Top current philosophers?

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Any recommendations on current philosophers? (particular branch not important)

thanks! Smile

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@Phredderikk,

Phredderikk;77946 wrote:

Any recommendations on current philosophers? (particular branch not important)

thanks!

derek parfit is a good one.

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@vectorcube,

Owen Flannagan
Peter Singer
Daniel Dennet
Richard Rorty
Jonathan Westphal
Ken Wilbur

These guys are all good reads, and I think they are all still alive.

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@Phredderikk,

"Straw Dogs" by John Gray.

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@Dave Allen,

Alain Badiou - start with Conditions or Infinite Thought

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@Theages,

Chomsky and Kripke are widely read.

I've been a fan of Peter van Inwagen's take on metaphysics for a few years now. The Metaphysics article at the Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy web site is his work, which is essentially an in brief essay summarizing his book, Metaphysics.

Amazon.com: Metaphysics (Dimensions of Philosophy Series): Peter Van Inwagen: Books

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@Phredderikk,

If you are into epistemology, Paul Boghossian, Richard Moran, and Bernard Williams are all excellent reads. In ethics there is Peter Singer and I am drawing a blank on others right now. There is also Harry Frankfurt who is known for his work On Bullshit.

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@Phredderikk,

Thanks for the input everyone... I think one of the biggest problems with being interested in such pursuits is that there is just so much to pursue... and being that I take all things with a few grains of salt, I may find that I am simply pursuing a shadow... but hey, no one would go to a hockey game just for the final score... it's the battle from 0 to 60 that counts! Smile

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@Phredderikk,

Derek Parfit (His work on personal identity is the best of any philosopher to date in my opinion)
Putnam
Searle
Kripke

Rorty and Bernard Williams mentioned above are both dead.

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@Phredderikk,

Phredderikk;78369 wrote:

Thanks for the input everyone... I think one of the biggest problems with being interested in such pursuits is that there is just so much to pursue... and being that I take all things with a few grains of salt, I may find that I am simply pursuing a shadow... but hey, no one would go to a hockey game just for the final score... it's the battle from 0 to 60 that counts!

Hello Phredderikk,

Hmmm? Is it your summation that current philosophers will justify the battle to enhance the game or understand why we are thrilled by the battle so we can put an end to the conflict? Just curious.:perplexed:

william

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@Phredderikk,

It really depends on the field of Philosophy that you are interested in. One area which recieves a lot of attention from modern day Philosophers is the Philosophy of Mind & Cognitive science, with some of the big names in this field being John Searle, Daniel Dennett, Ned Block & Jerry Fodor. As already mentioned Peter Singer has been very influential in the field of ethics. But there are plenty of good current Philosophers who are producing good & stimulating work. Are there area's of Philosophy in which your particularly interested in?

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@Phredderikk,

I might be a little biased, but I like John Searle and Hilary Putnam; probably because I met them in person.

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@William,

William;78413 wrote:

Hello Phredderikk,

Hmmm? Is it your summation that current philosophers will justify the battle to enhance the game or understand why we are thrilled by the battle so we can put an end to the conflict? Just curious.:perplexed:

william

Well... neither... I don't think philosophy can be justified, or not justified, it just is, and to speak about justifying it would just add another branch to philosophy itself... and I certainly wish no end to the conflict... the end of philosophy would be quite devastating to human nature... I prefer to view it as a hockey game with infinite overtime periods Smile

anyway, my inquiry about current philosophers is to get some better idea about 'where we are now' as far as thought... it is easy to look back in time and pick out the major players, but sometimes not so easy in our own day... plus I'm fairly new to the game, and am in need of much training:)

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@Phredderikk,

I have yet to find one. Besides how can one be considered wise until his whole life is scrutinized; doesn't make sense. Dead people aren't contemporary.

-fill in the blank-

In truth a contemporary philosopher wouldn't act like one. He/she is most likely my neighbor or regarded as a fool.

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@Judges-Vs-Poets,

Judges-Vs-Poets;101624 wrote:

I have yet to find one. Besides how can one be considered wise until his whole life is scrutinized; doesn't make sense. Dead people aren't contemporary.

-fill in the blank-

In truth a contemporary philosopher wouldn't act like one. He/she is most likely my neighbor or regarded as a fool.

That's not true. Daniel Dennett is one of the top current philosopher. And he is not regarded by anyone as a fool. He has written many articles and book which are generally very well thought of. John Searle at Berkeley is another example.

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@Phredderikk,

cool. sounds good.

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@Judges-Vs-Poets,

Judges-Vs-Poets;101636 wrote:

cool. sounds good.

Not only that. It is true.

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@Phredderikk,

oh well. back to animating, this forum is for speculators.

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@Phredderikk,

I think Richard Rorty is great. He died not long ago. His prose style is as clear as a glass of ice water. He's a slippery old sophist....

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@Reconstructo,

I'm not sure what opinions people hold of him, but I'll mention him as long as we are talking about top philosophers or "up-and-comers." Nick Bostrom, who's only 37 I think, is a Swedish philosopher. He's best known for his "simulation hypothesis" where he investigates the odds of us living in a simulated reality vs. an unsimulated one. I'm still building my foundation with 19th c. philosophy, but I'm really itching to read his work though it won't be for a while. Crazy stuff.

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