There have been no great philosophers in quite some time.

Who was the last truly great philosopher, in the sense of somebody who can stand with the greats in history? Maybe Wittgenstein or Heidegger? I don't consider the postomodernits (Foucault, Derrida, etc.) to be great thinkers who will stand the test of time; history will ultimately give them a thumbs-down, I am quite sure.

In our own time there are a few people who might condsider themselves "philosophers" in this classical sense, but they are basically all academics who write commentaries on commentaries, and are micro-specialized in arcane, obscure areas. History will forget them too.

Where are the people who are writing the great foundation-shaking theories of being, tackling the essential issues from fresh perspectives? Where are the ontologists, the epistimiologists? Every age in hisory has had them...except ours.

Have we run out of great ideas? Or is our intellectual culture so impoverished that it can't give birth to truly original, earth-shaking thinkers anymore?