With over 565 responses to our earlier poll (limited, recall, to living philosophers over age 60), we now know whom readers think are the ten most deserving candidates:
1. Saul Kripke (Condorcet winner: wins contests with all other choices) |
2. Noam Chomsky loses to Saul Kripke by 245–142 |
3. Derek Parfit loses to Saul Kripke by 260–113, loses to Noam Chomsky by 197–164 |
4. Thomas Nagel loses to Saul Kripke by 278–98, loses to Derek Parfit by 173–148 |
5. Martha Nussbaum loses to Saul Kripke by 272–110, loses to Thomas Nagel by 176–130 |
6. Jurgen Habermas loses to Saul Kripke by 273–108, loses to Martha Nussbaum by 154–141 |
7. Daniel Dennett loses to Saul Kripke by 282–98, loses to Jurgen Habermas by 150–145 |
8. Jerry Fodor loses to Saul Kripke by 292–64, loses to Daniel Dennett by 148–139 |
9. John Searle loses to Saul Kripke by 294–63, loses to Jerry Fodor by 142–124 |
10. Amartya Sen loses to Saul Kripke by 288–81, loses to John Searle by 148–121 |
Timothy Williamson and John McDowell were runners-up for the top ten. Allowing for the Anglophone bias of the readership here, these results aren't surprising and certainly seem defensible. I was, I confess, surprised how poorly Charles Taylor fared, even allowing for the Anglophone bias.
Recent Comments