About Philosophy Ranked

Philosophy Ranked publishes ranked lists about contemporary philosophy: the living and recently active thinkers who shape how we understand the present, and the books they're writing now. You'll find rankings of individual philosophers' books, from Slavoj Žižek and Peter Sloterdijk to Byung-Chul Han and Judith Butler, and of the best new work on ideology, technology, attention and capitalism. We also publish the occasional ranking of the classics, because today's arguments have long roots.

Every ranking is an argument. We state our criteria up front, give reasons for each placement, and point you to the books themselves so you can disagree with us on the merits.

How we rank

Most lists weigh three things: influence (how much current thought depends on the work), quality (the strength and originality of the ideas), and readability today (how much a curious non-specialist gets from the text). For living authors we also ask what a new book adds to their earlier work, not just whether it's new. When a list uses different criteria, it says so in the introduction.

Our quotation and accuracy policy

We only quote lines that can be found in the author's own works or in well-documented sources, and we flag famous misattributions when they come up. If we can't verify a quote, we paraphrase instead. We check publication dates, and for translated books we give both the original and the English publication years where it matters.

Book links and how we make money

Book titles link to their pages on Amazon. These are affiliate links: if you buy through them, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

We also highlight writers on Substack and other newsletter platforms. We may earn referral fees when readers subscribe to writers through our links. If a writer in our "Worth subscribing" sections is a client of Vively LLC or has paid to be featured, the post says so. Rankings are not sold: nobody pays to be included in, or to move up, a numbered ranking. Our Disclosures page explains every way we make money.

Who's behind it

Philosophy Ranked is owned and operated by Vively LLC, 1948 West Huron St, Chicago, IL 60622. You can reach us through our contact page.