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 1238 / 1803 (68.7%)
Accept or lean toward: no 389 / 1803 (21.6%)
Other 176 / 1803 (9.8%)

Abstract objects: Platonism or nominalism?

Accept or lean toward: nominalism 736 / 1803 (40.8%)
Accept or lean toward: Platonism 655 / 1803 (36.3%)
Other 412 / 1803 (22.9%)

Aesthetic value: objective or subjective?

Accept or lean toward: objective 730 / 1803 (40.5%)
Accept or lean toward: subjective 653 / 1803 (36.2%)
Other 420 / 1803 (23.3%)

Analytic-synthetic distinction: yes or no?

Accept or lean toward: yes 1115 / 1803 (61.8%)
Accept or lean toward: no 517 / 1803 (28.7%)
Other 171 / 1803 (9.5%)

Epistemic justification: internalism or externalism?

Accept or lean toward: externalism 788 / 1803 (43.7%)
Other 543 / 1803 (30.1%)
Accept or lean toward: internalism 472 / 1803 (26.2%)

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

Accept or lean toward: non-skeptical realism 1382 / 1803 (76.7%)
Other 170 / 1803 (9.4%)
Accept or lean toward: skepticism 128 / 1803 (7.1%)
Accept or lean toward: idealism 123 / 1803 (6.8%)

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

Accept or lean toward: compatibilism 1004 / 1803 (55.7%)
Accept or lean toward: libertarianism 301 / 1803 (16.7%)
Other 265 / 1803 (14.7%)
Accept or lean toward: no free will 233 / 1803 (12.9%)

God: theism or atheism?

Accept or lean toward: atheism 1257 / 1803 (69.7%)
Accept or lean toward: theism 295 / 1803 (16.4%)
Other 251 / 1803 (13.9%)

Knowledge claims: contextualism, relativism, or invariantism?

Accept or lean toward: contextualism 749 / 1803 (41.5%)
Accept or lean toward: invariantism 528 / 1803 (29.3%)
Other 453 / 1803 (25.1%)
Accept or lean toward: relativism 73 / 1803 (4.0%)

Knowledge: empiricism or rationalism?

Accept or lean toward: empiricism 687 / 1803 (38.1%)
Other 647 / 1803 (35.9%)
Accept or lean toward: rationalism 469 / 1803 (26.0%)

Laws of nature: Humean or non-Humean?

Accept or lean toward: non-Humean 919 / 1803 (51.0%)
Accept or lean toward: Humean 521 / 1803 (28.9%)
Other 363 / 1803 (20.1%)

Logic: classical or non-classical?

Accept or lean toward: classical 874 / 1803 (48.5%)
Other 609 / 1803 (33.8%)
Accept or lean toward: non-classical 320 / 1803 (17.7%)

Mental content: internalism or externalism?

Accept or lean toward: externalism 882 / 1803 (48.9%)
Other 520 / 1803 (28.8%)
Accept or lean toward: internalism 401 / 1803 (22.2%)

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

Accept or lean toward: moral realism 1017 / 1803 (56.4%)
Accept or lean toward: moral anti-realism 511 / 1803 (28.3%)
Other 275 / 1803 (15.3%)

Metaphilosophy: naturalism or non-naturalism?

Accept or lean toward: naturalism 912 / 1803 (50.6%)
Accept or lean toward: non-naturalism 474 / 1803 (26.3%)
Other 417 / 1803 (23.1%)

Mind: physicalism or non-physicalism?

Accept or lean toward: physicalism 981 / 1803 (54.4%)
Accept or lean toward: non-physicalism 521 / 1803 (28.9%)
Other 301 / 1803 (16.7%)

Moral judgment: cognitivism or non-cognitivism?

Accept or lean toward: cognitivism 1132 / 1803 (62.8%)
Accept or lean toward: non-cognitivism 340 / 1803 (18.9%)
Other 331 / 1803 (18.4%)

Moral motivation: internalism or externalism?

Accept or lean toward: internalism 654 / 1803 (36.3%)
Other 620 / 1803 (34.4%)
Accept or lean toward: externalism 529 / 1803 (29.3%)

Newcomb's problem: one box or two boxes?

Other 997 / 1803 (55.3%)
Accept or lean toward: two boxes 458 / 1803 (25.4%)
Accept or lean toward: one box 348 / 1803 (19.3%)

Normative ethics: deontology, consequentialism, or virtue ethics?

Other 558 / 1803 (30.9%)
Accept or lean toward: consequentialism 435 / 1803 (24.1%)
Accept or lean toward: virtue ethics 406 / 1803 (22.5%)
Accept or lean toward: deontology 404 / 1803 (22.4%)

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

Other 740 / 1803 (41.0%)
Accept or lean toward: representationalism 523 / 1803 (29.0%)
Accept or lean toward: qualia theory 240 / 1803 (13.3%)
Accept or lean toward: disjunctivism 221 / 1803 (12.3%)
Accept or lean toward: sense-datum theory 79 / 1803 (4.4%)

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

Other 646 / 1803 (35.8%)
Accept or lean toward: psychological view 620 / 1803 (34.4%)
Accept or lean toward: biological view 325 / 1803 (18.0%)
Accept or lean toward: further-fact view 212 / 1803 (11.8%)

Politics: communitarianism, egalitarianism, or libertarianism?

Other 672 / 1803 (37.3%)
Accept or lean toward: egalitarianism 595 / 1803 (33.0%)
Accept or lean toward: communitarianism 294 / 1803 (16.3%)
Accept or lean toward: libertarianism 242 / 1803 (13.4%)

Proper names: Fregean or Millian?

Other 694 / 1803 (38.5%)
Accept or lean toward: Millian 558 / 1803 (30.9%)
Accept or lean toward: Fregean 551 / 1803 (30.6%)

Science: scientific realism or scientific anti-realism?

Accept or lean toward: scientific realism 1264 / 1803 (70.1%)
Accept or lean toward: scientific anti-realism 287 / 1803 (15.9%)
Other 252 / 1803 (14.0%)

Teletransporter (new matter): survival or death?

Accept or lean toward: survival 626 / 1803 (34.7%)
Other 610 / 1803 (33.8%)
Accept or lean toward: death 567 / 1803 (31.4%)

Time: A-theory or B-theory?

Other 1107 / 1803 (61.4%)
Accept or lean toward: B-theory 408 / 1803 (22.6%)
Accept or lean toward: A-theory 288 / 1803 (16.0%)

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 1191 / 1803 (66.1%)
Other 482 / 1803 (26.7%)
Accept or lean toward: don't switch 130 / 1803 (7.2%)

Truth: correspondence, deflationary, or epistemic?

Accept or lean toward: correspondence 882 / 1803 (48.9%)
Accept or lean toward: deflationary 415 / 1803 (23.0%)
Other 310 / 1803 (17.2%)
Accept or lean toward: epistemic 196 / 1803 (10.9%)

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

Accept or lean toward: conceivable but not metaphysically possible 631 / 1803 (35.0%)
Accept or lean toward: metaphysically possible 434 / 1803 (24.1%)
Other 420 / 1803 (23.3%)
Accept or lean toward: inconceivable 318 / 1803 (17.6%)

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