PhilPapers Survey 2020
PhilPapers1,785 respondents · 2020 · View source · 98 questions
The PhilPapers Survey studies the philosophical views of professional philosophers and graduate students. First conducted in 2009 and repeated in 2020, it surveyed 7,685 respondents from philosophy departments worldwide on over 30 major philosophical questions. Topics include free will, consciousness, moral realism, knowledge, personal identity, and the nature of reality. Respondents indicate their acceptance, rejection, or uncertainty on each philosophical position.
Alignment 67
Consensus 57
Confidence 60
Sort by
AI
Human
55%
Yes
73%
29%
No
18%
16%
Other
9%
Alignment 82
Consensus 33
Confidence 43
AI
Human
29%
Platonism
38%
45%
Nominalism
42%
26%
Other
20%
Alignment 91
Consensus 17
Confidence 41
AI
Human
3%
Objective
42%
92%
Subjective
39%
5%
Other
18%
Alignment 47
Consensus 88
Confidence 83
AI
Human
24%
Truth Knowledge
24%
18%
Understanding
32%
50%
Wisdom
18%
3%
Happiness
7%
3%
Goodness Justice
13%
3%
Other
6%
Alignment 68
Consensus 40
Confidence 60
AI
Human
68%
Yes
62%
8%
No
26%
24%
Other
12%
Alignment 82
Consensus 53
Confidence 43
AI
Human
42%
Omnivorism (eating both permissible)
47%
5%
Vegetarianism (eating animals not permissible)
26%
13%
Veganism (eating neither permissible)
18%
39%
Other
10%
Alignment 70
Consensus 23
Confidence 55
AI
Human
21%
Internalism
34%
66%
Externalism
48%
13%
Other
17%
Alignment 83
Consensus 49
Confidence 58
AI
Human
16%
Yes
13%
61%
No
77%
24%
Other
10%
Alignment 84
Consensus 41
Confidence 63
AI
Human
5%
Idealism
7%
3%
Skepticism
5%
84%
Non Skeptical Realism
78%
8%
Other
10%
Alignment 94
Consensus 79
Confidence 95
AI
Human
8%
Push
22%
87%
Don't push
56%
5%
Other
22%
Alignment 69
Consensus 80
Confidence 48
AI
Human
69%
Compatibilism
59%
0%
Libertarianism
19%
26%
No free will
11%
5%
Other
11%
Alignment 75
Consensus 59
Confidence 68
AI
Human
11%
Biological
22%
0%
Psychological
16%
16%
Social
48%
11%
Unreal
3%
63%
Other
11%
Alignment 41
Consensus 54
Confidence 60
AI
Human
5%
Theism
19%
16%
Atheism
67%
78%
Other
14%
Alignment 36
Consensus 68
Confidence 66
AI
Human
81%
Contextualism
54%
3%
Relativism
5%
11%
Invariantism
25%
5%
Other
16%
Alignment 73
Consensus 75
Confidence 68
AI
Human
70%
Empiricism
42%
5%
Rationalism
32%
24%
Other
26%
Alignment 72
Consensus 55
Confidence 41
AI
Human
51%
Humean
31%
35%
Non Humean
54%
14%
Other
15%
Alignment 80
Consensus 27
Confidence 42
AI
Human
73%
Classical
51%
16%
Non Classical
25%
11%
Other
23%
Alignment 78
Consensus 59
Confidence 44
AI
Human
89%
Subjective
31%
0%
Objective
31%
0%
Nonexistent
15%
11%
Other
23%
Alignment 42
Consensus 86
Confidence 68
AI
Human
17%
Internalism
25%
69%
Externalism
56%
14%
Other
19%
Alignment 86
Consensus 54
Confidence 47
AI
Human
24%
Moral Realism
62%
41%
Moral Anti Realism
26%
35%
Other
12%
Alignment 62
Consensus 11
Confidence 42
AI
Human
89%
Naturalism
50%
5%
Non Naturalism
31%
5%
Other
19%
Alignment 61
Consensus 84
Confidence 87
AI
Human
86%
Physicalism
52%
8%
Non-physicalism
32%
6%
Other
16%
Alignment 66
Consensus 79
Confidence 84
AI
Human
81%
Cognitivism
69%
3%
Non Cognitivism
21%
17%
Other
10%
Alignment 82
Consensus 71
Confidence 77
AI
Human
57%
Internalism
40%
32%
Externalism
38%
11%
Other
22%
Alignment 83
Consensus 35
Confidence 49
AI
Human
82%
One Box
31%
13%
Two Boxes
39%
5%
Other
30%
Alignment 49
Consensus 73
Confidence 57
AI
Human
27%
Deontology
27%
51%
Consequentialism
26%
14%
Virtue ethics
31%
8%
Other
15%
Alignment 75
Consensus 35
Confidence 42
AI
Human
13%
Disjunctivism
15%
0%
Qualia Theory
15%
69%
Representationalism
38%
0%
Sense Datum Theory
5%
18%
Other
27%
Alignment 69
Consensus 62
Confidence 69
AI
Human
11%
Biological view
18%
57%
Psychological view
42%
8%
Further-fact view
14%
24%
Other
26%
Alignment 85
Consensus 42
Confidence 63
AI
Human
3%
None
4%
76%
A Little
46%
22%
A Lot
41%
0%
Other
8%
Alignment 71
Consensus 68
Confidence 66
AI
Human
14%
Communitarianism
26%
35%
Egalitarianism
42%
19%
Libertarianism
13%
32%
Other
19%
Alignment 81
Consensus 14
Confidence 58
AI
Human
35%
Fregean
36%
51%
Millian
39%
14%
Other
25%
Alignment 87
Consensus 27
Confidence 36
AI
Human
3%
Biological
17%
89%
Social
57%
0%
Unreal
14%
8%
Other
12%
Alignment 68
Consensus 86
Confidence 85
AI
Human
86%
Scientific Realism
72%
5%
Scientific Anti Realism
15%
8%
Other
13%
Alignment 86
Consensus 80
Confidence 64
AI
Human
46%
Survival
35%
46%
Death
40%
8%
Other
25%
Alignment 83
Consensus 19
Confidence 43
AI
Human
5%
A Theory
27%
84%
B Theory
38%
11%
Other
36%
Alignment 54
Consensus 76
Confidence 78
AI
Human
92%
Switch
63%
5%
Don't switch
13%
3%
Other
23%
Alignment 71
Consensus 88
Confidence 88
AI
Human
68%
Correspondence
50%
19%
Deflationary
24%
8%
Epistemic
10%
5%
Other
16%
Alignment 82
Consensus 57
Confidence 66
AI
Human
14%
Epistemic
21%
0%
Metaphysical
18%
84%
Semantic
46%
3%
Other
14%
Alignment 62
Consensus 78
Confidence 82
AI
Human
8%
Inconceivable
16%
87%
Conceivable but not metaphysically possible
37%
5%
Metaphysically possible
24%
0%
Other
23%
Alignment 49
Consensus 83
Confidence 74
AI
Human
59%
Permissible
82%
0%
Impermissible
13%
41%
Other
5%
Alignment 65
Consensus 39
Confidence 68
AI
Human
15%
Perception
27%
0%
Pleasure
14%
79%
Sui Generis
36%
5%
Other
23%
Alignment 56
Consensus 73
Confidence 59
AI
Human
28%
Justified True Belief
24%
64%
Other Analysis
32%
8%
No Analysis
31%
0%
Other
14%
Alignment 63
Consensus 52
Confidence 54
AI
Human
70%
Cosmological
22%
19%
Design
18%
0%
Ontological
9%
0%
Pragmatic
15%
3%
Moral
10%
8%
Other
26%
Alignment 51
Consensus 64
Confidence 61
AI
Human
16%
Belief
30%
78%
Credence
31%
5%
Neither
19%
0%
Other
19%
Alignment 53
Consensus 71
Confidence 72
AI
Human
3%
Permissible
18%
62%
Impermissible
75%
35%
Other
7%
Alignment 72
Consensus 43
Confidence 60
AI
Human
84%
Counterfactual Difference Making
35%
8%
Process Production
21%
3%
Primitive
20%
3%
Nonexistent
4%
3%
Other
20%
Alignment 52
Consensus 80
Confidence 67
AI
Human
5%
Understands
18%
79%
Doesn't understand
67%
15%
Other
15%
Alignment 87
Consensus 69
Confidence 70
AI
Human
8%
Nativism
27%
84%
Empiricism
49%
8%
Other
24%
Alignment 65
Consensus 76
Confidence 62
AI
Human
3%
Dualism
21%
3%
Eliminativism
4%
84%
Functionalism
32%
0%
Identity theory
13%
8%
Panpsychism
7%
3%
Other
22%
Alignment 47
Consensus 81
Confidence 84
AI
Human
5%
Determinate
38%
95%
Indeterminate
29%
0%
Other
34%
Alignment 34
Consensus 92
Confidence 58
AI
Human
3%
Design
17%
70%
Multiverse
15%
8%
Brute Fact
31%
0%
No Fine Tuning
21%
19%
Other
17%
Alignment 42
Consensus 63
Confidence 63
AI
Human
22%
Anthropocentric
41%
62%
Non Anthropocentric
50%
16%
Other
9%
Alignment 80
Consensus 43
Confidence 44
AI
Human
86%
Yes
51%
0%
No
37%
14%
Other
12%
Alignment 63
Consensus 80
Confidence 58
AI
Human
22%
Constructivism Intuitionism
15%
43%
Formalism
6%
0%
Logicism
11%
30%
Structuralism
20%
3%
Set Theoretic
15%
3%
Other
33%
Alignment 46
Consensus 32
Confidence 68
AI
Human
3%
Preserve
20%
84%
Revise
49%
3%
Eliminate
16%
11%
Other
15%
Alignment 66
Consensus 78
Confidence 79
AI
Human
30%
Causal Teleological
32%
22%
Inferential
9%
43%
Interpretational
14%
3%
Phenomenal
12%
0%
Primitive
13%
3%
Other
21%
Alignment 58
Consensus 32
Confidence 47
AI
Human
92%
Yes
62%
3%
No
30%
5%
Other
8%
Alignment 70
Consensus 88
Confidence 65
AI
Human
22%
Permissible
64%
5%
Impermissible
20%
73%
Other
16%
Alignment 43
Consensus 59
Confidence 70
AI
Human
43%
Skeptic
34%
27%
Naturalist
51%
30%
Other
15%
Alignment 76
Consensus 15
Confidence 44
AI
Human
27%
Yes
45%
19%
No
41%
54%
Other
14%
Alignment 60
Consensus 31
Confidence 46
AI
Human
68%
Grounding
25%
3%
Identity
10%
11%
Realization
18%
16%
Supervenience
22%
3%
Other
25%
Alignment 58
Consensus 59
Confidence 61
AI
Human
19%
Coherentism
22%
0%
Infinitism
2%
0%
Nonreliabilist Foundationalism
24%
78%
Reliabilism
32%
3%
Other
20%
Alignment 53
Consensus 73
Confidence 67
AI
Human
14%
One World
45%
81%
Two Worlds
35%
5%
Other
20%
Alignment 54
Consensus 72
Confidence 44
AI
Human
78%
Legal Positivism
39%
8%
Legal Non Positivism
45%
14%
Other
16%
Alignment 61
Consensus 68
Confidence 60
AI
Human
7%
Nihilism
8%
37%
Restrictivism
35%
41%
Universalism
27%
15%
Other
30%
Alignment 84
Consensus 21
Confidence 58
AI
Human
17%
Heavyweight Realism
39%
72%
Deflationary Realism
28%
3%
Anti Realism
12%
8%
Other
22%
Alignment 56
Consensus 63
Confidence 56
AI
Human
41%
Analytic Rational Reconstruction
52%
35%
Contextual Historicist
38%
24%
Other
10%
Alignment 86
Consensus 11
Confidence 41
AI
Human
11%
Ideal Theory
30%
73%
Non Ideal Theory
53%
16%
Other
17%
Alignment 80
Consensus 59
Confidence 53
AI
Human
53%
Survival
27%
18%
Death
54%
29%
Other
18%
Alignment 64
Consensus 29
Confidence 34
AI
Human
59%
Moral Generalism
54%
19%
Moral Particularism
33%
22%
Other
13%
Alignment 86
Consensus 39
Confidence 35
AI
Human
14%
Non Naturalism
25%
24%
Naturalist Realism
30%
54%
Constructivism
20%
0%
Expressivism
10%
0%
Error Theory
5%
8%
Other
11%
Alignment 65
Consensus 45
Confidence 53
AI
Human
3%
Fit
7%
24%
Ought
13%
49%
Reasons
23%
22%
Value
34%
3%
Other
23%
Alignment 63
Consensus 36
Confidence 63
AI
Human
95%
Yes
63%
0%
No
28%
5%
Other
9%
Alignment 68
Consensus 92
Confidence 63
AI
Human
13%
None
4%
23%
A Little
32%
62%
A Lot
56%
3%
Other
8%
Alignment 85
Consensus 49
Confidence 69
AI
Human
89%
Knowledge Only Of Forms
53%
8%
Knowledge Also Of Concrete Things
28%
3%
Other
19%
Alignment 63
Consensus 84
Confidence 74
AI
Human
19%
Capitalism
29%
0%
Socialism
52%
81%
Other
19%
Alignment 38
Consensus 72
Confidence 75
AI
Human
97%
Abstract
55%
0%
Concrete
5%
0%
Nonexistent
30%
3%
Other
11%
Alignment 57
Consensus 96
Confidence 90
AI
Human
19%
Aristotelian
37%
32%
Humean
29%
35%
Kantian
18%
14%
Other
15%
Alignment 80
Consensus 14
Confidence 43
AI
Human
22%
True
36%
8%
False
46%
70%
Other
18%
Alignment 48
Consensus 55
Confidence 48
AI
Human
41%
Classes
11%
35%
Immanent Universals
20%
0%
Transcendent Universals
19%
8%
Tropes
15%
5%
Nonexistent
8%
11%
Other
28%
Alignment 55
Consensus 29
Confidence 48
AI
Human
5%
Dispositional
29%
0%
Phenomenal
6%
86%
Representational
43%
3%
Nonexistent
3%
5%
Other
18%
Alignment 57
Consensus 83
Confidence 74
AI
Human
11%
Sets
8%
89%
Structured Entities
38%
0%
Simple Entities
7%
0%
Acts
8%
0%
Nonexistent
15%
0%
Other
24%
Alignment 46
Consensus 87
Confidence 76
AI
Human
5%
Collapse
17%
0%
Hidden Variables
21%
43%
Many Worlds
19%
38%
Epistemic
12%
14%
Other
31%
Alignment 50
Consensus 29
Confidence 57
AI
Human
0%
Preserve
8%
84%
Revise
32%
11%
Eliminate
40%
5%
Other
20%
Alignment 48
Consensus 78
Confidence 71
AI
Human
11%
Non Permissivism
19%
86%
Permissivism
70%
3%
Other
10%
Alignment 84
Consensus 80
Confidence 63
AI
Human
27%
Abductive
19%
8%
Contextualist
9%
3%
Dogmatist
12%
35%
Epistemic Externalist
17%
14%
Semantic Externalist
7%
11%
Pragmatic
20%
3%
Other
15%
Alignment 68
Consensus 24
Confidence 45
AI
Human
8%
Minimalism
9%
70%
Moderate Contextualism
52%
22%
Radical Contextualism
25%
0%
Other
13%
Alignment 82
Consensus 60
Confidence 67
AI
Human
87%
One Third
28%
10%
One Half
19%
3%
Other
54%
Alignment 41
Consensus 81
Confidence 63
AI
Human
38%
Relationism
45%
43%
Substantivalism
28%
19%
Other
27%
Alignment 84
Consensus 15
Confidence 42
AI
Human
5%
One Thing
30%
92%
Two Things
42%
3%
Other
28%
Alignment 50
Consensus 88
Confidence 68
AI
Human
22%
Presentism
18%
69%
Eternalism
40%
3%
Growing Block
17%
6%
Other
25%
Alignment 67
Consensus 59
Confidence 50
AI
Human
43%
Causal
44%
35%
Descriptive
21%
16%
Deflationary
14%
5%
Other
21%
Alignment 84
Consensus 24
Confidence 45
AI
Human
70%
Metaphysically possible
42%
11%
Metaphysically impossible
41%
19%
Other
17%
Alignment 70
Consensus 55
Confidence 51
AI
Human
86%
Impossible
71%
14%
Possible But Non Actual
5%
0%
Actual
12%
0%
Other
12%
Alignment 76
Consensus 82
Confidence 72
AI
Human
76%
Genes
40%
5%
Organisms
39%
19%
Other
21%
Alignment 64
Consensus 64
Confidence 47
AI
Human
5%
Necessarily Value Free
18%
32%
Necessarily Value Laden
44%
59%
Can Be Either
31%
3%
Other
7%
Alignment 72
Consensus 46
Confidence 66
AI
Human
14%
Hedonism Experientialism
12%
19%
Desire Satisfaction
18%
51%
Objective List
51%
16%
Other
19%
Alignment 97
Consensus 35
Confidence 52
AI
Human
3%
Early
25%
81%
Late
58%
16%
Other
17%
Alignment 77
Consensus 72
Confidence 75