Spinozism.
4. Voltaire:
Though I disagree with him about God (and most things, actually) and smile knowingly when I consider his remarks on religion, I can't help but love the personality that was François-Marie Arouet. His wit and ambition (he wrote over 100 VOLUMES!) are amazing. Voltaire's sense of humor amazingly survived his many trips to the Bastille and his knowing way with people allowed him to insult the king's ideas to his face (ever so gently) in the famous dinner discussions hosted by King Louis.
Well, those are the peeps that I had time to write a quickie about. I would also maybe include Blaise Pascal as another amazing Christian thinker whose famous "wager" made manifest the thoughts of all men, Plato as an ambitious dreamer whose Republic should be noted by all leaders, but never attempted, Aristotle as the man who has influenced you (yes, you who are reading) more than you'll ever know (I have a sort of love/hate feeling towards Aristotle), Bertrand Russell, one of the most brilliant, warm, understanding atheists I've ever read, G.K. Chesterton- the unflinching apostle of common sense whose conversion (and probably his sense of humor) inspired the likes of C.S. Lewis, and finally Ravi Zacharias, whose podcasts always seem to have a way of bringing me back to Christianity.
Yowzers, there is much that could be expounded on in these posts and perhaps I'll get a chance in short order! (Wow that made me sound a bit like a British buffoon)
-Brett
