TakeOnIt
Compare opinions of world leading experts and influencers.
  Literature    Topic Index  Add Expert Opinion    Edit Expert    History   

David Foster Wallace

Novelist, Essayist, English Professor

David Foster Wallace (1962-2008) was an influential author who played a part in the evolution of the postmodern tradition. He went to Harvard University for graduate studies in the philosophy of logic, but dropped out to pursue writing, where he found inspiration.

Experts Most Alike:

Pablo Picasso   Iconic Painter of 20th Century 100% Agreement / 1
W. Somerset Maugham   Famous Writer 100% Agreement / 1

Experts Least Alike:

The Catholic Church   Largest Christian Church 0% Agreement / 1
Immanuel Kant   Iconic Philosopher of 18th Century 0% Agreement / 1

David Foster Wallace's Opinions

Agree
All this business about people committing suicide when they're "severely depressed;" we say, "Holy cow, we must do something to stop them from killing themselves!" That's wrong. Because all these people have, you see, by this time already killed themselves, where it really counts. ... When they "commit suicide," they're just being orderly. They're just giving external form to an event the substance of which already exists and has existed in them over time.
01 Jan 1984    Source


Agree
There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship -- be it JC or Allah, bet it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles -- is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive.
21 May 2005    Source


Disagree
And I think it's impossible to spend that many slackjawed, spittlechinned, formative hours in front of commercial art without internalizing the idea that one of the main goals of art is simply to "entertain" give people sheer pleasure. ... I think TV promulgates the idea that good art is just art which makes people like and depend on the vehicle that brings them the art.
01 Jun 1993    Source


Comparisons to Other Experts

Agree
Pablo Picasso
Iconic Painter of 20th Century
100% / 1 opinions

W. Somerset Maugham
Famous Writer
100% / 1 opinions

Leo Tolstoy
Iconic Novelist
100% / 1 opinions

Johann Hari
Journalist
100% / 1 opinions

John Clayton
Christian Teacher
100% / 1 opinions

Barack Obama
United States President
100% / 1 opinions

Osama Bin Laden
Leader of Al Qaeda
100% / 1 opinions

Bill Maher
Political T.V. Host, Comedian
100% / 1 opinions

Ludwig Wittgenstein
Iconic Philosopher of 20th Century
100% / 1 opinions

Kevin Rudd
Australian Prime Minister, 2007-
100% / 1 opinions

Mostly Agree
Friedrich Nietzsche
Iconic Philosopher of 19th Century
62% / 2 opinions

In-Between
Oscar Wilde
Famous Author
50% / 1 opinions

Mostly Disagree
Steven Pinker
Psychology Professor
25% / 1 opinions

Disagree
The Catholic Church
Largest Christian Church
0% / 1 opinions

Immanuel Kant
Iconic Philosopher of 18th Century
0% / 1 opinions

Adolf Hitler
Leader of Nazi Party
0% / 1 opinions

G. K. Chesterton
Famous 20th Century Writer
0% / 1 opinions

Austin Cline
Philosopher
0% / 1 opinions

Richard Dawkins
Evolutionary Biologist, Writer, Atheism Activist
0% / 1 opinions

Bertrand Russell
Iconic Philosopher of 20th Century
0% / 1 opinions

Karl Marx
Father of Communism
0% / 1 opinions