So with over 300 votes cast in our most recent poll, here's the top 20 (recall that for living philosophers, only those 60 or older were included; Paul Russell, alas, was wrongly omitted):
| 1. G.E.M. Anscombe (Condorcet winner: wins contests with all other choices) |
| 2. Donald Davidson loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 142–74 |
| 3. Harry Frankfurt loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 162–57, loses to Donald Davidson by 141–63 |
| 4. Michael Bratman loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 169–43, loses to Harry Frankfurt by 108–67 |
| 5. P.F. (Peter) Strawson loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 180–38, loses to Michael Bratman by 94–68 |
| 6. Jennifer Hornsby loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 181–30, loses to P.F. (Peter) Strawson by 83–78 |
| 7. Gary Watson loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 182–31, loses to Jennifer Hornsby by 82–70 |
| 8. Alfred Mele loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 180–37, loses to Gary Watson by 69–68 |
| 9. John Martin Fischer loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 170–42, loses to Alfred Mele by 62–61 |
| 10. David Velleman loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 194–15, loses to John Martin Fischer by 69–63 |
| 11. Roderick Chisholm loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 187–26, loses to David Velleman by 74–65 |
| 12. Daniel Dennett loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 186–32, loses to Roderick Chisholm by 77–53 |
| 13. Fred Dretske loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 185–21, loses to Daniel Dennett by 55–50 |
| 14. Thomas Nagel loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 189–29, loses to Fred Dretske by 60–50 |
| 15. Alvin Goldman loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 193–18, loses to Thomas Nagel by 62–60 |
| 16. Hector-Neri Castenada loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 189–16, loses to Alvin Goldman by 62–51 |
| 17. Susan Wolf loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 189–26, loses to Hector-Neri Castenada by 62–57 |
| 18. Jonathan Bennett loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 188–21, loses to Susan Wolf by 61–54 |
| 19. Carl Ginet loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 191–20, loses to Jonathan Bennett by 61–52 |
| 20. John Searle loses to G.E.M. Anscombe by 191–23, loses to Carl Ginet by 64–53 |
I confess I was astonished by Anscombe's strong showing (ahead of Davidson?!?), but clearly the Anscombe renaissance is in full bloom! Just outside the top 20 were Anthony Kenny, Peter van Inwagen, Judith Jarvis Thomson, and Stuart Hampshire. Among living philosophers of action, the top ten were Frankfurt, Bratman, Hornsby, Watson, Mele, Fischer, Velleman, Dennett, Nagel, and Goldman.
Comments are open for observations and reactions from readers.
