Who would you say is the greatest modern philosopher (post Renaissance - Descartes onward) and why?

Heidegger and Derrida were both disciples of Nietzsche, who was a philologist... Heidegger's concept of "Destruction" which Derrida calls "Deconstruction" both make direct/indirect references to philology. For example: 'Christmas Eve' and 'Noche Buena' (Good Night) are words that have nothing in common with each other, yet for all intense and purposes mean the same thing. Nietzsche felt that people would be told something and typically believe it without questioning it, because, of religious and/or social conditioning.

Heidegger takes this concept further than Nietzsche ever did with his concept of 'Dasein', but Derrida actually takes it even further than Heidegger did..., I don't think Heidegger is it...

It's hard to say who is the 'greatest' as I believe one should have read much of their original writing (and understand it) in order to say someone is truly great. One of my favorites is definitely Sartre! The concepts of 'transcendence' and 'facticité' combined with 'la mauvaise foi' describe people's lives pretty well in my opinion.

S approach to freedom and responsibility relates in an interesting way to the liberalist theories in political philosophy by Rawls and critiques.

Heidegger because literary theory stemmed from him, or at least for the most part.

The only thing that I've read resently, is a book on Accounting.So I wouldn't know not thing. Unless if I wrote it. Then, and only then I'd know.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.