In your Opinion

As much as I admire Thomas Aquinas and think his execution was a travesty, I admire Queen Elizabeth I. If I thought about it longer I might come up with more (Plato is also popping to mind), but she springs first. She had to steer her country through a political climate many men would be unable to navigate. She had to keep her suitors as allies yet not be cornered into a commitment that would negate her supremecy...I think she was a brilliant and hard woman and I bet she taught the boys a trick or two!

Don't know a lot about Aquinas, but for me, Aristotle is the greatest philosopher of all times. It is just the way he thinks, and his effect on the Greek civilization, and indeed the human civilization as a whole, his works were certainly one of the bases of logical thinking back then. And since we a re talking about logic, I'd like to mention also Isaac Newton. Another great thinker.

JFK,Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson.

I think that my answer would have to be Stephen Hawkings. I think it is amazing that someone with the physical disabilities he has can be one of the smartest people in the world at the moment. And just imagine if no one tried to find a way to let him speak. We would never have discovered his brilliance and we would probably be a lot further behind in space exploration and quantum physics. Like I said, i just find it totally amazing that someone who had such obstacles to overcome, who people probably thought was a vegetable at first, can become one of the greatest thinkers of all time. Amazing how the world works, isn't it?

Just off the top of my head, I would say Descartes, also known as the father of modern mathematics. He was also into philosophy. I don't know enough about Thomas Aquinas, I guess I'll have to read up on him. I vaguely remember hearing about him from my Catholic school days. Back then, I didn't pay attention in class.