Most influencial

@Elmud,

Homer.

His two well-known works helped to form basic Western thought, and were responsible for educating and making thinkers of people all over the Mediterranean, including the pre-socratic philosophers and Socrates. Socrates then went on to shape the teachings of Plato, whose arguments directly led to the subsequent rebuttals and one could argue, first scientific inquiry, by Aristotle. Then you had Aristotle's teachings go on as the core doctrine of education, including his timeless work on logic (which also helped to form a rough basis for logic that went on to be used in our modern technology) through the middle ages, and remaining highly influential ever since; inspiring modern science to question and critique, using much of his methodology in the process that had been passed on for years.

Influence throughout history is like one long conversation taking place, and the most influential would be he who contributed most to the conversation. When it comes to our modern world, I'm going with Homer, and those thinkers who all came about later on, perhaps directly as a result of his inspirational works.

@Elmud,

One of my favorite leisure books is:

The 100 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History

Whether you agree or disagree with the author, it is fascinating to see why he came to his conclusions.

He ranks Mohamed first, mostly because of the amount of people he influenced and is still influencing, and how much influence on them he had, but more so, because he did it fairly singlehandedly, whereas Jesus' influence came more from Paul's proselytizing and the development of the theology.

So for example, if you go to a Christian country like the US or European countries, there is less influence on the lives of the people than in Muslim countries where the prayer alarms go off at 5 in the morning and throughout the day, etc.

Buddha ranks later because of the amount of influence on the followers of Buddhism mostly due to the plurality of the religion and the intensity of the followers.

Newton is 2nd. He argues that people lived for the most part the same from the dawn of civilization to the 1500s. Since Newton, the amount of change due to science in society and in our everyday lives has completely changed. He places those roots clearly on Newton's shoulders.

3rd is Jesus, than Buddha 4th.

He lists James Watt, Michael Faraday, Locke, Niels Bohr and 90 some odd others in the 100, but not consecutively or in order after Buddha. Bohr is 100, for example.

I highly recommend the read.

@Theaetetus,

Theaetetus wrote:

It is impossible to nail down the single most influential human. Do you give more credit to an ancient figure like Aristotle? Sure Gutenberg came up with the printing press, but who was behind all of the things that made the printing press? In modern history, the United States is obviously an influence in the world. Does that mean that Thomas Jefferson's work in both the revolution, and holding together the country during his Presidency has less value than say Constantine because he came later in history. Who has more influence, the guy that invented the computer who most people probably do not know (such as myself) or Bill Gates that helped popularize computers into the necessary world of today.

Here is another good one. Who deserves the credit for the Internet? The guys that invented it, or Al Gore and his colleagues in the Senate that passed the legislation turning a military tool into something everyone could use?

Agreed, we probably need to agree on a framework and definition of "influence"

The standard definition is as follows:

"the capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of others."

I would say in this case, we are discussing the number of people influenced, and to what degree. so how many poeple's daily lives have been affected by a singular person.

Only those living after a person can be affected by them, so the later in history would have less effect until modern population superseded historical population.

Regarding things like the computer, which were a collaborative evolving invention, it's hard to point to one person, unlike those proposing more general theories that apply to a great many things.

If we're talking about those that inevitably were the source of things that have been greatly used throughout history, yet whose names are lost to history, I would like to include the first to come up with the idea of currency as being pretty high on the list.

@Sympathypains,

Sympathypains;63546 wrote:

Agreed, we probably need to agree on a framework and definition of "influence"

The standard definition is as follows:

"the capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of others."

I would say in this case, we are discussing the number of people influenced, and to what degree. so how many poeple's daily lives have been affected by a singular person.

Only those living after a person can be affected by them, so the later in history would have less effect until modern population superseded historical population.

Regarding things like the computer, which were a collaborative evolving invention, it's hard to point to one person, unlike those proposing more general theories that apply to a great many things.

If we're talking about those that inevitably were the source of things that have been greatly used throughout history, yet whose names are lost to history, I would like to include the first to come up with the idea of currency as being pretty high on the list.

For some odd reason, while reading this post, I kind of flashed back to goober on the Andy Griffith show doing an impression, distorting his face saying, Alright you guys, come on you guys, lets go you guys. Go figure.

@Elmud,

My top three are

1) Jesus Christ (Peace be upon him)
2) Mohamed (Peace be upon him)
3) Sir Isaac Newton

Why people rank Mohammed above Jesus always perplexes me

@Alan McDougall,

Alan McDougall;72355 wrote:

My top three are

1) Jesus Christ (Peace be upon him)
2) Mohamed (Peace be upon him)
3) Sir Isaac Newton

Why people rank Mohammed above Jesus always perplexes me

why? if you rank jesus as number one, what are your reasons? it has been argued that the proof is lacking that jesus was a real person, whereas the truth of the lives of mohammed and newton are documented. even if you feel that the influence of christianity is greater than the influence of islam to date, it may not be due to the fact of any one human being, as was mentioned in the post by SympathyPains.

@salima,

salima;72392 wrote:

why? if you rank jesus as number one, what are your reasons? it has been argued that the proof is lacking that jesus was a real person, whereas the truth of the lives of mohammed and newton are documented. even if you feel that the influence of christianity is greater than the influence of islam to date, it may not be due to the fact of any one human being, as was mentioned in the post by SympathyPains.

Jesus profoundly effected Mohammed not the reverse, there are 2.6 billion Christians and only 1 billion Moslem's

Jesus's influence goes back to the first century C.E. Mohammed only a little more than a thousand years

@Alan McDougall,

But Jesus would have been lost to history without Paul, whereas Muhammad is known because of his own works.

Paul is responsible for those 2.6 billion Christians, not Jesus.

@Didymos Thomas,

Didymos Thomas;72547 wrote:

But Jesus would have been lost to history without Paul, whereas Muhammad is known because of his own works.

Paul is responsible for those 2.6 billion Christians, not Jesus.

I disagree the Koran was written and passed down by memorisation over many years , Mohammed was illiterate while Jesus learned

@Alan McDougall,

Alan McDougall;72557 wrote:

I disagree the Koran was written and passed down by memorisation over many years , Mohammed was illiterate while Jesus learned

There is no evidence that Jesus knew how to write. In Jesus' society, reading and writing were taught separately: reading was taught to many people, writing was taught only to a few, and most certainly not lowly tradesmen like Jesus the carpenter.

Muhammad was illiterate, but his wife was a literate and successful merchant. She wrote as Muhammad dictated the Koran to her.

@Alan McDougall,

Quote:

1) Jesus Christ (Peace be upon him)
2) Mohamed (Peace be upon him)
3) Sir Isaac Newton

No peace upon Isaac Newton?

@Elmud,

Of course not. What did Newton do to deserve peace upon him? What religion did he start?

@Theaetetus,

lol thea; I didn't realize that peace was only for religion founders. But it is a relief to know that I can now say (Peace be upon him) every time I talk about L. Ron Hubbard (peace be upon him). I mean he has to be a peacful dood after having erradicated all his thetans like that.

@GoshisDead,

And after abusing teenage girls on his pleasure yacht.

@Elmud,

Let me see, there are so very many. Walt Disney, Aesop, Shakespeare, Hugo, Melville, Christ, Buddha, My Mom, My Dad, Lloyd Douglas, Einstein, Orwell, Jules Verne, Frank Capra, God (a friend of mine), Homer, Red Skelton, Jim Anderson- (Father Knows Best), Amos and Andy, Elvis, Audrey Hepburn; Clatu, Bob Merrick- (Magnificent Obsession), and who ever wrote Ephesians 2:8 in the new testament. To name just a few.

William

Oh, and I almost forgot, George Gobel, who delivered one of the funniest lines on the Johnny Carson show I have ever heard and really applies to my life: "Have you ever thought the world was a tuxedo, and you were a brown pair of shoes". Ha. That really hit home with me.

And there is one more and probably one of the most important was Ralph Waldo Trine author of "In Tune With The Infinite". Smile

@William,

William;72752 wrote:

Oh, and I almost forgot, George Gobel, who delivered one of the funniest lines on the Johnny Carson show I have ever heard and really applies to my life: "Have you ever thought the world was a tuxedo, and you were a brown pair of shoes". Ha. That really hit home with me.

Hey! I saw that one. Dean Martin was flicking his cigarette ashes in Georges drink when he wasn't looking and Bob Hope and Johnny were rolling. Dang William. You're old.

@Elmud,

The question cannot be answered because it must be received and interpreted in the context of each individual who accepts it. We, of course, are given to a Western view that informs our opinion. People of different regions, different cultures or religions or ethnicities will possibly come up with quite different opinions. Are theirs wrong whilst ours are to be preferred? How can we possibly measure any one individual's influence or impact on our world in isolation of others who, perhaps, were responsible for carrying on that one person's vision, who perhaps ensured that it flourished and thereby kept it from simply disappearing, who cemented that great person's legacy?

@RDRDRD1,

1. Alexander the Great: Persia was still attacking Greece and could have eventually conquered the Greek Peninsula if it wasn't for Alexander, who decided to lead Macedon's army into Persian territory. He also started the Greek golden age, which in turn greatly influenced Roman culture, which greatly influenced all of European culture.

2. Joan of Arc: She was the savior of France. She pulled together a demoralized and beaten army and defeated the most powerful empire in the world at the time. Without her, France would have been conquered. Without the help of the French navy, the Revolutionary War might have failed. So she changed the course of world history and more or less started the decline of British power.

3. Albert Einstein: He was quite possible the most brilliant mathematicion to ever live. His work is was led to the eventually to the creation of nuclear technology.

@Shadow Dragon,

Shadow Dragon;82906 wrote:

2. Joan of Arc: She was the savior of France. She pulled together a demoralized and beaten army and defeated the most powerful empire in the world at the time. Without her, France would have been conquered. Without the help of the French navy, the Revolutionary War might have failed. So she changed the course of world history and more or less started the decline of British power.

I don't doubt that she's a fascinating historical figure, but that's mostly due to her eccentric charisma and the paucity of female military commanders at the time (and since).

However, I think it's misleading to characterise the "French" (bearing in mind that at the time the three different players all regarded themselves as French) as beaten and demoralised. The French faction Joan fought for had been pressed, but still controlled most of the country. The defining turning point of the 100 years war was an alliance between the heirs of the House of Valois and the Burgundians - which happened 4 years after Joan's execution (and before you credit Joan with this, bear in mind she was loathed by the Burgundians, who were the ones who sold her out to the English [who, just to complicate matters again, largely regarded themselves as French at the time]).

I also think calling Britian "the most powerful Empire of the time" is rather misleading. In the 15th Century the British ambit was pretty mediocre in comparison to that of Empires like the Chinese, the Ottomans or the Spanish. Britain's turn was still to come and it would not be a major player to rival the likes of Spain until the 17th Century (and even that's highly debatable). The zenith of British power came 200 years later still, in the Victorian age.

So I agree that Joan's fascinating - but you give her way too much credit.

@GoshisDead,

I will add a few to my firsts list.

1) Jesus Christ (Peace be upon him)
2) Mohamed (Peace be upon him)
3) Sir Isaac Newton
4) Gutenberg
5) Albert Einstein
6) Buddha
7) Confuses
8) Caponicus

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