Dear Philosophers, I often hear philosophers say William Shakespeare, Thomas Paine, Robert Ingersoll, Einstein, etc. are not philosophers, but great thinkers. All of these people have done work, or presented ideas that have deep philosophical meaning that changed the way we view the world. Why are they not philosophers?

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It is always difficult to be precise about who is a philosopher, since one would not want the term to be so broad that it includes everyone, or so narrow that it excludes many thinkers. I suppose when they are referred to as raising philosophical questions it is a reflection of the issues they develop, as opposed to the ways in which they do it. So for example while Shakespeare clearly raises a whole range of important topics in his plays and poems about love, faithfulness, truth, sincerity, luck etc. he does not go on to analyze them or deal with them in any recognized philosophical manner. Perhaps that is why millions go to watch his plays and read his poems every year, in marked contrast with the sort of interest created by philosophers!

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