He thought Zen ethics misplaced (9)
I believe the answer is:
nietzsche
'he thought' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'zen ethics misplaced' is the wordplay.
'misplaced' indicates an anagram.
'zen'+'ethics'='zenethics'
'zenethics' is an anagram of 'NIETZSCHE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for nietzsche that I've seen before include "Influential German existentialist philosopher" , "German philosopher, wrote Beyond Good and Evil" , "Friedrich -, nineteenth century German philosopher" , "German poet" , "German philosopher, d. 1900, noted for his concept of superman" .)