Quote:
Originally Posted by Arbitrageur
My top 10 list.
1. Muhammad
2. Isaac Newton
3. Apostle Paul
4. Jesus
5. Confucius
6. Tsai Lun (inventor of paper)
7. Gutenberg
8. Buddha
9. Columbus
10. Pasteur
Your subsequent posts about this list hit many key components and points that I mainly agree with. [I will add that the making of these types of list is fun and a useful exercise to get people thinking, but by no means should be taken as seriously as many may think.]
Having Muhammad first is justifiable. But having Confucius # 5 is a bit off in my opinion. His influence on the most populous portion of the globe is enormous for a substantial period of years and continues unabated today and will continue well into the future.
If you are using Isaac Newton as a surrogate for the rise of scientific inquiry and method then I would agree with him being #2 but it was really a composite of people that started the scientific revolution - that has so influence the world since the late 1600's - which included the Royal Society and its members, plus Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler etc.
And it was St. Paul that really made Christianity viable - by making it more than just a Jewish Sect and bringing the message to the Gentiles. An important point that you made very well. I think you should combine Jesus/Paul. They are inseparable in that context.
The above dovetails into my next comment in that by just naming single individuals the list becomes somewhat problematic. But that is an inherent systemic difficulty with any and all lists of this type. Still, enjoyable to do and discuss.