I was just wondering if anyone has any thoughts of modern(currently alive)philosophers such as Peter Singer-the Australian philosopher who resides at Princeton University and also holds a post in Australia for three months of the year.Do you read modern philosophers as well?I would be interested in hearing about some modern philosophers actually alive today...
Last edited by Aurora Ariel; 09-13-2005 at 10:19 AM.
My own brain is to me the most unaccountable of machinery --always buzzing, humming, soaring, roaring, diving, and then buried in mud. And why? What's this passion for?
-Virginia Woolf
“I want to write a novel about Silence,” he said; “the things people don’t say. But the difficulty is immense.” He sighed. - Night and Day
I don't know that I can think of any "modern" philosophers, all those I can think of are dead. Even song writers of late that have seemed to been taken on as philosophy to life are dead, like Lennon and Harrison. I don't know that I know of any living, I guess really we all could be considered a philosopher but that's just a vague answer.
Slow down everyone, you're moving too fast.
-Jack Johnson
Aurora Ariel,
I've read a number of modern philosophers (some many years ago, so not quite fresh in my mind). At Uni I studied a work by Roger Scruton which was completely misguided called Sexual Desire. It really was a laughable attempt to analyse sexuality. Like Aristotle has done, he constructed a reasoned argument and then concluded that this must be the way we behave, rather than looking at our behaviour and then constructing a reasoned argument.
I have read Derek Parfit's Reasons and Persons which is a very difficult work but very inspiring and well worth the effort. In my opinion, it is one of the best works of the latter half of the 20thC.
Alisdair MacIntyre's After Virtue is an interesting read, and an attempt to resurrect Virtue Ethics. I would rather it stayed firmly buried in the past of Aristotle, but it's still a well written work.
Richard Rorty is worth reading. I enjoyed Philosophy and Social Hope, and he is one of the few really good liberal writers. He also has a philosophy which is indebted to the pragmatism of William James, whilst uniting that with an idealist perspective. I have his classic work Philosophy and The Mirror of Nature, and will get round to reading it sometime.
I also have David Chalmer's The Conscious Mind, which I shall also read sometime. It is very much praised by philosophers and scientists involved in brain research. However, he does pedal dualism, which is extremely unfashionable (or at least it was when I was studying).
A C Grayling, Alain de Botton, Julian Baggini and Simon Blackburn are all popularisers of contemporary philosophy, and all worth dipping into.
Umberto Eco's Kant and the Platypus is a remarkable work, leaning firmly on European semantic and semiotic philosophy.
I have read some articles by Singer and admire him for his sense of purpose and his standing up for his cause. I have much sympathy for his views.
AP
Faith is believing what you know ain't so - Mark Twain
The preachers deal with men of straw, as they are men of straw themselves - Henry David Thoreau
The way to see faith is to shut the eye of reason - Benjamin Franklin
The teaching of the church, theoretically astute, is a lie in practice and a compound of vulgar superstitions and sorcery - Leo Tolstoy
I have heard of Peter Singer, from one of my former philosophy professors, but have not read any of his work. Hopefully I will get a chance to look into it sometime soon.
A few contemporary philosophers and thinkers I have read: Steven Pinker (amazing!), Jürgen Habermas, Paul Edwards, and I read bits and pieces of A.C. Grayling.
I cannot remember the name of a woman who wrote an incredible book, for which she earned much credibility, but the title contained "lies" or "lying," referring mostly to ethical and moral philosophy.
Love and Will by Rollo May is rather interesting. May only recently departed (1994, I think).
What about Lyotard, he's only been dead for a relatively few years.
Thanks for your reply. I will definitely investigate this recommendation further. Previously, I have only read Alain de botton and Peter Singer, but now plan to research these other philosophers and books. I have known about botton and Singer for the last few years, but originally started reading the ancient philosophers. Bye!
Last edited by Aurora Ariel; 05-08-2006 at 01:54 PM.
My own brain is to me the most unaccountable of machinery --always buzzing, humming, soaring, roaring, diving, and then buried in mud. And why? What's this passion for?
-Virginia Woolf
“I want to write a novel about Silence,” he said; “the things people don’t say. But the difficulty is immense.” He sighed. - Night and Day
I can only recall some names, like Peter Berger, Thomas Merton.. I took this class Social Theory at college and we mostly discussed the old giants. There's this saying that I love alot, I forgot by whom, which says " When man defines situations as real, they are real in their consequences"...
Modern philosophers...I'm thinking Bertrand Russel or perhaps (??) Charles Bukowski (although he died in '94, i think).
Recently I read a book by Thomas Moore called Dark Nights of the Soul. It is very disturbing but it is interesting.He advocates to probe into our hidden dark sides.
A philosopher is a person who lives and thinks according to a particular philosophy.Alas, we are all philosophers to some degree,and all living!
However some notables,Pat Baker(under fire at this time),Pope Benedict XVI(under scrutiny at this time)Usama bin Laden(incognito at this time)Fidel Castro(under supression at this time)etc.,etc..Hmm.
It's funny, this is the second time that I've clicked on this thread with the expectation to find a discussion of DesCartes, Hume, Locke, Leibniz, Spinoza, Berkeley, etc. When I think of Modern I think of these guys. (Quite frankly, I am again disappointed.)
This causes me to wonder... Is there anything left for philosophy? What can these 'modern' philosophers, i.e. present-day philosophers, contribute to the Western Philosophic tradition? Are we still arguing about the mind and the brain with Daniel Dennett or... What's there to talk about anymore?
Allow me allow Peter Singer to stand as an exception... I have read some extremely provoking articles by this fellow, one in particular that argues that it is the responsibility of the affluent to step in and take care of the impoverished. I quite like him.
Modern philosophers are, alas, oftentimes redundant. If you enjoy theological philosophy, then I recommend "Can Man Exist without God?" by Ravi Zacharias. I have read and reread that book so much that it looks like a used textbook that has been recycled some ten times.
Personally, I believe all good writers are philosophers (Cooleridge, I think, also supported this idea.) The problem I have with modernists / philosophers is that they inevitably start with an agenda (many times its political) and they write in such a way as to support their agenda. I prefer to explore a topic without adding my value judgements insofar as that is possible, and let others debate it or make up their own minds what they believe.
I guess that's my philosophy, huh? (-:
T
Madness is my defense against Reality.
In my mind Pope John Paul 11 is second to none. His work on sexuality and many other topics I think will stand the test of time and evoke many thoughts and discussions in generations to come.
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