Name 1 Intellectual Hero of Yours and Why They Inspire You

[Nilsi]

I have many, but I want to highlight Ludwig Wittgenstein here.

Wittgenstein achieved international acclaim at a young age for his "Tractatus" - a philosophical treatise on the limits of logic & language in which he famously states "whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent." 

He became professor of philosophy at Cambridge and was celebrated for his intellectual rigour and breakthroughs in formal logic. But Wittgenstein started to doubt whether he had painted himself into a philosophical corner and hadnt in fact solved the problem of language at all, so he started to question his own conclusions - and did so for the remainder of his life.

Wittgenstein had a spot in the intellecutal pantheon as this hyper-logical appolonian genius, but his intellectual honesty and humility made him dedicate his entire life to inquire into the nature of language ever more deeply, ultimately undermining the work that made him famous and culminating in his "Philosophical Investigations" - a work, that is above all simple, pragmatic and humanitarian.

Edited February 10, 2023 by Nilsi

[Jannes]

Alan Watts for his ability to "to say things that can't possibly be said". In his way he was able plant the intuition in me that if one were able to think things through to the end he would realize that its all good. 

Edited February 10, 2023 by Jannes

[museumoftrees]

Leo Gura

[Eternal Unity]

Sean Carroll.

His understading of Time is profound!

[Leo Gura]

On 2/11/2023 at 9:45 PM, Eternal Unity said:

Sean Carroll.

His understading of Time is profound!

Omg, I hope you are kidding.

[Eternal Unity]

@Leo Gura Half kidding half serious. He knows a lot, but oblivious in the spiritual department.

I learned from you - collect the best out of teachings and discard the bullshit.

[The Mystical Man]

Jung. His contribution is something to behold. We take his ideas for granted these days, but it's amazing that he managed to come up with those concepts. 

I like Terence McKenna, too, even though I don't agree with many of his ideas. I don't even advocate the use of psychedelics. But I listen to him, because I have a soft spot for great speakers and masters of the English language. I'll listen to an eloquent wordsmith regardless of what he says.

"McKenna once said that he would have become a Nabokov lecturer if he had never encountered psychedelics."

You gotta love the lovers of language. 

Edited February 13, 2023 by The Mystical Man

[NK13]

Schopenhauer, for his radical intellectual honesty when it comes to his metaphysical finds

Hegel, less for his writing style more for his ability to synthesize great deal of western philosophy before him in one system and not glossing over metaphysical philosophy 

Nietzsche, for his love of life 

[UnbornTao]

Rinzai! I love the raw, authentic quality of his communications. He was unpretentious and straightforward. Could say the same about J. Krishnamurti.

Edited February 16, 2023 by UnbornTao

[spiritual memes]

On 10/02/2023 at 1:38 PM, Jannes said:

Alan Watts for his ability to "to say things that can't possibly be said". In his way he was able plant the intuition in me that if one were able to think things through to the end he would realize that its all good. 

I was going to say Alan Watts as well!

[spiritual memes]

Bernardo Kastrup

For his ability to challenge materialism with rational arguments. Anyone can say materialism is bullshit but very few can debate professional philosophers and successfully defend their arguments against critics like Kastrup. Dude defended idealism in front of a panel of materialist philosophers to get his PHD.

[Jannes]

43 minutes ago, spiritual memes said:

I was going to say Alan Watts as well!

Nice! Why do you like him?

[Cireeric]

40 minutes ago, spiritual memes said:

Bernardo Kastrup

For his ability to challenge materialism with rational arguments. Anyone can say materialism is bullshit but very few can debate professional philosophers and successfully defend their arguments against critics like Kastrup. Dude defended idealism in front of a panel of materialist philosophers to get his PHD.

+1 for me too!

Another one that is probably already overrepresented in this forum for me is Daniel Schmachtenberger. Just his way of constructing sentences, in which he synthesizes lots of  complex stuff together, puts them in clear terms and equations or summarizes the gist of complex topics is amazing. Dont know anyone else, who has this clarity of thinking in such a wide range of topics. I feel like watching so many of his videos has transformed my own thinking a lot.

[spiritual memes]

1 hour ago, Jannes said:

Nice! Why do you like him?

He's able to communicate such high level concepts in a simple and playful manner. He has an intuitive understanding of eastern philosophy better than most eastern philosophers. You can tell just by the way he speaks that what he is trying to get across is more than just concepts. 

[spiritual memes]

1 hour ago, Cireeric said:

+1 for me too!

Another one that is probably already overrepresented in this forum for me is Daniel Schmachtenberger. Just his way of constructing sentences, in which he synthesizes lots of  complex stuff together, puts them in clear terms and equations or summarizes the gist of complex topics is amazing. Dont know anyone else, who has this clarity of thinking in such a wide range of topics. I feel like watching so many of his videos has transformed my own thinking a lot.

yeah Daniel Schmachtenberger is built different

[cle103]

Behold, Bill Hicks. 

[Carl-Richard]

Bernardo Kastrup. I used to have very much trouble reconciling my mystical experiences with a scientific understanding of the world. "If consciousness is not created by the brain, then what is the brain actually doing?". While Kastrup's approach has its own limitations, it can definitely help to clear up a lot of confusion for many people. I highly recommend watching his numerous talks and interviews. This one is a particularly good one, although it's maybe a bit advanced, but anyway:

 

[Eternal Unity]

Socrates. The wisest individual of all time. IQ 200. Complete vanquish of Self Bias. Sacrificed himself for Truth!

[Grateful Dead]

Hermann Hesse. His books made me feel undestood

[ValiantSalvatore]

Ken Wilber, because he resonated with me beign a military kid and him also, I could relate to the kick-ass healthy energy of rebellion for love and peace. As well as the pain of contemplating war and how brutal humans are. 

I was so happy someone legit explored and wrote down things I've been interested in, and I am still not done studying it!

As well as injustice although I admire his impartiality at times. 

Edited February 16, 2023 by ValiantSalvatore