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183 months ago

Barbara R. Cochran (a guest user) asked this question:

This question has already been answered and rated. Therefore, no new answers can be given.

183 months ago

Medilingua Hungarica   wrote:

mentor, guru, great thinker

My comment:

Maître à penser is a French language phrase, denoting a teacher whom one chooses, in order to learn not just a set of facts or point of view, but a way of thinking. It translates literally as "master for thinking".
To take a maître à penser is therefore close to becoming a disciple. The phrase itself can be used to refer to a type of person — an inspirational genius, for example — who naturally would attract followers interested enough to absorb a whole intellectual approach.
A maître à penser is therefore possibly something like a mentor or guru, with a possibly beneficent approach. A negative effect of such a master might be to close down all other intellectual avenues in a student, imposing some schematic or monolithic approach. Such a master receives the French pejorative maître-penseur.

My references:

Wikipédia

183 months ago

Medilingua Hungarica   wrote:

master thinker

My comment:

one of the master thinkers of the post-war era
but equally I think "great thinkers" works well!

183 months ago

Sean O´Neill   wrote:

one of the leading thinkers of the postwar period

The asker rated this answer best

183 months ago

Sean O´Neill   wrote:

master thinkers

My comment:

pretty common in English too

183 months ago

Claude Le Frapper   wrote:

master thinkers

My comment:

pretty common in English too