The PhilPapers SurveysHighest linear correlations (Back to contents)

Correlations with: Abstract objects:nominalism

N = 931 (target faculty). Cut-off = +/-0.05

n < 10 omitted. Some redundant or trivial correlations are not shown.

Jump to: Main Survey questions | Philosophical orientation | Background questions

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Main Survey questions

Answer Corrrelation coefficient
Metaphilosophy:naturalism0.321
naturalism non-naturalism
nominalism
70.4%(229/325)
17.8%(58/325)
Platonism
42.6%(178/417)
42.6%(178/417)
Response pairs: 830   p-value: < 0.001
Meta-ethics:moral anti-realism0.321
moral anti-realism moral realism
nominalism
45.7%(152/332)
46.6%(155/332)
Platonism
17.3%(76/439)
74.2%(326/439)
Response pairs: 860   p-value: < 0.001
Laws of nature:Humean0.303
Humean non-Humean
nominalism
42.3%(138/326)
47.8%(156/326)
Platonism
17%(73/428)
75.4%(323/428)
Response pairs: 839   p-value: < 0.001
Knowledge:empiricism0.268
empiricism rationalism
nominalism
57.4%(201/350)
21.7%(76/350)
Platonism
33.1%(147/443)
45.5%(202/443)
Response pairs: 885   p-value: < 0.001
Aesthetic value:subjective0.253
objective subjective
nominalism
33%(112/339)
52.5%(178/339)
Platonism
55.9%(243/434)
30.6%(133/434)
Response pairs: 864   p-value: < 0.001
Moral judgment:non-cognitivism0.249
non-cognitivism cognitivism
nominalism
29.8%(99/332)
61.7%(205/332)
Platonism
11.2%(47/419)
82.3%(345/419)
Response pairs: 840   p-value: < 0.001
Mind:physicalism0.244
physicalism non-physicalism
nominalism
70.1%(247/352)
23%(81/352)
Platonism
46.1%(202/438)
39.4%(173/438)
Response pairs: 883   p-value: < 0.001
Science:scientific anti-realism0.241
scientific anti-realism scientific realism
nominalism
20%(69/345)
72.1%(249/345)
Platonism
7.5%(33/439)
87.2%(383/439)
Response pairs: 877   p-value: < 0.001
not Knowledge claims:invariantism0.218
invariantism not invariantism
nominalism
27.1%(83/306)
66%(202/306)
Platonism
46.7%(182/389)
41.6%(162/389)
Response pairs: 776   p-value: < 0.001
A priori knowledge:no0.217
no yes
nominalism
29.3%(102/348)
63.5%(221/348)
Platonism
11.4%(51/445)
81.7%(364/445)
Response pairs: 883   p-value: < 0.001
Knowledge claims:contextualism0.196
contextualism not contextualism
nominalism
59.8%(183/306)
33.3%(102/306)
Platonism
37%(144/389)
51.4%(200/389)
Response pairs: 776   p-value: < 0.001
Truth:deflationary0.176
deflationary not deflationary
nominalism
34.5%(114/330)
60.3%(199/330)
Platonism
21%(88/418)
73.6%(308/418)
Response pairs: 837   p-value: < 0.001
not Free will:libertarianism0.162
libertarianism not libertarianism
nominalism
8.1%(28/342)
83%(284/342)
Platonism
20.7%(90/433)
71.1%(308/433)
Response pairs: 864   p-value: < 0.001
Truth:epistemic0.151
epistemic not epistemic
nominalism
10.9%(36/330)
83.9%(277/330)
Platonism
5%(21/418)
89.7%(375/418)
Response pairs: 837   p-value: < 0.001
not Truth:correspondence0.142
correspondence not correspondence
nominalism
46.6%(154/330)
48.1%(159/330)
Platonism
61.7%(258/418)
33%(138/418)
Response pairs: 837   p-value: < 0.001
Personal identity:psychological view0.138
psychological view not psychological view
nominalism
42.2%(131/310)
36.7%(114/310)
Platonism
35.1%(137/390)
47.4%(185/390)
Response pairs: 783   p-value: < 0.001
God:atheism0.129
atheism theism
nominalism
79%(275/348)
14.6%(51/348)
Platonism
68.8%(303/440)
21.5%(95/440)
Response pairs: 883   p-value: < 0.001
not Zombies:metaphysically possible0.121
metaphysically possible not metaphysically possible
nominalism
21.1%(66/312)
66.9%(209/312)
Platonism
31.6%(128/405)
54.8%(222/405)
Response pairs: 798   p-value: < 0.001
not Normative ethics:deontology0.121
deontology not deontology
nominalism
24.5%(75/306)
63.7%(195/306)
Platonism
36.2%(139/383)
50.1%(192/383)
Response pairs: 769   p-value: < 0.001
Time:B-theory0.12
A-theory B-theory
nominalism
25.4%(55/216)
52.7%(114/216)
Platonism
34.4%(103/299)
42.4%(127/299)
Response pairs: 574   p-value: 0.003
Normative ethics:consequentialism0.116
consequentialism not consequentialism
nominalism
31.3%(96/306)
56.8%(174/306)
Platonism
23.4%(90/383)
62.9%(241/383)
Response pairs: 769   p-value: 0.001
Politics:egalitarianism0.113
egalitarianism not egalitarianism
nominalism
50.8%(150/295)
36.9%(109/295)
Platonism
37.5%(132/352)
43.4%(153/352)
Response pairs: 722   p-value: 0.002
Analytic-synthetic distinction:no0.107
no yes
nominalism
34.1%(119/348)
61.4%(214/348)
Platonism
24.3%(108/443)
70.8%(314/443)
Response pairs: 885   p-value: 0.001
Moral motivation:internalism0.092
internalism externalism
nominalism
52.7%(152/288)
34%(98/288)
Platonism
40%(150/375)
41.8%(157/375)
Response pairs: 741   p-value: 0.012
Logic:non-classical0.092
non-classical classical
nominalism
27.3%(81/296)
60.4%(179/296)
Platonism
21.9%(90/410)
65.1%(267/410)
Response pairs: 786   p-value: 0.009
Perceptual experience:representationalism0.09
representationalism not representationalism
nominalism
45.8%(122/266)
37.9%(101/266)
Platonism
40.1%(148/369)
47.4%(175/369)
Response pairs: 697   p-value: 0.017
not Personal identity:further-fact view0.088
further-fact view not further-fact view
nominalism
11.2%(35/310)
67.7%(210/310)
Platonism
18.2%(71/390)
64.3%(251/390)
Response pairs: 783   p-value: 0.013
Free will:compatibilism0.08
compatibilism not compatibilism
nominalism
65.2%(223/342)
26%(89/342)
Platonism
57.5%(249/433)
34.4%(149/433)
Response pairs: 864   p-value: 0.018
Newcomb's problem:one box0.07
one box two boxes
nominalism
30.2%(78/258)
41.8%(108/258)
Platonism
30.9%(95/307)
50.1%(154/307)
Response pairs: 644   p-value: 0.075
Epistemic justification:externalism0.068
externalism internalism
nominalism
54.4%(178/327)
29.9%(98/327)
Platonism
49%(208/424)
32.5%(138/424)
Response pairs: 839   p-value: 0.048
External world:skepticism0.066
skepticism not skepticism
nominalism
6.6%(23/344)
90.4%(311/344)
Platonism
3.8%(17/441)
92.2%(407/441)
Response pairs: 880   p-value: 0.05
Free will:no free will0.063
no free will free will
nominalism
15.4%(53/342)
75.7%(259/342)
Platonism
11%(48/433)
80.8%(350/433)
Response pairs: 864   p-value: 0.064
Zombies:inconceivable0.061
inconceivable not inconceivable
nominalism
21.4%(67/312)
66.6%(208/312)
Platonism
14.8%(60/405)
71.6%(290/405)
Response pairs: 798   p-value: 0.085
not Perceptual experience:qualia theory0.061
qualia theory not qualia theory
nominalism
11.6%(31/266)
72.1%(192/266)
Platonism
18.9%(70/369)
68.5%(253/369)
Response pairs: 697   p-value: 0.107
Zombies:conceivable but not metaphysically possible0.058
conceivable but not metaphysically possible not conceivable but not metaphysically possible
nominalism
43.5%(136/312)
44.5%(139/312)
Platonism
38.5%(156/405)
47.9%(194/405)
Response pairs: 798   p-value: 0.101

Philosophical orientation

Answer Corrrelation coefficient
xian:Hume0.211
Hume not Hume
nominalism
23.7%(84/353)
76.2%(269/353)
Platonism
7.8%(35/446)
92.1%(411/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: < 0.001
not AOS:Ancient Greek Philosophy0.145
Ancient Greek Philosophy not Ancient Greek Philosophy
nominalism
2.2%(8/353)
97.7%(345/353)
Platonism
10.5%(47/446)
89.4%(399/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: < 0.001
AOS:Philosophy of Biology0.134
Philosophy of Biology not Philosophy of Biology
nominalism
7.9%(28/353)
92%(325/353)
Platonism
1.7%(8/446)
98.2%(438/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: < 0.001
xian:Nietzsche0.131
Nietzsche not Nietzsche
nominalism
4.5%(16/353)
95.4%(337/353)
Platonism
~0.2%(~1/446)
~99.7%(~445/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: < 0.001
not AOS:Philosophy of Language0.129
Philosophy of Language not Philosophy of Language
nominalism
13%(46/353)
86.9%(307/353)
Platonism
23%(103/446)
76.9%(343/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: < 0.001
not AOS:Metaphysics0.123
Metaphysics not Metaphysics
nominalism
20.9%(74/353)
79%(279/353)
Platonism
30.7%(137/446)
69.2%(309/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: < 0.001
not xian:Plato0.112
Plato not Plato
nominalism
1.4%(5/353)
98.5%(348/353)
Platonism
6.2%(28/446)
93.7%(418/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: < 0.001
AOS:Social and Political Philosophy0.101
Social and Political Philosophy not Social and Political Philosophy
nominalism
13.8%(49/353)
86.1%(304/353)
Platonism
7.3%(33/446)
92.6%(413/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.002
AOS:General Philosophy of Science0.101
General Philosophy of Science not General Philosophy of Science
nominalism
14.4%(51/353)
85.5%(302/353)
Platonism
7.3%(33/446)
92.6%(413/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.002
not xian:Husserl0.097
Husserl not Husserl
nominalism
~0.2%(~1/353)
~99.7%(~352/353)
Platonism
2%(9/446)
97.9%(437/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.003
AOS:Philosophy of Cognitive Science0.094
Philosophy of Cognitive Science not Philosophy of Cognitive Science
nominalism
8.7%(31/353)
91.2%(322/353)
Platonism
4%(18/446)
95.9%(428/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.004
not AOS:Philosophy of Mathematics0.091
Philosophy of Mathematics not Philosophy of Mathematics
nominalism
2.2%(8/353)
97.7%(345/353)
Platonism
5.3%(24/446)
94.6%(422/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.006
xian:Mill0.089
Mill not Mill
nominalism
5.6%(20/353)
94.3%(333/353)
Platonism
2.6%(12/446)
97.3%(434/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.007
not xian:Aristotle0.08
Aristotle not Aristotle
nominalism
10.4%(37/353)
89.5%(316/353)
Platonism
15.4%(69/446)
84.5%(377/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.016
not xian:Moore0.08
Moore not Moore
nominalism
1.1%(4/353)
98.8%(349/353)
Platonism
3.8%(17/446)
96.1%(429/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.016
not xian:Frege0.079
Frege not Frege
nominalism
5.3%(19/353)
94.6%(334/353)
Platonism
10%(45/446)
89.9%(401/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.018
not AOS:20th Century Philosophy0.078
20th Century Philosophy not 20th Century Philosophy
nominalism
2.8%(10/353)
97.1%(343/353)
Platonism
6.2%(28/446)
93.7%(418/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.019
not AOS:Logic and Philosophy of Logic0.07
Logic and Philosophy of Logic not Logic and Philosophy of Logic
nominalism
7.6%(27/353)
92.3%(326/353)
Platonism
12.3%(55/446)
87.6%(391/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.036
AOS:17th/18th Century Philosophy0.054
17th/18th Century Philosophy not 17th/18th Century Philosophy
nominalism
14.1%(50/353)
85.8%(303/353)
Platonism
10.7%(48/446)
89.2%(398/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.106
not xian:Leibniz0.054
Leibniz not Leibniz
nominalism
1.1%(4/353)
98.8%(349/353)
Platonism
2.4%(11/446)
97.5%(435/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.106
AOS:Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy0.05
Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy not Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy
nominalism
2.8%(10/353)
97.1%(343/353)
Platonism
1.5%(7/446)
98.4%(439/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.135
not xian:Russell0.05
Russell not Russell
nominalism
5.3%(19/353)
94.6%(334/353)
Platonism
8.2%(37/446)
91.7%(409/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.135

Background questions

Answer Corrrelation coefficient
nationality_region:Europe0.085
Europe not Europe
nominalism
15.8%(56/353)
84.1%(297/353)
Platonism
10%(45/446)
89.9%(401/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.011
year_of_phd0.078
year_of_phd ≥ median year_of_phd < median
nominalism
52%(141/271)
47.9%(130/271)
Platonism
47.5%(166/349)
52.4%(183/349)
Response pairs: 692   p-value: 0.04
year_of_birth0.073
year_of_birth ≥ median year_of_birth < median
nominalism
52.2%(175/335)
47.7%(160/335)
Platonism
47.9%(199/415)
52%(216/415)
Response pairs: 835   p-value: 0.034
not phd_region:United States0.07
United States not United States
nominalism
49.5%(175/353)
50.4%(178/353)
Platonism
56.2%(251/446)
43.7%(195/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.036
gender:female0.068
female male
nominalism
21.1%(71/336)
78.8%(265/336)
Platonism
15%(64/424)
84.9%(360/424)
Response pairs: 849   p-value: 0.047
phd_region:Canada0.059
Canada not Canada
nominalism
3.9%(14/353)
96%(339/353)
Platonism
2%(9/446)
97.9%(437/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.077
affil:region:Australasia0.055
Australasia not Australasia
nominalism
7%(25/353)
92.9%(328/353)
Platonism
4.2%(19/446)
95.7%(427/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.1
not nationality_region:United States0.051
United States not United States
nominalism
48.4%(171/353)
51.5%(182/353)
Platonism
53.5%(239/446)
46.4%(207/446)
Response pairs: 894   p-value: 0.127