The philosophical blogosphere is abuzz about a silly BBC poll to name the ten greatest philosophers of all time. (See Crooked Timber, 3quarksdaily, applecidercheesefudge, and links therein.) Now you know why history’s greatest thinkers, like the nation’s college football champions, should not be chosen by popular vote: Karl Marx came in first, while Aristotle couldn’t muster better than ninth.
I just wanted to point out that, in a world where disciplinary boundaries were drawn more rationally, the runaway winner would have been Sir Isaac Newton.