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Old 12-03-2015, 08:35 PM
 
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Who would you say is the greatest public intellectual in the last 50 years? I would say Milton Friedman. Thomas Sowell is a close second.
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Old 12-03-2015, 08:43 PM
 
Location: Here
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Obama, of course.

Signed,
The Peanut Gallery
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Old 12-03-2015, 08:45 PM
 
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Almost certainly, Bill Buckley.
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Old 12-03-2015, 08:47 PM
 
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Sam Harris
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Old 12-03-2015, 08:54 PM
 
Location: Florida -
10,213 posts, read 14,824,183 times
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Billy Graham has been wise enough to figure-out and live-out and help others live-out what really matters in this life and the next. --- Not the typical interpretation of 'intellectual,' but, sure fits the 'wisdom' category.
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Old 12-03-2015, 08:57 PM
 
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"Try Not. Do or do not. there is no try"

-Yoda
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Old 12-03-2015, 09:12 PM
 
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I just had to look up the definition of intellectual.

An intellectual is a person who engages in critical study, thought, and reflection about the reality of society, and proposes solutions for the normative problems of that society, and, by such discourse in the public sphere, he or she gains authority within the public opinion

::barf::
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Old 12-03-2015, 09:25 PM
 
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Pope John Paul II, Pope Francis.

No one else comes close.
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Old 12-03-2015, 09:27 PM
 
Location: Pasadena, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed from California View Post
Almost certainly, Bill Buckley.
Gore Vidal and Noam Chomsky slapped him around for fun.
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Old 12-03-2015, 09:32 PM
 
Location: Iowa, USA
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It will honestly be about 50 years before we can answer this question. It's really quite difficult to say who is influential right now. There are exceptions of course. Einstein was adored then and now. But not everyone is always so loved. Marx, for example, was basically ignored until after his death.

So, for now, I don't know. Noam Chomsky was my first thought, but that's completely debatable.
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