is the greatest philosopher of all time?

Question:Jean-Paul Sartre
Man is nothing else but what he purposes, he exists only in so far as he realizes himself, he is nothing but the sum of his actions". Many have but one resource to sustain them in their misery, to think that "Circumstances have been against me, I was worthy to be something better. I never found a lover worthy of me, I never had time to write great books. There remains within me a range of abilities, unused but perfectly viable- a worthiness which could never be inferred from the mere history of my actions" But in reality, and for the existentialist, there is no genius other than that expressed in works of art. The genius of Proust is the works of Proust. In life, a man commits himself, draws his own portrait, and there is nothing but that portrait. This may seem comfortless to one who has not made a success of life, but it puts everyone in a position to understand that reality alone is reliable; dreams, expectations and hopes serve to define a man as only as deceptive dreams, abortive hopes and expectations unfulfilled.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Jean-Paul Sartre
Man is nothing else but what he purposes, he exists only in so far as he realizes himself, he is nothing but the sum of his actions". Many have but one resource to sustain them in their misery, to think that "Circumstances have been against me, I was worthy to be something better. I never found a lover worthy of me, I never had time to write great books. There remains within me a range of abilities, unused but perfectly viable- a worthiness which could never be inferred from the mere history of my actions" But in reality, and for the existentialist, there is no genius other than that expressed in works of art. The genius of Proust is the works of Proust. In life, a man commits himself, draws his own portrait, and there is nothing but that portrait. This may seem comfortless to one who has not made a success of life, but it puts everyone in a position to understand that reality alone is reliable; dreams, expectations and hopes serve to define a man as only as deceptive dreams, abortive hopes and expectations unfulfilled.

When president Bush was asked this question he replied "Jesus". I don't like to think of Jesus as a philosopher, though. You're better of sticking with one of the ancient greeks... Aristotle, Plato, or Socrates. I've always liked Plato best but I think Aristotle is the most famous/influential.

As for more modern philosophers, look into John Locke.

Thats a philosophic topic its self and may just produce that greatest philosopher.
How about any one of the people working with quantum or the people working with the light.
Great Q, sorry for the lack answer

Billy Connolly. Seriously! He rationalises the here and now and not the what ifs or what was.

There's no definite person that's the "greatest." There are, however, people that I would argue would been cheated if they didn't find themselves in the top dozen or top twenty. These include.

Aristotle
Plato
St. Thomas Aquinas
Kant
Hegel

"If there is a philosophical Atlas who carries the whole of Western civilization on his shoulders, it is Aristotle. He has been opposed, misinterpreted, misrepresented, and—like an axiom—used by his enemies in the very act of denying him. Whatever intellectual progress men have achieved rests on his achievements.

Aristotle may be regarded as the cultural barometer of Western history. Whenever his influence dominated the scene, it paved the way for one of history's brilliant eras; whenever it fell, so did mankind. The Aristotelian revival of the thirteenth century brought men to the Renaissance. The intellectual counter-revolution turned them back toward the cave of his antipode: Plato.

There is only one fundamental issue in philosophy: the cognitive efficacy of man's mind. The conflict of Aristotle versus Plato is the conflict of reason versus mysticism. It was Plato who formulated most of philosophy's basic questions—and doubts. It was Aristotle who laid the foundation for most of the answers. Thereafter, the record of their duel is the record of man's long struggle to deny and surrender or to uphold and assert the validity of his particular mode of consciousness."

Gee, I couldn't have said it better!

david hume.

thomas hobbes.

plato

er. they are the same person in different bodies. hahaa