Shelton asked:

With so many different philosophies, is it possible that someday, a single philosophical theory that
encompasses all others will eventually be formed?

===========

I guess that it is possible a single philosophical theory that supplants (not encompasses) all others
might be found, because every philosopher tries to advance reasons for their view that they believe
are compelling — compelling enough to convince others of their correctness. However, I wouldn't
hold my breath waiting for it — there are many deep and complex philosophical puzzles that I think
we are nowhere near solving. I don't think that we can have an encompassing theory because some
philosophical positions contradict others. I don't see how we could have a theory (for example) that
encompasses both materialism (only matter exists) and dualism (two distinct substances — mind and
matter — exist). Further, when saying that it is possible there is a single theory, I don't mean to imply
that it is inevitable or even likely. In some philosophical positions, it seems to me that the degree of
complexity is too great to solve. Maybe we are just not complex enough ourselves to be able to
devise or even understand a theory complex enough to explain all our puzzles. Maybe the idea of a
single coherent theory is not viable anyway.

Tim Sprod

Well, you know, that really depends on how arrogant you are. Take Heidegger, for example. He was,
by all accounts, an incredibly arrogant and snobbish intellectual who believed that he was having a
dialog with Aristotle, and that no one else was capable of understanding him. So of coursehis theory
encompassed, and surpassed, all others. Hegel felt the same way; so did Marx (as far as I know);
Husserl; perhaps Russell, for a while; and others. I don't know of any of those who felt they did this,
who many (with the exception of some of their students) agreed actually hadsuccessfully created this
kind of ultimate synthesis, with the possible exception of Aristotle, and that mainly because there
wasn't really anyone much around at the time to create theirown ultimate philosophy to rival his (In
the West- we mustn't forget that the Indians were writing at that time... but it was all in Sanskrit, so no
one in the West could read them anyway.)

So in answer to your question... sure, lots of them, supposedly, but probably only a few people will
agree that any of them actually do this, and they all disagree as to which ones were successful.

Steven Ravett Brown