Who are your free favorite philosophers?

[Shadow Wolf]

It depends on the subject. I guess on this I'll just take a cheap cop-out and say Gene Roddenberry sense he covered a huge chunk of them on Star Trek. Chuck Palahniuk, since he also covers a few that I like. And the Wachowskis, for their coverage in The Matrix and V for Vendetta.
Yeah, I think I like that list. It's simple enough to have only three names (four technically, but that I know the Wachowskis always work together), but yet deep enough by all the names evoked by those three.

 

[ShivaFan]

Besides Hinduism, various Hindu Gurus and philosophers (including also theist, atheist, and such), I should tell those Non-Hindu who had influence.

Since a young teen I was heavily influenced by Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn.

 

[rocala]

Buddha, Marx and A.S. Neil.

 

[LegionOnomaMoi]

There are so many my answer would probably differ a bit each time I'm asked.

I confess I am the same way. Perhaps even worse. One moment I will be reading or discussing some philosopher and in that context others are brought up and my evaluation of their work is suddenly recast as revolutionary or as a severe impediment to philosophical progress and discourse. I pretend it is because I am mutable and simply go where the evidence leads me, rather than the truth: when I get caught up in such a discussion often enough the exchange is framed in such a way that my perspective changes contextually.

 

[LegionOnomaMoi]

Besides Hinduism, various Hindu Gurus and philosophers (including also theist, atheist, and such), I should tell those Non-Hindu who had influence.

Since a young teen I was heavily influenced by Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn.

You are the first person I've encountered whom I know is aware of von Kuehnelt-Leddihn. I am very surprised. I sort of inherited/stole (the usual way I appropriate books from relatives) his Leftism: From de Sade and Marx to Hitler and Marcuse. In addition to being several decades old, it is also a thorough critique of leftist ideology and even the American understanding of monarchy (hearkening back to Hobbes). It is a masterful work, even if I disagree on many points.

 

[Augustus]

John Gray, especially 'the silence of animals'. He is modern and you are supposed to buy the book, but you can technically find it for free on the internet *ahem*.

Also whoever wrote Ecclesiastes, who was undoubtedly a genius.

Marx, for his criticism of capitalism rather than his alternatives, another undoubted genius.

David Hume, although I must admit he has been on my 'should read more of' list for about 10 years. Can add Seneca to that list too.

 

[Yerda]

I recently downloaded a bunch of Henry James from Project Gutenberg. I'm enjoying it.

 

[Straw Dog]

At the moment... Zhuangzi, Laozi, Heraclitus, Diogenes, Zeno of Citium, Epictetus, Epicurus, Lucretius, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Camus. In many ways, they all disagree with each other, but I don't agree completely with any single philosopher anyway. I'm also not as educated in philosophy as I would like to be. If you ask me the same question next week, I'll probably have a different list.

 

[YmirGF]

They don't need to be identified as such; Jesus, Muhammad, Dawkins, etc. Whose philosophies have influenced you the most?

Though certainly influenced by Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism, I do not have a favorite philosopher. That period of my life was a very long time ago.

 

[Vinayaka]

Tirumular, Patanjali, and Manickavasagar

 

[Yerda]

I recently downloaded a bunch of Henry James from Project Gutenberg. I'm enjoying it.

I meant William James. Getting my dead guys mixed up.