▸ 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 / 10
    Annette Baier: 6/10
    Bas 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 / 10
    Annette Baier: 7/10
    Bas 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 / 10
    Annette Baier: 5/10
    Bas 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 / 10
    Annette Baier: 5/10
    Bas van Fraassen: 5/10

    Both register moderate self as illusion.

  • Universalist Impulsegap 0 / 10
    Annette Baier: 5/10
    Bas van Fraassen: 5/10

    Both register moderate universalist impulse.

  • Embodied Sensibilitygap 0 / 10
    Annette Baier: 7/10
    Bas 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?

  1. 01 · QUIZ
    The Inheritor
    Take the quiz — see which of them you sit closer to on the map.
    CONTINUE ▶
  2. 02 · PROFILE
    Bernard Mandeville
    A third thinker who sits between them — useful for triangulating.
    CONTINUE ▶
  3. 03 · ARENA
    Argue Annette Baier
    Face Annette Baier in a 5-minute single-turn debate, judged on rigor.
    CONTINUE ▶