The most influential philosophers in Wikipedia: a multicultural analysis

TL;DR

This study analyzes the influence and interconnectedness of philosophers in Wikipedia across multiple languages, comparing with specialized databases, and revealing hidden relationships among Presocratic thinkers using advanced network algorithms.

Contribution

It introduces a multicultural, network-based analysis of philosophical influence in Wikipedia and uncovers hidden links among early philosophers using the reduced Google matrix method.

Findings

Wikipedia ranks philosophers differently across languages.

Comparison with specialized encyclopedias shows notable differences.

Hidden links among Presocratic philosophers reveal new intellectual relationships.

Abstract

We explore the influence and interconnectivity of philosophical thinkers within the Wikipedia knowledge network. Using a dataset of 237 articles dedicated to philosophers across nine different language editions (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish), we apply the PageRank and CheiRank algorithms to analyze their relative ranking and influence in each linguistic context. Furthermore, we compare our results with entries from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, providing insight into the differences between general knowledge networks like Wikipedia and specialized philosophical databases. A key focus of our analysis is the sub-network of 21 presocratic philosophers, grouped into four traditional schools: Italic (Pythagorean + Eleatic), Ionian, Abderian (Atomist), and Sophist. Using the reduced Google matrix method, we uncover both direct and hidden links between these early thinkers, offering new perspectives on their intellectual relationships and influence within the Western philosophical tradition.