PHILOSOPHER

Ernest Gellner

1925 - 1995

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Ernest André Gellner (9 December 1925 – 5 November 1995) was a French-born British-Czech philosopher and social anthropologist. Central themes in his social thought included modernisation theory and nationalism, the latter of which he developed into a leading theory (Gellner's theory of nationalism). His multicultural perspective allowed him to engage with the Western world, the Muslim world, and Russian civilization. His first book, Words and Things (1959), sparked a leading article in The Times, which then published a month-long correspondence on his analytical critique of linguistic philosophy. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in 38 different languages on Wikipedia. Ernest Gellner is the 482nd most popular philosopher (down from 437th in 2024), the 1,394th most popular biography from France (down from 1,295th in 2019) and the 64th most popular French Philosopher.

Ernest Gellner is most famous for being a scholar of nationalism and for his contributions to the theory of modernization.

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Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Ernest Gellner ranks 482 out of 1,267. Before him are H. L. A. Hart, Porcia, Gaius Musonius Rufus, Philodemus, Giovanni Girolamo Saccheri, and Michel de Certeau. After him are Leo Strauss, Pierre Duhem, Ronald Dworkin, Dicaearchus, John Gray, and Zengzi.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1925, Ernest Gellner ranks 91. Before him are Paul Greengard, Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen, Martin Rodbell, Hal Holbrook, Hilda Gadea, and Michel de Certeau. After him are Ernesto Cardenal, Nicolai Gedda, Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, Toshio Iwatani, Gabriele Ferzetti, and Charles Chaplin Jr.. Among people deceased in 1995, Ernest Gellner ranks 59. Before him are César Rodríguez Álvarez, James Meade, Roger Zelazny, Mária Telkes, Rory Gallagher, and John Vincent Atanasoff. After him are Krešimir Ćosić, Carlos Monzón, Günter Guillaume, Rose Kennedy, Yves Congar, and Masashi Watanabe.

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In France

Among people born in France, Ernest Gellner ranks 1,394 out of 6,770. Before him are Antoine Augustin Cournot (1801), Cléo de Mérode (1875), Jean II, Duke of Alençon (1409), Léo Taxil (1854), Benedict of Aniane (750), and Michel de Certeau (1925). After him are Michel Verne (1861), Amandus (600), Pierre Duhem (1861), Arnulf of Metz (582), Pierre de Marivaux (1688), and Magnentius (303).

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In France

Among philosophers born in France, Ernest Gellner ranks 64. Before him are Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples (1460), Alain de Lille (1117), Vincent of Beauvais (1190), Maine de Biran (1766), Guillaume Budé (1467), and Michel de Certeau (1925). After him are Pierre Duhem (1861), Petrus Ramus (1515), Emmanuel Mounier (1905), Jean-Luc Nancy (1940), Victor Cousin (1792), and Michel Serres (1930).

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