What do philosophers believe?

Abstract

What are the philosophical views of contemporary professional philosophers? We surveyed many professional philosophers in order to help determine their views on 30 central philosophical issues. This article documents the results. It also reveals correlations among philosophical views and between these views and factors such as age, gender, and nationality. A factor analysis suggests that an individual’s views on these issues factor into a few underlying components that predict much of the variation in those views. The results of a metasurvey also suggest that many of the results of the survey are surprising: philosophers as a whole have quite inaccurate beliefs about the distribution of philosophical views in the profession.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Detailed survey results

The following tables show the main answers of the 931 target faculty participants with a 95% confidence interval. We show the aggregate percentage of respondents for each of the main available position, with a breakdown of the specific options. Options that did not reach 2% are omitted.

A priori knowledge: yes or no?
Yes	71.1 ± 1.7 %	Accept (50.8 %), Lean toward (20.3 %)
No	18.4 ± 0.9 %	Lean toward (12.1 %), Accept (6.2 %)
Other	10.5 ± 0.7 %	The question is too unclear to answer (4.6 %)
Abstract objects: Platonism or nominalism?
Platonism	39.3 ± 1.3 %	Accept (19.8 %), Lean toward (19.5 %)
Nominalism	37.7 ± 1.3 %	Lean toward (22.6 %), Accept (15.1 %)
Other	23.0 ± 1.0 %	Agnostic/undecided (5.0 %), Accept another alternative (4.9 %), Reject both (3.7 %), Insufficiently familiar with the issue (2.8 %), Accept an intermediate view (2.3 %), The question is too unclear to answer (2.0 %)
Aesthetic value: objective or subjective?
Objective	41.0 ± 1.3 %	Lean toward (27.1 %), Accept (14.0 %)
Subjective	34.5 ± 1.2 %	Lean toward (19.4 %), Accept (15.0 %)
Other	24.5 ± 1.0 %	Accept an intermediate view (6.6 %), The question is too unclear to answer (4.5 %), Agnostic/undecided (3.2 %), Insufficiently familiar with the issue (3.1 %), Accept another alternative (2.6 %), Accept both (2.6 %)
Analytic–synthetic distinction: yes or no?
Yes	64.9 ± 1.6 %	Accept (36.8 %), Lean toward (28.0 %)
No	27.1 ± 1.1 %	Lean toward (14.6 %), Accept (12.5 %)
Other	8.1 ± 0.6 %	The question is too unclear to answer (2.5 %)
Epistemic justification: internalism or externalism?
Externalism	42.7 ± 1.3 %	Lean toward (26.7 %), Accept (16.0 %)
Other	30.8 ± 1.1 %	Accept an intermediate view (6.9 %), Agnostic/undecided (6.0 %), Insufficiently familiar with the issue (4.7 %), Accept both (4.6 %), The question is too unclear to answer (3.0 %), Accept another alternative (2.1 %)
Internalism	26.4 ± 1.1 %	Lean toward (17.3 %), Accept (9.1 %)
External world: idealism, skepticism, or non-skeptical realism?
Non-skeptical realism	81.6 ± 1.8 %	Accept (61.4 %), Lean toward (20.2 %)
Other	9.2 ± 0.6 %	Accept another alternative (2.6 %)
Skepticism	4.8 ± 0.5 %	Lean toward (3.0 %), Accept (1.8 %)
Idealism	4.3 ± 0.4 %	Lean toward (2.7 %), Accept (1.6 %)
Free will: compatibilism, libertarianism, or no free will?
Compatibilism	59.1 ± 1.6 %	Accept (34.8 %), Lean toward (24.3 %)
Other	14.9 ± 0.8 %	Agnostic/undecided (4.1 %), The question is too unclear to answer (2.8 %)
Libertarianism	13.7 ± 0.8 %	Accept (7.7 %), Lean toward (6.0 %)
No free will	12.2 ± 0.7 %	Lean toward (6.6 %), Accept (5.7 %)
God: theism or atheism?
Atheism	72.8 ± 1.7 %	Accept (61.9 %), Lean toward (11.0 %)
Theism	14.6 ± 0.8 %	Accept (10.6 %), Lean toward (4.0 %)
Other	12.6 ± 0.7 %	Agnostic/undecided (5.5 %)
Knowledge claims: contextualism, relativism, or invariantism?
Contextualism	40.1 ± 1.3 %	Lean toward (28.0 %), Accept (12.0 %)
Invariantism	31.1 ± 1.2 %	Lean toward (19.7 %), Accept (11.5 %)
Other	25.9 ± 1.1 %	Insufficiently familiar with the issue (9.0 %), Agnostic/undecided (5.7 %), The question is too unclear to answer (2.5 %)
Relativism	2.9 ± 0.4 %	Lean toward (1.7 %), Accept (1.2 %)
Knowledge: empiricism or rationalism?
Other	37.2 ± 1.3 %	Accept an intermediate view (11.4 %), The question is too unclear to answer (9.8 %), Accept both (6.3 %), Reject both (3.5 %), Accept another alternative (2.7 %)
Empiricism	35.0 ± 1.2 %	Lean toward (21.4 %), Accept (13.6 %)
Rationalism	27.8 ± 1.1 %	Lean toward (17.2 %), Accept (10.6 %)
Laws of nature: Humean or non-Humean?
Non-Humean	57.1 ± 1.5 %	Accept (29.2 %), Lean toward (27.9 %)
Humean	24.7 ± 1.0 %	Lean toward (16.0 %), Accept (8.7 %)
Other	18.2 ± 0.9 %	Agnostic/undecided (6.4 %), Insufficiently familiar with the issue (5.5 %)
Logic: classical or non-classical?
Classical	51.6 ± 1.5 %	Accept (27.6 %), Lean toward (24.0 %)
Other	33.1 ± 1.2 %	Insufficiently familiar with the issue (12.0 %), Agnostic/undecided (5.6 %), Accept both (5.2 %), The question is too unclear to answer (3.4 %), There is no fact of the matter (3.2 %)
Non-classical	15.4 ± 0.8 %	Lean toward (7.9 %), Accept (7.4 %)
Mental content: internalism or externalism?
Externalism	51.1 ± 1.5 %	Lean toward (25.7 %), Accept (25.5 %)
Other	28.9 ± 1.1 %	Insufficiently familiar with the issue (5.7 %), Agnostic/undecided (5.6 %), Accept an intermediate view (4.4 %), Accept both (3.9 %), The question is too unclear to answer (3.0%), Accept another alternative (2.3%)
Internalism	20.0 ± 0.9 %	Lean toward (12.6%), Accept (7.4%)
Meta-Ethics: moral realism or moral anti-realism?
Moral realism	56.4 ± 1.5 %	Accept (32.2%), Lean toward (24.2%)
Moral anti-realism	27.7 ± 1.1 %	Lean toward (14.5%), Accept (13.2%)
Other	15.9 ± 0.8 %	The question is too unclear to answer (2.9%), Accept another alternative (2.7%), Agnostic/undecided (2.6 %), Accept an intermediate view (2.5 %), Insufficiently familiar with the issue (2.5 %)
Metaphilosophy: naturalism or non-naturalism?
Naturalism	49.8 ± 1.4 %	Accept (30.5 %), Lean toward (19.3 %)
Non-naturalism	25.9 ± 1.1 %	Accept (14.8 %), Lean toward (11.1 %)
Other	24.3 ± 1.0 %	The question is too unclear to answer (9.7 %), Insufficiently familiar with the issue (6.8 %), Agnostic/undecided (2.7 %)
Mind: physicalism or non-physicalism?
Physicalism	56.5 ± 1.5 %	Accept (34.6 %), Lean toward (21.9 %)
Non-physicalism	27.1 ± 1.1 %	Accept (14.2 %), Lean toward (12.9 %)
Other	16.4 ± 0.8 %	The question is too unclear to answer (6.3 %), Agnostic/undecided (2.5 %), Accept an intermediate view (2.4 %)
Moral judgment: cognitivism or non-cognitivism?
Cognitivism	65.7 ± 1.6 %	Accept (40.5 %), Lean toward (25.2 %)
Other	17.3 ± 0.9 %	Insufficiently familiar with the issue (4.7 %), Accept an intermediate view (4.0 %), Agnostic/undecided (2.1 %)
Non-cognitivism	17.0 ± 0.9 %	Lean toward (11.3 %), Accept (5.7 %)
Moral motivation: internalism or externalism?
Other	35.3 ± 1.2 %	Insufficiently familiar with the issue (14.8 %), Agnostic/undecided (6.0 %), The question is too unclear to answer (4.8 %), Accept an intermediate view (3.5 %), Skip (2.1 %)
Internalism	34.9 ± 1.2 %	Lean toward (22.0 %), Accept (12.9 %)
Externalism	29.8 ± 1.1 %	Lean toward (16.5 %), Accept (13.2 %)
Newcomb’s problem: one box or two boxes?
Other	47.4 ± 1.4 %	Insufficiently familiar with the issue (23.5 %), Agnostic/undecided (13.3 %), Skip (4.7 %), The question is too unclear to answer (2.0 %)
Two boxes	31.4 ± 1.2 %	Accept (20.5 %), Lean toward (10.8 %)
One box	21.3 ± 1.0 %	Accept (11.7 %), Lean toward (9.6 %)
Normative Ethics: deontology, consequentialism, or virtue ethics?
Other	32.3 ± 1.2 %	Accept more than one (8.4 %), Agnostic/undecided (5.2 %), Accept an intermediate view (4.0 %), Accept another alternative (3.5 %), Insufficiently familiar with the issue (3.3 %), Reject all (2.7 %)
Deontology	25.9 ± 1.1 %	Lean toward (16.0 %), Accept (9.9 %)
Consequentialism	23.6 ± 1.0 %	Lean toward (14.0 %), Accept (9.7 %)
Virtue ethics	18.2 ± 0.9 %	Lean toward (12.6 %), Accept (5.6 %)
Perceptual experience: disjunctivism, qualia theory, representationalism, or sense-datum theory?
Other	42.2 ± 1.3 %	Insufficiently familiar with the issue (16.2 %), Agnostic/undecided (8.4 %), Accept another alternative (3.9 %), Reject all (3.3 %), The question is too unclear to answer (2.6 %), Reject one or two, undecided between others (2.3 %), Skip (2.3 %)
Representationalism	31.5 ± 1.2 %	Lean toward (21.2 %), Accept (10.3 %)
Qualia theory	12.2 ± 0.7 %	Lean toward (9.0 %), Accept (3.2 %)
Disjunctivism	11.0 ± 0.7 %	Lean toward (7.4 %), Accept (3.5 %)
Sense-datum theory	3.1 ± 0.4 %	Lean toward (1.8 %), Accept (1.3 %)
Personal identity: biological view, psychological view, or further-fact view?
Other	37.3 ± 1.3 %	Agnostic/undecided (8.5 %), Insufficiently familiar with the issue (6.2 %), There is no fact of the matter (4.2 %), Accept more than one (4.0 %), Accept another alternative (3.9 %), The question is too unclear to answer (2.8 %), Accept an intermediate view (2.7 %), Reject all (2.6 %)
Psychological view	33.6 ± 1.2 %	Lean toward (22.7 %), Accept (11.0 %)
Biological view	16.9 ± 0.9 %	Lean toward (11.3 %), Accept (5.6 %)
Further-fact view	12.2 ± 0.7 %	Lean toward (7.8 %), Accept (4.4 %)
Politics: communitarianism, egalitarianism, or libertarianism?
Other	41.0 ± 1.3 %	Insufficiently familiar with the issue (10.7 %), Agnostic/undecided (5.5 %), The question is too unclear to answer (4.5 %), Accept more than one (4.0 %), Accept another alternative (4.0 %), Accept an intermediate view (3.8 %), Reject all (3.4 %), Skip (2.0 %)
Egalitarianism	34.8 ± 1.2 %	Lean toward (20.5 %), Accept (14.3 %)
Communitarianism	14.3 ± 0.8 %	Lean toward (11.6 %), Accept (2.7 %)
Libertarianism	9.9 ± 0.7 %	Lean toward (7.0 %), Accept (2.9 %)
Proper names: Fregean or Millian?
Other	36.8 ± 1.3 %	Insufficiently familiar with the issue (13.7 %), Agnostic/undecided (6.3 %), Accept an intermediate view (4.2 %), Accept another alternative (3.4 %), The question is too unclear to answer (2.6 %), Reject both (2.4 %)
Millian	34.5 ± 1.2 %	Lean toward (18.7 %), Accept (15.8 %)
Fregean	28.7 ± 1.1 %	Lean toward (18.0 %), Accept (10.6 %)
Science: scientific realism or scientific anti-realism?
Scientific realism	75.1 ± 1.7 %	Accept (47.0 %), Lean toward (28.0 %)
Other	13.3 ± 0.8 %	Accept an intermediate view (3.2 %), The question is too unclear to answer (2.5 %), Insufficiently familiar with the issue (2.0 %)
Scientific anti-realism	11.6 ± 0.7 %	Lean toward (8.3 %), Accept (3.3 %)
Teletransporter: survival or death?
Survival	36.2 ± 1.2 %	Lean toward (22.7 %), Accept (13.5 %)
Other	32.7 ± 1.2 %	Insufficiently familiar with the issue (9.2 %), Agnostic/undecided (8.6 %), There is no fact of the matter (6.0 %), The question is too unclear to answer (3.7 %), Skip (2.0 %)
Death	31.1 ± 1.2 %	Accept (17.4 %), Lean toward (13.7 %)
Time: A- or B-theory?
Other	58.2 ± 1.6 %	Insufficiently familiar with the issue (30.8 %), Agnostic/undecided (10.5 %), Skip (5.7 %), Accept both (3.1 %), The question is too unclear to answer (2.0 %)
B-theory	26.3 ± 1.1 %	Accept (15.8 %), Lean toward (10.5 %)
A-theory	15.5 ± 0.8 %	Lean toward (9.5 %), Accept (6.0 %)
Trolley problem: switch or don’t switch?
Switch	68.2 ± 1.7 %	Accept (45.1 %), Lean toward (23.1 %)
Other	24.2 ± 1.0 %	Agnostic/undecided (6.4 %), Insufficiently familiar with the issue (4.5 %), There is no fact of the matter (3.7 %), The question is too unclear to answer (2.9 %)
Don’t switch	7.6 ± 0.6 %	Lean toward (4.8 %), Accept (2.8 %)
Truth: correspondence, deflationary, or epistemic?
Correspondence	50.8 ± 1.5 %	Accept (26.2 %), Lean toward (24.6 %)
Deflationary	24.8 ± 1.0 %	Lean toward (15.8 %), Accept (9.0 %)
Other	17.5 ± 0.9 %	Agnostic/undecided (3.4 %), Insufficiently familiar with the issue (3.0 %), Reject all (2.5 %), Accept another alternative (2.1 %)
Epistemic	6.9 ± 0.5 %	Lean toward (5.0 %), Accept (1.8 %)
Zombies: inconceivable, conceivable but not metaphysically possible, or metaphysically possible?
Conceivable but not metaphysically possible	35.6 ± 1.2 %	Lean toward (20.5 %), Accept (15.0 %)
Other	25.1 ± 1.0 %	Insufficiently familiar with the issue (9.0 %), Agnostic/undecided (6.6 %), The question is too unclear to answer (4.3 %)
Metaphysically possible	23.3 ± 1.0 %	Accept (12.4 %), Lean toward (11.0 %)
Inconceivable	16.0 ± 0.8 %	Lean toward (8.8 %), Accept (7.2 %)

Appendix 2: details of principal component analysis and factor analysis

See Fig. 5 and Table18.

Fig. 5

Parallel analysis screen plots

Table 18 SS loadings and variance explained by rotated principal components