Greatest Jewish Thinker?

[Tajir]

I claim Albert Einstein first.

Your turn...

[Chaigidel]

pretty much all jews are great thinkers-- I hate to be racist but I never met a dumb jew.

mine is meyer lansky-- totally different kind of intelligence though but he was a genius without equal.

[Каие]

pretty much all jews are great thinkers-- I hate to be racist but I never met a dumb jew.

Haven't met many Jews? For me i haven't met a really clever jew, plenty of nice ones, just not clever.

[Syron]

Erm, if you're meaning Jewish by heritage (The Einsteins weren't that religiously jewish) i'd say Baruch Spinoza is up there.

[rez]

I like Philo of Alexandria. I don't necessarily agree with him but i certainly admire his ability to fuse ideas.

[Icefrisco]

This is very hard because as in most cultural groups there are many great thinkers. Heres a few:

Morally- Maimonides: He pretty much defined the modern ideas of charity.

Politically- Benjamin Disraeli: One of the most famous British prime ministers of all time, he helped bring bring Britain to a point of global dominance because of his expansionist policies.
Barry Goldwater: Founder of the modern republican ideals. Other then the religious-right most Republicans trace their beliefs from Goldwater.
Karl Marx: Founder of communism.

Economically- Too many to name.

Militarily- Moshe Dayan: Turned the Israeli army into one of the world's best fighting forces. He defeated Arabs on numerous occasions and his ideas on warfare are very influential today.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Solomon..?

[Amorphos]

me, except i am not jewish. lols ~ if you get my drift

[Scorch]

Let's keep things on-topic here.

[Exarch]

The problem with making threads about 'christian', 'muslim', 'jewish' scientists, artists, philosophers 'great minds' etc is the assumption and misconception that the religion of these great minds had an influential part to play in the development of these individuals.
What a load of horse-puckey.
Galileo, while he may've been a christian, famously locked horns with the church over scientific fact and the bible.
Averroes' work was wholly secular, and
Baruch de Spinoza, while he came from a jewish background, undertook work that virtually excommunicated himself from the Judaic faith. I think it laughable that jews enjoy citing Spinoza as 'one of ours' considering the part he had to play in the Documentary Hypothesis.

So thinking that being any of these religions will somehow invite some sort of 'divine favour' is incredibly naive and, at worse, incredibly stupidly dangerous.

[rez]

I was under the impression that the question was directed towards thinkers that influenced the religion's development rather than just being clever in general.

[roy34543]

I hate to be racist but I never met a dumb jew.

Ever met an Isreali teenager about 16-18 years old?? I shudder at the thought of growing older.

I think sigmeund freud was pretty influential. He pretty much defined the subconcious

[Exarch]

I think sigmeund freud was pretty influential. He pretty much defined the subconcious

sigmund freud had a whole heap of issues- not a lot of modern psychologists subscribe to a lot of his theories (so obviously, influenced by his issues).
like vagina dentata for eg.

And btw, saying Freud started psychology is like saying Stalin started communism. Shakespeare's plays alone convey a rather acute look into the human psyche.
Ever studied traditional chinese medicine? psychology is integral to traditional chinese medical diagnosis.

[jankren]

Karl Marx.

[roy34543]

I said he defined the subconcious. What does what you said have to do with anything?
He was pretty influential , without him there probably would have been none or significantly fewer psychologists and psychoanalysists around. ( But then , Considering theyre practically a waste of money maybe thats a bad thing)

[Ummon]

( But then , Considering theyre practically a waste of money maybe thats a bad thing)

It depends if you are lucky or not, overall.

[Ms. Theodora]

pretty much all jews are great thinkers-- I hate to be racist but I never met a dumb jew.
mine is meyer lansky-- totally different kind of intelligence though but he was a genius without equal.

Meyer is a nice choice. All Jews are not great thinkers. I have met a lot of dumb Jews. Mostly from Long Island.

Barry Goldwater: Founder of the modern republican ideals. Other then the religious-right most Republicans trace their beliefs from Goldwater.

The New Republic or National Review?

The problem with making threads about 'christian', 'muslim', 'jewish' scientists, artists, philosophers 'great minds' etc is the assumption and misconception that the religion of these great minds had an influential part to play in the development of these individuals.

When it comes to Jews I think you are a bit off. Other religions it depends on the geography and century.

Martin Buber.

[Exarch]

When it comes to Jews I think you are a bit off. Other religions it depends on the geography and century.

oh? Sleeper Ms Theodora
i'm a bit off?
funny that when what you're claiming in 'when it comes to the jews', that the Judaic religion has something to do with nurturing great minds like Einstein.
Your view is, typically, racist.

[Sadreddine]

Maimonides all the way.

A great philosopher bred on my beloved Al-Andalus.

[Icefrisco]

I have met a lot of dumb Jews. Mostly from Long Island.

If I could I would rep that!

Maimonides all the way.

A great philosopher bred on my beloved Al-Andalus.

Agreed