So with over 500 votes, here's the top 20:
1. W.V.O. Quine (Condorcet winner: wins contests with all other choices) |
2. Saul Kripke loses to W.V.O. Quine by 202–174 |
3. John Rawls loses to W.V.O. Quine by 200–155, loses to Saul Kripke by 201–180 |
4. David K. Lewis loses to W.V.O. Quine by 206–148, loses to John Rawls by 194–163 |
5. Hilary Putnam loses to W.V.O. Quine by 269–74, loses to David K. Lewis by 209–134 |
6. Donald Davidson loses to W.V.O. Quine by 259–88, loses to Hilary Putnam by 177–148 |
7. Peter (P.F.) Strawson loses to W.V.O. Quine by 269–85, loses to Donald Davidson by 196–130 |
8. Bernard Williams loses to W.V.O. Quine by 258–99, loses to Peter (P.F.) Strawson by 161–157 |
9. G.E.M. Anscombe loses to W.V.O. Quine by 277–88, loses to Bernard Williams by 169–151 |
10. Noam Chomsky loses to W.V.O. Quine by 273–80, loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 166–155 |
11. J.L. Austin loses to W.V.O. Quine by 277–61, loses to Noam Chomsky by 155–143 |
12. Thomas (T.S.) Kuhn loses to W.V.O. Quine by 271–69, loses to J.L. Austin by 147–141 |
13. Wilfrid Sellars loses to W.V.O. Quine by 280–52, loses to Thomas (T.S.) Kuhn by 147–139 |
14. Thomas Nagel loses to W.V.O. Quine by 280–75, loses to Wilfrid Sellars by 148–140 |
15. Michael Dummett loses to W.V.O. Quine by 284–48, loses to Thomas Nagel by 150–133 |
16. H. Paul Grice loses to W.V.O. Quine by 286–42, loses to Michael Dummett by 131–112 |
17. Jerry Fodor loses to W.V.O. Quine by 292–41, loses to H. Paul Grice by 134–117 |
18. Robert Nozick loses to W.V.O. Quine by 284–62, loses to Jerry Fodor by 144–136 |
19. Gilbert Ryle loses to W.V.O. Quine by 300–27, loses to Robert Nozick by 151–123 |
20. David Armstrong loses to W.V.O. Quine by 295–36, loses to Gilbert Ryle by 137–110 |
At various points, Nelson Goodman and John Searle were in the top 20, and Armstrong and Ryle just outside, but the former pair finished at 21 and 22, respectively, in the final results.
Inevitably, it turned out that there were omissions of candidates who while perhaps not "top 20" contenders would certainly have rated favorably on the full list. Examples include Hector-Neri Castenada, J.J.C. Smart, Annette Baier, Ruth Millikan (I had not realized she was over 80), Kurt Baier, among others. Karl Popper was a tricky case, because his most important work was prior to 1945, but he continued to publish during the period in question. Comments on the significance of the work of those omitted and on the results welcome. For my own money, I would have put Hempel and Foot in the top 20 (as well as Goodman and Searle), and dropped Armstrong, Ryle, Nozick and Dummett. I wonder whether others were surprised by Austin's strong showing? And ten years ago, would Anscombe have fared so well? Rorty's rather tepid showing in a poll of actual philosophers is also notable. (Remember the poll was limited to philosophers no longer living and distinguished living philosophers over 80, with two exceptions: Kripke and Nagel.)