PHILOSOPHER

William Alston

1921 - 2009

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William Payne Alston (November 29, 1921 – September 13, 2009) was an American philosopher. He is widely considered to be one of the most important epistemologists and philosophers of religion of the twentieth century, and is also known for his work in metaphysics and the philosophy of language. His views on foundationalism, internalism and externalism, speech acts, and the epistemic value of mystical experience, among many other topics, have been very influential. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of William Alston has received more than 184,708 page views. His biography is available in 16 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 15 in 2019). William Alston is the 1,194th most popular philosopher (down from 1,104th in 2019), the 8,429th most popular biography from United States (down from 7,695th in 2019) and the 70th most popular American Philosopher.

Memorability Metrics

  • 180k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 45.66

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 16

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.28

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.39

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, William Alston ranks 1,194 out of 1,267. Before him are John Major, Papirius Fabianus, Quentin Meillassoux, Hendrik Adamson, Robert Brandom, and Stanley Jaki. After him are Sara Danius, James Burnham, Ernest Belfort Bax, Alexander Berzin, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, and Nick Bostrom.

Most Popular Philosophers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1921, William Alston ranks 366. Before him are Stanisław Nagy, Karel Husa, Jesse Helms, Mohammad Mohammadullah, Ettore Chimeri, and Stan Mortensen. After him are Susan Peters, Cliff Bourland, Rufina Gasheva, Paul Barth, Lloyd Bentsen, and Mamie Till. Among people deceased in 2009, William Alston ranks 292. Before him are Dell Hymes, Ine Schäffer, Stanley Jaki, Umberto Betti, Frankie Manning, and Feroz Khan. After him are Yevgeny Vesnik, Lukas Foss, Igor Starygin, Said Seyam, Teddy Mayer, and I. J. Good.

Others Born in 1921

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Others Deceased in 2009

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In United States

Among people born in United States, William Alston ranks 8,429 out of 20,380. Before him are Jack Sholder (1945), Whittaker Chambers (1901), Debi Mazar (1964), David Paymer (1954), L. J. Smith (1965), and James C. Collins (1958). After him are Benjamin Smith Barton (1766), Justin Bartha (1978), Mayo Methot (1904), George Pataki (1945), Ken Leung (1970), and Richard Olney (1835).

Others born in United States

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In United States

Among philosophers born in United States, William Alston ranks 70. Before him are Pat Robertson (1930), Mary Whiton Calkins (1863), Iris Marion Young (1949), William Chittick (1943), Judith Jarvis Thomson (1929), and Robert Brandom (1950). After him are James Burnham (1905), Alexander Berzin (1944), R. C. Sproul (1939), Patricia Hill Collins (1948), Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (1787), and David Ray Griffin (1939).

American born Philosophers

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