Early Wise Men and Great Philosophers...Had They Been Forgotten?

Are the Great Philosophers and Wise Men had already been forgotten? Do their teachings still important  for us? Or has it been only recorded for the purpose of history and nothing of their teachings is applicable in our lives today?

In today's generation, where technology is so advanced, some of us tend to forget the early teachings of these Great Philosophers and Wise Men. We may not realize how important were their teachings to us, but it really is. Their teachings had been practiced by our ancestors ...
and our ancestors passed to our parents. I made this topic about them as a reminder and to pay tribute to these Great Men of History who teached us things that is useful in our lives.

I remember my late Aunt who was a teacher, told me once that "teachings of parents and our ancestors are prophesied so we have to follow them". I was still at an early age that time so I was not able to understand the real meaning of it. But now that I'm already in the mid century of my life, I realized that it's true. Those days, we seldom see children fighting back against their parents. We seldom see childrens' life ruined because they are obedient to their parents, and a lot more that we seldom see these days.

Here are some of the books where the teachings of these Great Men are written:

Basic Teachings of the Great Philosophers
by S.E. Frost, Jr.

A complete summary of the views of the most important philosophers in Western civilization. Each major field of philosophic inquiry comprises a separate chapter for greater responsibility. Includes Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, Kant. Deway, Sartre, and many others. Please click the image to find out more...

The Authentic Confucius: A Life of Thoughts and Politics
by Annping Chin

For more than two thousand years, Confucius has been inseparable part of China's history. Yet, despite this fame, Confucius the man has been elusive. Now, in The Authentic Confucius, Annping Chin has worked through the most reliable Chinese texts in her quest to sort out what is really known about Confucius from the reconstruction and the gueswork that muddled his memory.

Chin skillfully illuminates the political and social climate in which Confucius lived. She explained how Confucius made the transition from court advisor to wanderer, and how he reluctantly became a professional teacher as he refined his judgement of human character and composed his vision of a moral political order. The result is an absorbing and original book that shows how Confucius lived and thought: his habits and inclinations, his relation to the people of the time, his work as a teacher and as a councelor, his worries about the world and the generations to come. Please click the image to find out more...

Confucius: Golden Rule
by Russell Freedman

First, about the Author. Newberry Medal winner Freedman, delves deep into Chinese history in his intelligent, comprehensive biography of the 5th-century B.C. philosopher Confucius, whose teachings have influenced the development of modern government and education in both China and the West. Freedman draws on stories, legends and collected dialogues from the Analects of Confucius, written by his students, who reveal a man of deep perceptions as well as great humor. The author reports that, when a disciple told the scholar that he did not know how to describe his teacher to a local governor, Confucius said, "Why didn't you tell him that I'm a man driven by such passion for learning that in my enthusiasm I often forget to eat, in my joy I forget to worry, and I don't even notice the approach of old age." Skillfully and smoothly weaving Chinese history, culture and language into the narrative, Freedman also explains Confucian philosophy, without dumbing it down ("The first task of a true statesman, Confucius said, is to face the truth, to use words honestly") Just as Confucius "prodded [his students] to think in new ways," it will open new doors for young readers. Ages 8-12

Born in China in 551 B.C., Confucius rose from poverty to the heights of his country's ruling class. But then he quit his high post for the life of an itinerant philosopher. "The analects" collects his teachings on education and government, the definition of nobility, equality of man, and the right way and purpose of living - ideas that eventually spread to the West and influenced the great thinkers of the Enlightentenment. And five centuries before Christ, Confucius set forth his own Golden Rule: "Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself."

Please click the image to learn more...it's really very interesting.


Here is another interesting book which is about economic philosphy.

The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers
by Robert L. Heilbroner

This is a book about a handful of man with a curious claim to fame. By all the rules of schoolboy history books, they were nonetitles: they commend no armies, sent no men to their deaths, ruled no empires, took little part in history-making decisions. A few of them achieved renown, but was ever a national hero; a few were roundly abused, but none was ever quite a national villain. Yet what they did was more decisive for history than many acts of statesman who basked in brighter glory, often more profoundly disturbing than the shutting of armies back and forth accross frontiers, more powerful for good and bad than the edicts of  kings and legislatures. It was this: they shaped and swaved men's minds.

Please click the image to learn more...

So there folks, I included the Editorial reviews for you to know the concept of the book. I hope you will explore more about the books. It's quite interesting to learn from these Great Philosophers who contribute a great deal in the lives of men through their teachings.