PhilPapers, an online directory of academic philosophy articles. Last November, PhilPapers conducted a survey of 1803 philosophy faculty members and/or PhDs. Because many of our readers are interested in philosophy, I’ve provided the preliminary findings below:
A priori knowledge: yes or no?
| Accept or lean toward: yes | 1238 / 1803 (68.6%) |
| Accept or lean toward: no | 389 / 1803 (21.5%) |
| Other | 176 / 1803 (9.7%) |
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 (22.8%) |
Aesthetic value: objective or subjective?
| Accept or lean toward: objective | 730 / 1803 (40.4%) |
| Accept or lean toward: subjective | 653 / 1803 (36.2%) |
| Other | 420 / 1803 (23.2%) |
Analytic-synthetic distinction: yes or no?
| Accept or lean toward: yes | 1115 / 1803 (61.8%) |
| Accept or lean toward: no | 517 / 1803 (28.6%) |
| Other | 171 / 1803 (9.4%) |
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 (26.1%) |
External world: idealism, skepticism, or non-skeptical realism?
| Accept or lean toward: non-skeptical realism | 1382 / 1803 (76.6%) |
| Other | 170 / 1803 (9.4%) |
| Accept or lean toward: skepticism | 128 / 1803 (7%) |
| Accept or lean toward: idealism | 123 / 1803 (6.8%) |
Free will: compatibilism, libertarianism, or no free will?
| Accept or lean toward: compatibilism | 1004 / 1803 (55.6%) |
| Accept or lean toward: libertarianism | 301 / 1803 (16.6%) |
| Other | 265 / 1803 (14.6%) |
| 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 (16.3%) |
| 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 (29.2%) |
| Other | 453 / 1803 (25.1%) |
| Accept or lean toward: relativism | 73 / 1803 (4%) |
Knowledge: empiricism or rationalism?
| Accept or lean toward: empiricism | 687 / 1803 (38.1%) |
| Other | 647 / 1803 (35.8%) |
| Accept or lean toward: rationalism | 469 / 1803 (26%) |
Laws of nature: Humean or non-Humean?
| Accept or lean toward: non-Humean | 919 / 1803 (50.9%) |
| Accept or lean toward: Humean | 521 / 1803 (28.8%) |
| Other | 363 / 1803 (20.1%) |
Logic: classical or non-classical?
| Accept or lean toward: classical | 874 / 1803 (48.4%) |
| Other | 609 / 1803 (33.7%) |
| 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 (15.2%) |
Metaphilosophy: naturalism or non-naturalism?
| Accept or lean toward: naturalism | 912 / 1803 (50.5%) |
| Accept or lean toward: non-naturalism | 474 / 1803 (26.2%) |
| 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 (28.8%) |
| Other | 301 / 1803 (16.6%) |
Moral judgment: cognitivism or non-cognitivism?
| Accept or lean toward: cognitivism | 1132 / 1803 (62.7%) |
| Accept or lean toward: non-cognitivism | 340 / 1803 (18.8%) |
| Other | 331 / 1803 (18.3%) |
Moral motivation: internalism or externalism?
| Accept or lean toward: internalism | 654 / 1803 (36.2%) |
| Other | 620 / 1803 (34.3%) |
| Accept or lean toward: externalism | 529 / 1803 (29.3%) |
Newcomb’s problem: one box or two boxes?
| Other | 997 / 1803 (55.2%) |
| 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%) |
| Accept or lean toward: representationalism | 523 / 1803 (29%) |
| Accept or lean toward: qualia theory | 240 / 1803 (13.3%) |
| Accept or lean toward: disjunctivism | 221 / 1803 (12.2%) |
| Accept or lean toward: sense-datum theory | 79 / 1803 (4.3%) |
Personal identity: biological view, psychological view, or further-fact view?
| Other | 646 / 1803 (35.8%) |
| Accept or lean toward: psychological view | 620 / 1803 (34.3%) |
| Accept or lean toward: biological view | 325 / 1803 (18%) |
| Accept or lean toward: further-fact view | 212 / 1803 (11.7%) |
Politics: communitarianism, egalitarianism, or libertarianism?
| Other | 672 / 1803 (37.2%) |
| Accept or lean toward: egalitarianism | 595 / 1803 (33%) |
| 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 (38.4%) |
| Accept or lean toward: Millian | 558 / 1803 (30.9%) |
| Accept or lean toward: Fregean | 551 / 1803 (30.5%) |
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 (13.9%) |
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 (61.3%) |
| Accept or lean toward: B-theory | 408 / 1803 (22.6%) |
| Accept or lean toward: A-theory | 288 / 1803 (15.9%) |
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%) |
| 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%) |
| Other | 310 / 1803 (17.1%) |
| Accept or lean toward: epistemic | 196 / 1803 (10.8%) |
Zombies: inconceivable, conceivable but not metaphysically possible, or metaphysically possible?
| Accept or lean toward: conceivable but not metaphysically possible | 631 / 1803 (34.9%) |
| Accept or lean toward: metaphysically possible | 434 / 1803 (24%) |
| Other | 420 / 1803 (23.2%) |
| Accept or lean toward: inconceivable | 318 / 1803 (17.6%) |
Any survey that asks about zombies must be an important study.
Very interesting Jon, thanks for posting. I have two questions, however.
1) I find the comparison between the God question and the Mind question quite intriguing. The 16% gap between those who identify as Atheists (70%) and Physicalism (54%) is surprising to me. That gap is completely represented in the Mind-Other category. However, without belief in a soul, what’s left for the “Others”? Emergent Determinism? That’s still Physicalism in my opinion. Some sort of Quantum Theory of the Mind? Either way, I would have thought those two answers would have correlated much closer to each other than what’s actually represented.
2) I’m not a philosophy major by any means, so I need some help. What “Other” option is actually available in the Trolley Question? In its simplest form, I always thought the answer had to be mutually exclusive? One or the other? I guess I was wrong! Thanks.