Posted on 07/27/2004 12:17:17 PM PDT by Borges
Skinner has long been a pariah in academia-largely due to Chomsky's intense agenda against him, and Chomsky, of course, still has a sizable contigent of mindless followers. Kuhn also continues to be mandatory reading in philosophy and rhetoric departments.
First of all, the criteria is influential, not quality per se. Granted, higher quality of work tends to be more influential, but the correlation is not absolute.
As much you might find the contents of the Koran distateful, you cannot deny it's long lasting effect on human history.
The 20th century is not without its great thinkers, I'll put Einstein's work on relativity, Frederich Hayek's A Road to Serfdom, up there against the works of great thinkers from any other era.
Candide....the worst book I have ever read.
What? No Harret Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin? What about Mein Kamp? By Mr. A. Hitler.
Man's Place in Nature, T.H. Huxley
Principia Mathematica, Russell and Whitehead
The Great Terror and Harvest of Sorrow, Robert Conquest
The Conservative Mind, Russell Kirk
What is Life?Erwin Schrodinger
Sociobiology E.O. Wilson
No Gone With the Wind???
I'm still working on mein kampf. He babbles on endlessly. Another missing is Sun Tzu; The art of war. It is still taught at U.S. military learning centers.
Thank you for your efforts, both of you. I appreciate the use of FR, and the internet in this manner.
re:In his entry on Clausewitz he suggests that this update on Sun Tzu's work has had the greater influence.
In my humble opinion Clausewitz provides focus but not amplification to the _Art of War_. Sun Tsu's poetic work is more about managing conflict than war and its focus more on preparing for and avoiding war than on conducting it.
It is this poetic and generalized approach that makes _Art of War_ such a seminal work. As I previously mentioned, my dear wife regards _AOW_ as the definitive book on selling real estate because it teaches how to manage conflict on a personal level. There are lessons here for everyday life, not just the battlefields of warring nations. In this, Sun Tsu transcends Clauswitz.
regards,
In it, Locke questions cause and effect.
Missing, but worthy of the list:
"Alcoholics Anonymous." 1939
approaching 20 million copies (or maybe more). lotsa languages.
"Atlas Shrugged"
Ted Turner has the rights to it. That's one movie that will never be made. It would be too dangerous for today's Democratic/Socialist party. They have managed doing a great deal of damage to our system from within the educational system.
Upton Sinlair's "The Jungle" would be another infulential title.
1st rule in Dem Club -- Do ANYTHING to get elected
2nd rule in Dem Club -- Don't get caught doin' rule 1
tru peace...D
That's a complete myth.
The cat goes postal every time it sees one of those idiotic lists and the lame arguments that come with it regarding the order of importance and the membership, but fortunately it's (the cat is) away from its firearms. Is compiling lists a strictly American disease?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.