Philosophers you say, the wisest men in the word you say? Hummm are you sure? or is it more a case of talk, talk, talk proliferation of talk, then they die, then generations later we cling to the majestic past and dredge up some mistranslated concepts and top them off with our own meaning, adding future experience to old concepts and using a name from the past to give them credibility.
One philosopher comes to mind, he has received much praise down through time, but in reality he destroyed a civilization with his negativity, undermining and nay-saying. Socrates was his name and he was no wise man. He fed off of the peoples fears, misinterpreted human instinct and misused his position to influence policy and usher in disaster. Philosophy only thrives in a society built by rough men, a society built on action, sacrifice and determination, then after all the dying is done, all the suffering is done to build a stable society the Philosophers come along and destroy it.
in time, the Greeks were meant to fail...read the book of Daniel...
Nazz, you name one person that had intelligence over wisdom, then you will have indeed one the debate, but wisdom always triumphs. Listen, you haven't studied philosophy because any person wouldn't have argued Socrates because it's possible that he was actually just a character from Plato...you never mentioned Aristotle, Kant, Kierkegaard, or even Locke, Diderot, DeCarte and Voltaire...I understand the possibility of misinterpretation with what they wrote in order to accomodate modern times, but in retrospect, something like Plato's Republic is easy to understand for time back then...philosophy, being that it is a study of thinking, truths, and knowledge, would mean that deliberation and lots of thinking/talking are to happen...also, and it has benefitted the masses...look at Montesquiue, he came up with the idea of democracy, and when did this idea develop? in a time of a bad French monarchy and clergy...philosophers will speak when they see something wrong in the act...what's wrong with that??? as well as to mention, if the Greeks, during their times, were never correct, philosophers would always stand up...a new creation needs a philosopher to guide it in it's direction...
Nazz, I am interested to know why you believe that a philosopher is a primary deceiver?
a philosopher who seeks wisdom for gain will indeed gain and have significant impact on nations...
oh and another thing: Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgment. -Proverbs 10:13