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Noam Chomsky |
Prospect magazine recently conducted a poll to identify the top 100 public intellectuals in the world. The list includes thinkers from various fields such as politics, social issues, science, culture, and literature.
Over 20,000 people participated in the voting process. The results, ranked by the number of votes, are as follows:
1. Noam Chomsky (4827 votes)
2. Umberto Eco (2464 votes)
3. Richard Dawkins (2188 votes)
4. Václav Havel (1990 votes)
5. Christopher Hitchens (1844 votes).
Noam Chomsky, born in 1928 in Philadelphia, is a renowned linguist known for his theory of transformational grammar. However, he is widely recognized for his outspoken opposition to the Vietnam War.
For over 40 years, he has been one of the most persistent and vocal critics of U.S. domestic and foreign policy. Chomsky has authored more than 40 books and continues to teach at various universities.
Commenting on Chomsky’s top position in the list of the world’s leading public intellectuals, commentator David Herman wrote: “Even if you disagree with his critiques of U.S. foreign policy, there are two reasons why few are surprised to see his name at the top of the poll. First is his intellectual stature. Like many others in the top ten, he is famous across many fields. Second, and more importantly, Chomsky belongs to the tradition of Zola,
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Umberto Eco |
Russell, and Sartre: great thinkers or great writers, who speak out on the major public issues of their time, opposing the government on matters of conscience rather than policies printed on paper“.
Umberto Eco, who is 73 years old this year, could be described as a Renaissance man due to the breadth of his knowledge. His primary profession is a professor of semiotics at the University of Bologna, but he is perhaps more well-known for his novels such as “The Name of the Rose” and “Foucault’s Pendulum,” the latter of which was adapted into a Hollywood film starring Sean Connery.
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Richard Dawkins |
Richard Dawkins gained fame in 1976 with his book “The Selfish Gene,” in which he posits the gene as the central unit of natural selection. Now 64 years old, he is a professor of public understanding of science at Oxford University. He is a staunch critic of organized religion and is currently writing a documentary book tentatively titled “The Root of All Evil.”
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Václav Havel |
Václav Havel, born in 1936 in Prague, is famous for his critical realist plays. From a playwright, Havel was elected President of Czechoslovakia following the political upheavals of the late 1980s and early 1990s. When Czechoslovakia split into two countries, he continued to serve as the President of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003.
Christopher Hitchens, now 56 years old, is a prominent political journalist.
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Christopher Hitchens |
Among the 100 intellectuals, several notable literary figures are included, such as Salman Rushdie (1468 votes, ranked 10th), J.M. Coetzee (548 votes, ranked 44th), Julia Kristeva (487 votes, ranked 48th), Orhan Pamuk (393 votes, ranked 54th), Amos Oz (358 votes, ranked 59th), and Gao Xingjian (277 votes, ranked 69th).
Immediately after the poll concluded, discussions began regarding the list presented by Prospect. Ultimately, this is just one perspective on recognition and evaluation. However, it does reflect the extent of influence that intellectuals have on contemporary public discourse.
