▸ HEAD-TO-HEAD
ANNETTE BAIER VS BAS VAN FRAASSEN
Annette Baier
1929–2012
What's true is what survives the test.
Bas van Fraassen
b. 1941
What's true is what survives the test.
▸ WHERE THEY SHARPLY DISAGREED
The three dimensions on which Annette Baier and Bas van Fraassen are farthest apart on Mull's 0–10 scale.
- Trust in ExperienceΔ 2 / 10Annette Baier: 6/10Bas van Fraassen: 8/10
somewhat (2/10): Bas van Fraassen grounds knowing in lived experience; Annette Baier weights other sources of evidence more.
- Communal EmbeddednessΔ 2 / 10Annette Baier: 7/10Bas van Fraassen: 5/10
somewhat (2/10): Annette Baier locates the self in community and relationship; Bas van Fraassen starts from the individual.
- Trust in ReasonΔ 1 / 10Annette Baier: 5/10Bas van Fraassen: 6/10
somewhat (1/10): Bas van Fraassen trusts reasoned argument more strongly than Annette Baier does.
▸ WHERE THEY OVERLAPPED
Where the gap is smallest — both with meaningful presence on the dimension (not "neither cared").
- Self as Illusiongap 0 / 10Annette Baier: 5/10Bas van Fraassen: 5/10
Both register moderate self as illusion.
- Universalist Impulsegap 0 / 10Annette Baier: 5/10Bas van Fraassen: 5/10
Both register moderate universalist impulse.
- Embodied Sensibilitygap 0 / 10Annette Baier: 7/10Bas van Fraassen: 7/10
Both lean strongly into embodied sensibility.
▸ ALL 16 DIMENSIONS
The full vector comparison. Bars show their 0–10 scores side-by-side.
- Ascetic TendencyΔ 0
- Communal EmbeddednessΔ 2
- Embodied SensibilityΔ 0
- Mystical ReceptivityΔ 0
- Practical OrientationΔ 0
- Reverence for TraditionΔ 0
- Self as IllusionΔ 0
- Skeptical ReflexΔ 0
- Sovereign SelfΔ 0
- Theoretical DriveΔ 0
- Trust in ExperienceΔ 2
- Trust in ReasonΔ 1
- Tragic VisionΔ 0
- Universalist ImpulseΔ 0
- Vital AffirmationΔ 0
- Will to PowerΔ 0
◀ ANNETTE BAIERBAS VAN FRAASSEN ▶
▶ What to do next
Where do you sit between Annette Baier and Bas van Fraassen?
- 01 · QUIZThe InheritorTake the quiz — see which of them you sit closer to on the map.CONTINUE ▶
- 02 · PROFILEBernard MandevilleA third thinker who sits between them — useful for triangulating.CONTINUE ▶
- 03 · ARENAArgue Annette BaierFace Annette Baier in a 5-minute single-turn debate, judged on rigor.CONTINUE ▶