[RightWhale]

I assume you have all read at least one book on ideas

I was going to say 'Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand, but my philosophy prof said there is no philosophy in that book. At the moment Pere Teilhard is my fav. Of course he's not a philosopher either, just a geologist/anthropologist.

[Alberta's Child]

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin?

Wasn't he the moron who was conned by the whole "Piltdown Man" hoax?

[ComtedeMaistre]

>>>I was going to say 'Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand, but my philosophy prof said there is no philosophy in that book.<<<

That is why I did not limit my definition of "philosopher" to the definitions used by philosophy professors working in academia. Most people have never read technical works on philosophy. But they have read a book or two, expressing some idea or other.

Ayn Rand certainly qualifies as a philosopher in the general world of ideas, because her novels were about ideas and concepts.

[BradyLS]

Rand never formally laid out her Philosophy of Objectivism. But her followers of have done a good job of distilling the essence of it. I recommend a book called the Ayn Rand Lexicon.