Do we have any more great philosophers anymore?
I have made jokes before that my level of philosophy is akin to what was demonstrated in the first Bill and Ted movie (if you don't know what I am talking about - sorry your childhood sucked).
But, as I age - I have started to feel that philosophy is more than a teaching, it is a mindset, a focus, and a way that a person conducts themselves. Social media has really thrown a wrench into the works, but I am starting to wonder if that might be self correcting.
When a person thinks of famous philosophers, many thoughts think of people like Socrates (always willing to debate pronunciation - 2 syllable vs 3 syllable - over a beer) but the reality is - unless you studied it in some level of relatively formal education, you likely haven't heard of any. Mostly because they all passed on centuries ago.
So back to the topic at hand.
Who are the philosophers of our century?
Recently I had a conversation about Stoicism with a friend. It got me back into looking at a book I have open on my e-reading tablet. Sun Tzu "The Art of War", which is what the Carl von Clausewitz "Principles of War" were based upon. The Principles of War were a solid teaching in a substantial part of my military career, but had become watered down variations of the theme, that got tweaked by a senior commander because of a paper they wrote during staff or war college (or something like that - snark intentional) to put "their mark" on the military.
One of the books that I also have on my tablet, and is much shorter than The Art of War, is Mark Manson - "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck". I submit that in todays society - Mark Manson could be seen as a modern day philosopher, and providing his own blend of perspectives.
Of many things, sometimes things take off where least expected. Have you seen The Big Lebowski? That has spawned a religious movement. When learning the teachings of the Dude, many similarities with ancient philosophers like Marcus Aurelius come to light. Does that mean we could consider The Coen Brothers as current day philosophers?
Either way, when a person starts to wonder - who are the philosophers or our era? What are your thoughts?
I will do more on this topic, when I can better organize and articulate these thoughts - but thanks for reading this far.
- Rob
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