I am being genuine in saying that Joe Rogan is a "modern" philosopher and regardless of the attitude of this community toward Mr. Rogan, I have personally benefited from listening to his podcast which continues to reach millions of people. While he isn't a true philosopher, he makes a lot of good points about a variety of topics and doesn't shy away from anything or anyone.

Daniel Quinn...comments on what is wrong with our world, his Ishmael is a must read

U.G. Krishnamurti, not to be confused with Jiddu Krishnamurti his contemporary...This guy had some mind blowing ideas. Like the mind doesn't exist at all

Christopher Hyatt, this guy has some far out individualistic views of society and the world but alot of them ring true

John C. Lilly, mapped out alot of the interior universe on LSD and Ketamine...a mix of a scientist and mystic

Charles Bukowski, his FUCK YOU view of the world is definitely a good read, but god who'd wanna be such an asshole?

I was wondering why Aldous Huxley wasn´t mentioned more often.

Wasn´t he ever alive, we wouldn´t be having these great discussions about cacti + other interesting stuff

Recently I came across his "pre-psychedelic" piece, "The Perennial Philosophy". It is a comparative study of various spiritual traditions, seeking what these may have in common. An amazing read. The book also proves that A.Huxley was simply pre-destined to fall for psychedelic experience

Ringworm... You really like Ayn Rand? The profound atheism, the total rejection of social justice, the idea that people are isolated centers of power, that the selfish ego is the truth of who we are...

Not a fanatical devotee, if that is what your asking.
I feel many philosophers have a lot to give, many times there are somethings to overlook, like with anyone.

I still encourage you to actually read the philosopher in question and not just what other people think of them.

Yeah, McVeigh had some good points. So did Manson. Great thinkers and smart, but only human and I think became angry at the ignorance they saw.....genius angry

I really liked "Anthem" in High School, mostly because I was into post-apocalyptic fiction. I went back and re-read it last year and found the whole thing pretty horrible. I haven't read Atlas Shrugged, but watched the movie version right before I dropped Netflix..

I'm interested in what you like about her. I've found you to have very insightful and balanced opinions in the past. I'd like to hear your take on this one.

In "Anthem," the Unspeakable word is "Ego." Here is a culture which has attempted to enforce the destruction of the Egoic self. This is the true goal of all spiritual seekers. Sure, it can be said that govt enforcement of a position like that is entirely different from reaching it through spiritual seeking, and would result in a different culture than one where people are lead or called to such a state.

The idea that a guy who excelled in mathematics would be forced to become a street sweeper seems patently absurd. If this is the case, then this culture has WWWWAAAAYYY more wrong with it than simply the suppression of individual Will.