I was reading an article where it was mentioned that one of Obama’s favorite philosophers is Reinhold Niebuhr. Niebuhr is probably best known for his serenity prayer. One of his big ideas was that people should not surrender when faced with insurmountable challenges, but should do the best they can even if they cannot win.
So for this thread pick your favorite philosopher and explain at least of their ideas that made them your favorite. Recommend a book if possible.
My favorite is Peter Singer, who wrote what I consider my bible. He is mostly known for his theories on animal rights, which I agree with, but I like him because of his understanding of ethics. It would take a while to do a good job of explaining it, but here is a brief explaination from Wikipedia:
He didn’t ignore the fact that life is inherently meaningless, full of suffering, arbitrary, and horrible; yet he refused to let nihilism have the final say. If we aren’t born with a purpose in life, damn it, let’s make one. And let’s do it based on what makes us feel most powerful and alive. Better yet, let’s find meaning in our suffering, rise to meet our enemies, grow stronger from the conflict, let’s learn to live life with 1,000 contradicting truths and only accept the philosophies that have practical application to our own lives. My beloved Nietzsche. He was batshit crazy and proud of it.
Aristotle, because though I generally suck at remembering quotations, two of his from N. Ethics have stood out. You can take umbrage and counter much, but these explain so much. Also, they are beautifully written, though perhaps that’s a debt to the translator:
The utter servility of mankind comes out in his preference for a bovine existence.
and
Happiness is the activity of the soul in accordance with virtue.
The latter were my first words to my newborn son a few months ago.
Despite their epigram nature, there is a lot behind each.