The Lives of Great Minds

I was reading the book When Philosophers Behave Badly by Nigel Rodgers and Mel Thompson, chronicling the scandals of great thinkers from Rousseau to Foucault. The point is that while Great Minds think great, their great thought may not lead to great lives. The tendency for ad hominem attacks in this work notwithstanding, I think it is ultimately important that we do not read the works of great philosophers with undue credulity, saying yes to them just because they are intellectual giants so far above our heads. Instead, we pit their ideas against our own lives to test their relevance. This tip should be good for starting readers of this austere discipline, coming from someone who stays perpetually at the starting line.

On the other hand, neither should we regard works of philosophers with undue incredulity, for whatever reasons. E.g. the fact that Nietzsche was Atheist and wrote like some heartless bastard isn't a good enough reason for a kind-spirited Christian to totally disregard his thoughts, and one can still find specific ideas, if not snippets of ideas, that we can agree to if we reflect upon our own lives. Here's coming from a Christian who has just read a very short and biased summary of Nietzsche's ideas and screwed-up life.