The PhilPapers SurveysPreliminary Survey results (Back to contents)

Note: set response grain to "fine" for details on "other" responses.

Population  AOS Response details

A priori knowledge: yes or no?

Accept or lean toward: yes 2147 / 3226 (66.6%)
Accept or lean toward: no 770 / 3226 (23.9%)
Other 309 / 3226 (9.6%)

Abstract objects: Platonism or nominalism?

Accept or lean toward: nominalism 1454 / 3226 (45.1%)
Accept or lean toward: Platonism 1016 / 3226 (31.5%)
Other 756 / 3226 (23.4%)

Aesthetic value: objective or subjective?

Accept or lean toward: subjective 1349 / 3226 (41.8%)
Accept or lean toward: objective 1122 / 3226 (34.8%)
Other 755 / 3226 (23.4%)

Analytic-synthetic distinction: yes or no?

Accept or lean toward: yes 1886 / 3226 (58.5%)
Accept or lean toward: no 937 / 3226 (29.0%)
Other 403 / 3226 (12.5%)

Epistemic justification: internalism or externalism?

Accept or lean toward: externalism 1368 / 3226 (42.4%)
Other 994 / 3226 (30.8%)
Accept or lean toward: internalism 864 / 3226 (26.8%)

External world: idealism, skepticism, or non-skeptical realism?

Accept or lean toward: non-skeptical realism 2305 / 3226 (71.5%)
Other 356 / 3226 (11.0%)
Accept or lean toward: skepticism 310 / 3226 (9.6%)
Accept or lean toward: idealism 255 / 3226 (7.9%)

Free will: compatibilism, libertarianism, or no free will?

Accept or lean toward: compatibilism 1661 / 3226 (51.5%)
Accept or lean toward: libertarianism 591 / 3226 (18.3%)
Accept or lean toward: no free will 491 / 3226 (15.2%)
Other 483 / 3226 (15.0%)

God: theism or atheism?

Accept or lean toward: atheism 2136 / 3226 (66.2%)
Accept or lean toward: theism 599 / 3226 (18.6%)
Other 491 / 3226 (15.2%)

Knowledge claims: contextualism, relativism, or invariantism?

Accept or lean toward: contextualism 1366 / 3226 (42.3%)
Other 887 / 3226 (27.5%)
Accept or lean toward: invariantism 772 / 3226 (23.9%)
Accept or lean toward: relativism 201 / 3226 (6.2%)

Knowledge: empiricism or rationalism?

Accept or lean toward: empiricism 1254 / 3226 (38.9%)
Other 1158 / 3226 (35.9%)
Accept or lean toward: rationalism 814 / 3226 (25.2%)

Laws of nature: Humean or non-Humean?

Accept or lean toward: non-Humean 1472 / 3226 (45.6%)
Accept or lean toward: Humean 1027 / 3226 (31.8%)
Other 727 / 3226 (22.5%)

Logic: classical or non-classical?

Accept or lean toward: classical 1432 / 3226 (44.4%)
Other 1143 / 3226 (35.4%)
Accept or lean toward: non-classical 651 / 3226 (20.2%)

Mental content: internalism or externalism?

Accept or lean toward: externalism 1404 / 3226 (43.5%)
Other 992 / 3226 (30.8%)
Accept or lean toward: internalism 830 / 3226 (25.7%)

Meta-ethics: moral realism or moral anti-realism?

Accept or lean toward: moral realism 1694 / 3226 (52.5%)
Accept or lean toward: moral anti-realism 997 / 3226 (30.9%)
Other 535 / 3226 (16.6%)

Metaphilosophy: naturalism or non-naturalism?

Accept or lean toward: naturalism 1619 / 3226 (50.2%)
Accept or lean toward: non-naturalism 826 / 3226 (25.6%)
Other 781 / 3226 (24.2%)

Mind: physicalism or non-physicalism?

Accept or lean toward: physicalism 1741 / 3226 (54.0%)
Accept or lean toward: non-physicalism 941 / 3226 (29.2%)
Other 544 / 3226 (16.9%)

Moral judgment: cognitivism or non-cognitivism?

Accept or lean toward: cognitivism 1872 / 3226 (58.0%)
Other 683 / 3226 (21.2%)
Accept or lean toward: non-cognitivism 671 / 3226 (20.8%)

Moral motivation: internalism or externalism?

Accept or lean toward: internalism 1155 / 3226 (35.8%)
Other 1154 / 3226 (35.8%)
Accept or lean toward: externalism 917 / 3226 (28.4%)

Newcomb's problem: one box or two boxes?

Other 1890 / 3226 (58.6%)
Accept or lean toward: two boxes 708 / 3226 (21.9%)
Accept or lean toward: one box 628 / 3226 (19.5%)

Normative ethics: deontology, consequentialism, or virtue ethics?

Other 980 / 3226 (30.4%)
Accept or lean toward: virtue ethics 804 / 3226 (24.9%)
Accept or lean toward: consequentialism 786 / 3226 (24.4%)
Accept or lean toward: deontology 656 / 3226 (20.3%)

Perceptual experience: disjunctivism, qualia theory, representationalism, or sense-datum theory?

Other 1399 / 3226 (43.4%)
Accept or lean toward: representationalism 844 / 3226 (26.2%)
Accept or lean toward: qualia theory 435 / 3226 (13.5%)
Accept or lean toward: disjunctivism 358 / 3226 (11.1%)
Accept or lean toward: sense-datum theory 190 / 3226 (5.9%)

Personal identity: biological view, psychological view, or further-fact view?

Other 1231 / 3226 (38.2%)
Accept or lean toward: psychological view 1071 / 3226 (33.2%)
Accept or lean toward: biological view 517 / 3226 (16.0%)
Accept or lean toward: further-fact view 407 / 3226 (12.6%)

Politics: communitarianism, egalitarianism, or libertarianism?

Other 1129 / 3226 (35.0%)
Accept or lean toward: egalitarianism 974 / 3226 (30.2%)
Accept or lean toward: communitarianism 582 / 3226 (18.0%)
Accept or lean toward: libertarianism 541 / 3226 (16.8%)

Proper names: Fregean or Millian?

Other 1374 / 3226 (42.6%)
Accept or lean toward: Fregean 1001 / 3226 (31.0%)
Accept or lean toward: Millian 851 / 3226 (26.4%)

Science: scientific realism or scientific anti-realism?

Accept or lean toward: scientific realism 2121 / 3226 (65.7%)
Accept or lean toward: scientific anti-realism 577 / 3226 (17.9%)
Other 528 / 3226 (16.4%)

Teletransporter (new matter): survival or death?

Other 1154 / 3226 (35.8%)
Accept or lean toward: survival 1117 / 3226 (34.6%)
Accept or lean toward: death 955 / 3226 (29.6%)

Time: A-theory or B-theory?

Other 2022 / 3226 (62.7%)
Accept or lean toward: B-theory 708 / 3226 (21.9%)
Accept or lean toward: A-theory 496 / 3226 (15.4%)

Trolley problem (five straight ahead, one on side track, turn requires switching, what ought one do?): switch or don't switch?

Accept or lean toward: switch 2016 / 3226 (62.5%)
Other 923 / 3226 (28.6%)
Accept or lean toward: don't switch 287 / 3226 (8.9%)

Truth: correspondence, deflationary, or epistemic?

Accept or lean toward: correspondence 1450 / 3226 (44.9%)
Accept or lean toward: deflationary 670 / 3226 (20.8%)
Other 659 / 3226 (20.4%)
Accept or lean toward: epistemic 447 / 3226 (13.9%)

Zombies: inconceivable, conceivable but not metaphysically possible, or metaphysically possible?

Accept or lean toward: conceivable but not metaphysically possible 1139 / 3226 (35.3%)
Accept or lean toward: metaphysically possible 777 / 3226 (24.1%)
Other 703 / 3226 (21.8%)
Accept or lean toward: inconceivable 607 / 3226 (18.8%)

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