The mind is just a material entity. Truth is that which satisfies human needs and interests in a social way. A doctrine that is a form of naturalism which denies the legitimacy of philosophical problems and methods and claims that science is the only knowledge which is exact and ultimate. The doctrine that nothing exists except that which can be measured by the instruments of science. The dogma that all human problems are political in nature and the solution must be a political one.
Public polls determine truth and morality.
There is nothing basically moral or immoral. The five I came up with were not really beneficial influences, in my opinion, which may explain why our society and culture are in the bankrupt state I think they are suffering from. I could not think of a single intellectual to put in the top five who had influenced contemporary thought for the better. If I had been given fifteen or twenty major influences, I probably could come up with a few that have influenced intellectual thought for the better. But, for better or worse, here are my choices.