I personally don't think this has been answered sufficiently, so I'm going to weigh in.
What Storm is asking, IMO, is that what made Descartes, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Pascal, Spinoza, and all those guys become known as philosophical minds?
My take is that to become a 'philosopher,' one has to seriously question the construct of reality, society. In essence, a true philosopher has to try and tackle the 2 Big Questions: Who are we and Why are we here, and answer them with some validity. Philosophers have to operate under assumptions all the time (Descartes: I am the only thing I can trust that exists) and so on and so forth. However, because of their innate skeptical nature, it's impossible for them to certain.
That's why I think Jesus is not a philosopher. He did not question anything. He merely stated, matter-of-factly who we are and why we are here. There was no question. He thought he had all the answers.
Philosophers can definitely be certain. Socrates questioned what justice was in "The Republic". He discussed the different views of all the people who offered their opinion on the subject. Finally he put forth his own opinion. He was pretty certain about his idea of justice.
Maybe in the first 30 years of Jesus' life he asked himself these questions of life. Then he went out to teach the last 3 years of his life the answers that he came up with.
Originally posted by MarxmanMaybe so, but the philosophers that I read are pretty heavily questioning or second-guessing themselves
Philosophers can definitely be certain. Socrates questioned what justice was in "The Republic". He discussed the different views of all the people who offered their opinion on the subject. Finally he put forth his own opinion. He was pretty certain about his idea of justice.
Re: What Classfies Someone As A Philosopher?
Originally posted by Storm
You were asked who you consider to be the greatest philosopher of all time. Blue_Hefner answered “Jesus”. For the sake of argument, let 's assume that Jesus was man not myth. Is it accurate to call Jesus a philosopher?What is a philosopher? What conditions need to be fulfilled, if any, in order to be considered a philosopher?
There is no set criteria that makes some body a philosopher. The only thing they're famous for is sitting around and sayin "I think the world would be a better place if..."
Apparently what makes someone a philosoper is that they lived in classical Greece and had marble bust made in their image.
Re: What Classfies Someone As A Philosopher?
Originally posted by Storm
You were asked who you consider to be the greatest philosopher of all time. Blue_Hefner answered “Jesus”. For the sake of argument, let 's assume that Jesus was man not myth. Is it accurate to call Jesus a philosopher?What is a philosopher? What conditions need to be fulfilled, if any, in order to be considered a philosopher?
Pompousity and no need for a real job!