[thatsethnz]

There needs to be a distinction between Freud the clinician, whose theories have all but been entirely surpassed in the treatment of mental illness, and Freud the philosopher, who is still a major reference point in discussions of philosophy and cultural theory. Marx is still an active force in those conversations too. These discourse discuss methods of interpreting literature, art, history and culture.

The great structural thinkers of the last century, Hegel, Marx, Freud, Darwin, Nietzsche were the last philosophers that attempted schemas to describe all of history and culture as a single synthesized whole governed by definable mechanisms . Their flawed tools (the world spirit, the economy, the unconscious, biological evolution, and the will to power) are all somewhat rusty but there have been no real contenders to replace them.

[brighteyes]

> Hegel, Marx, Freud, Darwin, Nietzsche

Darwin seems very out of place there.

First, he was primarily a scientist, not a philosopher. Second, his theories are for the most part still very much dominant and accepted as true in his field - not just some overall insights and direction (as with Freud) - but the actual details. Modern biology very much believes in and is based on Darwin's theories. It's remarkable how right he still is after all this time.

[thatsethnz]

This is true. But Darwin acts as a figurehead in many longstanding philosophical discussions. I'm thinking of thinkers like Herbert Spencer, who believed that the structures of darwinian evolution could be applied to cultures, religion, even the mind. When people quote "survival of the fittest" it was Spencer they are quoting, but Darwin they are referencing.

It is also possible to overstate both Darwin's correctness (Pangenesis for example was a non starter) and his novelty (The idea that humans evolved from non-human ancestors that came from the sea is as old as Anaximander -- 600 BCE).

But there is a Darwinian/Spencerian ring to way we talk about failed programming languages, coding practices, failed corporations, technologies and economies: They failed to thrive, failed to form a community to carry forward their genetics and fight against the various forces that fight against them, compete for resources etc. Darwin's ideas have sublimated into ideology...