Survey Results

Method in political philosophy (which do you prefer?): ideal theory or non-ideal theory?

Population

AOS

Region

for

Exclude answers beyond respondent's first 50

Include skip/insufficiently familiar answers

786 respondents

What the percentages mean: "Accept or lean toward P: 50% (40%)" means that 50% of respondents endorsed this answer inclusively (including multiple-answer endorsements) and 40% endorsed this answer exclusively (excluding multiple-answer endorsements).

These results should not be used for comparison to 2009 results due to different populations and parameters. For meaningful longitudinal comparisons, see the longitudinal analysis section.

Collapse accept and lean towards

Accept or lean towards:
ideal theory

32.44% (22.39%)

Reject or lean against:
ideal theory

0.13% (0.00%)

Accept or lean towards:
non-ideal theory

58.02% (47.96%)

Reject or lean against:
non-ideal theory

0.00% (0.00%)

Accept a combination of views

10.81%

Accept an alternative view

3.18%

The question is too unclear to answer

2.93%

There is no fact of the matter

2.04%

Agnostic/undecided

9.54%

Other

1.15%

N = 786, excluding skipped & insufficiently familiar (358 respondents)

Alternative Views

36 target respondents indicated that they accept or lean toward an alternative view. The words used in their responses cluster as follows. These results are not filtered by AOS, region, etc.

BOTH (13): both (13)
PLAC (6): place (6)
DIFF (3): different (3)
REQU (3): require (2) required (1)
EACH (3): each (3)

Longitudinal comparison to 2009 survey

This question was not in the 2009 survey

Strongest correlations with main questions (target population)

r: 0.28	Moral principles: moral generalism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	150	55
Reject	178	173

n: 556

p < 0.0001

r: 0.26	Practical reason: Kantian
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	61	115
Reject	43	276

n: 495

p < 0.0001

r: 0.24	Method in history of philosophy: analytic/rational reconstruction
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	147	37
Reject	186	143

n: 513

p < 0.0001

r: 0.24	Philosophical methods: intuition-based philosophy
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	160	81
Reject	193	243

n: 677

p < 0.0001

r: 0.22	Meaning of life: objective
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	109	105
Reject	135	236

n: 585

p < 0.0001

r: -0.21	Philosophical methods: empirical philosophy
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	134	107
Reject	304	132

n: 677

p < 0.0001

r: 0.2	Meta-ethics: moral realism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	189	49
Reject	272	148

n: 658

p < 0.0001

r: 0.2	A priori knowledge: yes
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	201	42
Reject	316	117

n: 676

p < 0.0001

r: -0.2	Metaphilosophy: naturalism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	90	109
Reject	236	141

n: 576

p < 0.0001

r: 0.19	Logic: classical
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	123	48
Reject	178	137

n: 486

p < 0.0001

r: 0.19	Values in science: necessarily value-free
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	44	135
Reject	51	314

n: 544

p < 0.0001

r: 0.19	Aesthetic value: objective
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	133	83
Reject	170	218

n: 604

p < 0.0001

r: 0.19	Wittgenstein: early
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	58	112
Reject	63	261

n: 494

p < 0.0001

r: 0.19	Rational disagreement: non-permissivism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	51	132
Reject	59	294

n: 536

p < 0.0001

r: -0.19	Values in science: necessarily value-laden
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	64	115
Reject	200	165

n: 544

p < 0.0001

r: -0.18	Knowledge: empiricism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	96	99
Reject	227	131

n: 553

p < 0.0001

r: 0.17	Concepts: nativism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	60	81
Reject	82	204

n: 427

p: 0.0003

r: 0.17	Foundations of mathematics: set-theoretic
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	25	80
Reject	23	183

n: 311

p: 0.0031

r: 0.16	Knowledge claims: invariantism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	79	120
Reject	94	282

n: 575

p < 0.0001

r: 0.16	Abstract objects: Platonism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	112	106
Reject	137	233

n: 588

p < 0.0001

r: 0.16	Analytic-synthetic distinction: yes
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	166	59
Reject	263	168

n: 656

p < 0.0001

r: 0.16	Hard problem of consciousness: yes
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	147	48
Reject	205	139

n: 539

p: 0.0003

r: 0.16	True contradictions: impossible
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	136	40
Reject	220	94

n: 490

p: 0.0006

r: -0.15	Response to external-world skepticism: pragmatic
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	32	133
Reject	103	209

n: 477

p: 0.0007

r: 0.15	Metaontology: heavyweight realism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	61	59
Reject	96	142

n: 358

p: 0.0038

r: -0.15	Propositions: nonexistent
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	16	114
Reject	56	206

n: 392

p: 0.0025

r: 0.15	Normative ethics: deontology
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	121	114
Reject	138	257

n: 630

p < 0.0001

r: -0.15	True contradictions: actual
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	23	153
Reject	53	261

n: 490

p: 0.0008

r: 0.15	Propositions: structured entities
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	64	67
Reject	87	176

n: 394

p: 0.0034

r: -0.15	Mind: physicalism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	107	113
Reject	245	163

n: 628

p: 0.0002

r: 0.15	Gender categories: eliminate
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	42	141
Reject	57	304

n: 544

p: 0.0006

r: -0.14	Philosophical methods: experimental philosophy
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	71	170
Reject	165	271

n: 677

p: 0.0002

r: 0.14	Personal identity: further-fact view
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	46	157
Reject	57	288

n: 548

p: 0.0008

r: 0.14	Properties: transcendent universals
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	34	95
Reject	43	203

n: 375

p: 0.0057

r: 0.14	Moral judgment: cognitivism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	200	37
Reject	296	116

n: 649

p: 0.0003

r: -0.14	Practical reason: Humean
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	49	129
Reject	112	208

n: 498

p: 0.0018

r: 0.14	Aim of philosophy: truth/knowledge
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	132	105
Reject	163	246

n: 646

p: 0.0004

r: 0.14	Continuum hypothesis: determinate
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	42	44
Reject	55	102

n: 243

p: 0.0312

r: 0.14	Justification: nonreliabilist foundationalism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	57	116
Reject	74	231

n: 478

p: 0.0029

r: -0.14	Normative ethics: virtue ethics
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	81	152
Reject	189	205

n: 627

p: 0.0006

r: -0.13	Extended mind: yes
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	97	76
Reject	193	136

n: 502

p: 0.0026

r: 0.13	Response to external-world skepticism: abductive
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	52	112
Reject	66	242

n: 472

p: 0.0051

r: -0.13	Laws of nature: Humean
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	55	153
Reject	133	252

n: 593

p: 0.0023

r: -0.12	Meaning of life: subjective
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	81	132
Reject	163	209

n: 585

p: 0.0026

r: 0.12	Truth: correspondence
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	137	74
Reject	202	189

n: 602

p: 0.0032

r: -0.12	Normative concepts: fit
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	9	165
Reject	40	266

n: 480

p: 0.0107

r: -0.12	Knowledge claims: contextualism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	102	98
Reject	231	147

n: 578

p: 0.0054

r: 0.11	Response to external-world skepticism: contextualist
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	25	138
Reject	36	269

n: 468

p: 0.0131

r: 0.11	Grounds of intentionality: primitive
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	21	105
Reject	31	212

n: 369

p: 0.0294

r: 0.11	Ought implies can: yes
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	149	59
Reject	246	136

n: 590

p: 0.0071

r: 0.11	Philosophical knowledge: a lot
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	134	68
Reject	219	159

n: 580

p: 0.0077

r: 0.11	Morality: non-naturalism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	68	130
Reject	88	279

n: 565

p: 0.0097

r: 0.11	Interlevel metaphysics: supervenience
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	42	81
Reject	52	184

n: 359

p: 0.0398

r: 0.11	Immortality: yes
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	108	97
Reject	160	210

n: 575

p: 0.0101

r: 0.11	Science: scientific realism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	186	41
Reject	301	99

n: 627

p: 0.0083

r: 0.1	Philosophical methods: linguistic philosophy
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	128	113
Reject	194	242

n: 677

p: 0.0066

r: 0.1	Free will: libertarianism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	59	183
Reject	80	349

n: 671

p: 0.011

r: 0.1	Political philosophy: egalitarianism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	121	84
Reject	197	185

n: 587

p: 0.0175

r: -0.1	Morality: error theory
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	9	190
Reject	18	348

n: 565

p: 0.0214

r: 0.1	Theory of reference: causal
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	78	70
Reject	130	143

n: 421

p: 0.0488

r: 0.1	Consciousness: dualism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	48	127
Reject	77	251

n: 503

p: 0.0317

r: 0.1	Arguments for theism: moral
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	27	140
Reject	29	292

n: 488

p: 0.0355

r: 0.09	Causation: primitive
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	41	125
Reject	57	238

n: 461

p: 0.0444

r: -0.09	Truth: deflationary
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	46	165
Reject	116	274

n: 601

p: 0.0251

r: -0.09	Morality: constructivism
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	45	153
Reject	100	269

n: 567

p: 0.0348

r: -0.09	Practical reason: Aristotelian
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	65	112
Reject	142	178

n: 497

p: 0.05

r: -0.08	Race: social
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	153	63
Reject	305	102

n: 623

p: 0.0381

r: -0.08	Philosophical progress: none
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	7	236
Reject	21	409

n: 673

p: 0.032

r: 0.08	Philosophical methods: conceptual analysis
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Accept	Reject
Accept	195	46
Reject	306	130

n: 677

p: 0.0385

Strongest correlations with demographic questions (target population)

r: 0.21	Philosopher: Rawls
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	26	164
Reject	13	342

n: 545

p < 0.0001

r: 0.18	Philosopher: Kant
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	45	145
Reject	40	315

n: 545

p < 0.0001

r: -0.14	Philosopher: Hume
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	21	169
Reject	71	284

n: 545

p: 0.001

r: -0.14	Philosopher: Quine
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	7	183
Reject	34	321

n: 545

p: 0.0015

r: 0.13	Philosopher: Sidgwick
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	5	185
Reject	2	353

n: 545

p: 0.0021

r: 0.13	AOS: Normative Ethics
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	90	159
Reject	109	340

n: 698

p: 0.0006

r: 0.13	Philosopher: Parfit
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	16	174
Reject	12	343

n: 545

p: 0.0025

r: -0.12	AOS: Philosophy of Cognitive Science
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	14	235
Reject	49	400

n: 698

p: 0.002

r: 0.11	Philosopher: Descartes
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	12	178
Reject	9	346

n: 545

p: 0.0132

r: -0.09	Gender: female
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	43	205
Reject	103	341

n: 692

p: 0.0162

r: 0.09	Gender: male
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	204	44
Reject	339	105

n: 692

p: 0.0164

r: -0.09	Philosopher: Wittgenstein
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	12	178
Reject	41	314

n: 545

p: 0.0338

r: -0.08	AOS: Logic and Philosophy of Logic
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	11	238
Reject	36	413

n: 698

p: 0.025

r: -0.08	AOS: Feminist Philosophy
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	14	235
Reject	34	415

n: 698

p: 0.0285

r: 0.08	AOS: Philosophy of Law
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	18	231
Reject	15	434

n: 698

p: 0.029

r: -0.08	AOS: Philosophy of Gender, Race, and Sexuality
Method in political philosophy: ideal theory	Yes	No
Accept	8	241
Reject	22	427

n: 698

p: 0.0304