Survey Results

Philosophical knowledge (is there any?): a little, none, or a lot?

Population

AOS

Region

for

Exclude answers beyond respondent's first 50

Include skip/insufficiently familiar answers

1110 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:
none

3.60% (3.60%)

Reject or lean against:
none

0.36% (0.00%)

Accept or lean towards:
a little

32.52% (32.07%)

Reject or lean against:
a little

0.00% (0.00%)

Accept or lean towards:
a lot

56.22% (55.68%)

Reject or lean against:
a lot

0.00% (0.00%)

Accept a combination of views

0.54%

Accept an alternative view

0.90%

The question is too unclear to answer

5.23%

There is no fact of the matter

0.18%

Agnostic/undecided

1.26%

Other

0.54%

N = 1110, excluding skipped & insufficiently familiar (55 respondents)

Most popular option combinations

Options	Number of responses	% of responses
Accept or lean towards: a little Accept or lean towards: a lot	5	0.45%
Accept or lean towards: a lot	1	0.09%

Longitudinal comparison to 2009 survey

This question was not in the 2009 survey

Strongest correlations with main questions (target population)

r: 0.47	Philosophical progress: a lot
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	398	200
Reject	72	316

n: 986

p < 0.0001

r: 0.44	Philosophical progress: a little
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	269	83
Reject	204	430

n: 986

p < 0.0001

r: -0.43	Philosophical progress: a lot
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	69	283
Reject	401	233

n: 986

p < 0.0001

r: 0.42	Philosophical progress: none
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	15	17
Reject	23	929

n: 984

p < 0.0001

r: -0.42	Philosophical progress: a little
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	192	406
Reject	281	107

n: 986

p < 0.0001

r: -0.25	Science: scientific realism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	15	18
Reject	734	167

n: 934

p < 0.0001

r: 0.23	Metaontology: anti-realism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	8	15
Reject	64	438

n: 525

p < 0.0001

r: -0.21	Method in history of philosophy: analytic/rational reconstruction
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	7	20
Reject	458	215

n: 700

p < 0.0001

r: 0.21	Response to external-world skepticism: pragmatic
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	11	11
Reject	155	525

n: 702

p < 0.0001

r: -0.18	A priori knowledge: yes
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	18	18
Reject	753	193

n: 982

p < 0.0001

r: -0.18	Metaontology: anti-realism
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	30	291
Reject	42	163

n: 526

p < 0.0001

r: 0.18	Zombies: inconceivable
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	12	14
Reject	140	684

n: 850

p < 0.0001

r: -0.17	Philosophical progress: none
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	8	590
Reject	30	358

n: 986

p < 0.0001

r: 0.17	Metaontology: heavyweight realism
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	167	155
Reject	79	128

n: 529

p < 0.0001

r: 0.16	External world: skepticism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	6	27
Reject	56	878

n: 967

p < 0.0001

r: -0.15	Analytic-synthetic distinction: yes
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	18	19
Reject	629	291

n: 957

p < 0.0001

r: 0.15	Propositions: nonexistent
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	8	9
Reject	97	479

n: 593

p: 0.0002

r: 0.15	Morality: error theory
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	5	24
Reject	40	715

n: 784

p < 0.0001

r: 0.15	Method in history of philosophy: analytic/rational reconstruction
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	305	119
Reject	162	116

n: 702

p < 0.0001

r: 0.15	True contradictions: actual
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	6	19
Reject	83	611

n: 719

p < 0.0001

r: 0.15	A priori knowledge: yes
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	493	106
Reject	279	106

n: 984

p < 0.0001

r: 0.15	Justification: coherentism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	11	11
Reject	166	493

n: 681

p < 0.0001

r: -0.14	Meta-ethics: moral realism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	14	18
Reject	645	264

n: 941

p < 0.0001

r: -0.14	Race categories: eliminate
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	92	142
Reject	212	224

n: 670

p: 0.0004

r: -0.13	Truth: correspondence
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	8	24
Reject	510	334

n: 876

p < 0.0001

r: 0.13	Metaontology: anti-realism
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	34	149
Reject	38	305

n: 526

p: 0.0021

r: -0.13	True contradictions: possible but non-actual
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	16	426
Reject	20	259

n: 721

p: 0.0004

r: -0.13	Theory of reference: deflationary
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	52	338
Reject	50	195

n: 635

p: 0.0008

r: -0.13	Abstract objects: Platonism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	5	26
Reject	381	455

n: 867

p < 0.0001

r: 0.13	Values in science: necessarily value-laden
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	21	10
Reject	321	409

n: 761

p: 0.0003

r: 0.13	Chinese room: understands
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	7	15
Reject	136	587

n: 745

p: 0.0004

r: -0.13	Foundations of mathematics: constructivism/intuitionism
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	42	236
Reject	34	124

n: 436

p: 0.0066

r: -0.13	Moral judgment: cognitivism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	18	14
Reject	682	211

n: 925

p < 0.0001

r: 0.13	Cosmological fine-tuning: no fine-tuning
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	9	12
Reject	129	469

n: 619

p: 0.0012

r: 0.13	True contradictions: possible but non-actual
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	18	233
Reject	18	452

n: 721

p: 0.0005

r: 0.13	Belief or credence: neither
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	10	7
Reject	117	460

n: 594

p: 0.0017

r: 0.13	Foundations of mathematics: constructivism/intuitionism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	8	13
Reject	68	346

n: 435

p: 0.0076

r: -0.13	True contradictions: impossible
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	16	9
Reject	540	154

n: 719

p: 0.0006

r: 0.13	Theory of reference: deflationary
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	9	16
Reject	92	517

n: 634

p: 0.0013

r: -0.12	Philosophical methods: intuition-based philosophy
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	14	25
Reject	513	421

n: 973

p < 0.0001

r: 0.12	Race categories: preserve
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	27	206
Reject	31	405

n: 669

p: 0.0012

r: 0.12	Philosophical methods: formal philosophy
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	380	204
Reject	220	171

n: 975

p < 0.0001

r: 0.12	Science: scientific realism
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	482	90
Reject	269	95

n: 936

p < 0.0001

r: -0.12	Meaning of life: objective
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	6	24
Reject	334	461

n: 825

p: 0.0004

r: 0.12	Semantic content: radical contextualism (most or all)
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	15	9
Reject	147	427

n: 598

p: 0.0029

r: -0.12	External world: non-skeptical realism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	24	9
Reject	808	126

n: 967

p: 0.0002

r: -0.12	Theory of reference: causal
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	6	19
Reject	338	279

n: 642

p: 0.0022

r: 0.12	Theory of reference: deflationary
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	41	175
Reject	61	358

n: 635

p: 0.0024

r: -0.12	Moral principles: moral generalism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	6	16
Reject	426	298

n: 746

p: 0.001

r: 0.12	Temporal ontology: growing block
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	6	9
Reject	101	445

n: 561

p: 0.0047

r: 0.12	Spacetime: relationism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	15	4
Reject	218	245

n: 482

p: 0.0089

r: -0.12	Wittgenstein: early
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	49	210
Reject	143	311

n: 713

p: 0.0015

r: 0.12	Analysis of knowledge: no analysis
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	19	4
Reject	251	519

n: 793

p: 0.0009

r: 0.12	Foundations of mathematics: formalism
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	10	123
Reject	21	280

n: 434

p: 0.0139

r: -0.12	Propositional attitudes: nonexistent
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	11	359
Reject	11	217

n: 598

p: 0.0042

r: -0.12	Hard problem of consciousness: yes
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	12	12
Reject	490	256

n: 770

p: 0.0014

r: 0.11	Newcomb's problem: one box
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	12	6
Reject	204	401

n: 623

p: 0.0042

r: 0.11	Propositional attitudes: nonexistent
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	10	193
Reject	12	383

n: 598

p: 0.0052

r: 0.11	Race: biological
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	82	225
Reject	99	466

n: 872

p: 0.0008

r: 0.11	Foundations of mathematics: constructivism/intuitionism
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	25	108
Reject	51	252

n: 436

p: 0.0196

r: -0.11	Morality: constructivism
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	90	387
Reject	88	226

n: 791

p: 0.0017

r: 0.11	Wittgenstein: early
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	135	286
Reject	57	235

n: 713

p: 0.003

r: 0.11	Human genetic engineering: permissible
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	360	121
Reject	196	104

n: 781

p: 0.002

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

n: 580

p: 0.0077

r: 0.11	Gender categories: eliminate
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	10	20
Reject	120	580

n: 730

p: 0.0031

r: -0.11	Other minds: fish
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	20	11
Reject	554	251

n: 836

p: 0.0016

r: 0.11	Grounds of intentionality: inferential
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	26	162
Reject	30	313

n: 531

p: 0.0124

r: 0.11	Normative ethics: virtue ethics
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	21	7
Reject	338	520

n: 886

p: 0.0013

r: 0.11	Truth: deflationary
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	18	14
Reject	226	618

n: 876

p: 0.0014

r: 0.11	Metaontology: deflationary realism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	9	14
Reject	147	356

n: 526

p: 0.0134

r: 0.11	Aim of philosophy: truth/knowledge
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	308	267
Reject	152	216

n: 943

p: 0.001

r: 0.11	Morality: constructivism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	11	18
Reject	167	593

n: 789

p: 0.0029

r: -0.11	Foundations of mathematics: formalism
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	18	258
Reject	13	145

n: 434

p: 0.0274

r: 0.11	Race categories: eliminate
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	194	208
Reject	110	158

n: 670

p: 0.0063

r: 0.11	Knowledge: empiricism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	18	10
Reject	421	340

n: 789

p: 0.0031

r: -0.1	Politics: capitalism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	5	21
Reject	263	452

n: 741

p: 0.0043

r: -0.1	A priori knowledge: yes
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	255	85
Reject	517	127

n: 984

p: 0.001

r: -0.1	External world: skepticism
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	31	555
Reject	31	352

n: 969

p: 0.0012

r: -0.1	Immortality: yes
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	7	19
Reject	411	395

n: 832

p: 0.003

r: 0.1	Meaning of life: nonexistent
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	11	19
Reject	154	633

n: 817

p: 0.0033

r: -0.1	Metaontology: heavyweight realism
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	77	108
Reject	169	175

n: 529

p: 0.0182

r: 0.1	Truth: epistemic
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	5	27
Reject	88	753

n: 873

p: 0.0025

r: 0.1	Possible worlds: nonexistent
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	14	15
Reject	242	527

n: 798

p: 0.0044

r: 0.1	True contradictions: impossible
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	355	87
Reject	203	76

n: 721

p: 0.0069

r: -0.1	Philosophical methods: formal philosophy
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	18	21
Reject	580	354

n: 973

p: 0.0018

r: -0.1	Race categories: preserve
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	28	374
Reject	30	237

n: 669

p: 0.0099

r: 0.1	Philosophical methods: intuition-based philosophy
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	331	253
Reject	197	194

n: 975

p: 0.002

r: 0.1	Meta-ethics: moral realism
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	421	153
Reject	238	131

n: 943

p: 0.0026

r: 0.1	Material composition: universalism
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	53	91
Reject	87	184

n: 415

p: 0.0497

r: -0.1	Aesthetic value: objective
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	10	20
Reject	438	411

n: 879

p: 0.0044

r: 0.1	Moral principles: moral generalism
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	279	183
Reject	154	131

n: 747

p: 0.0092

r: 0.09	Race categories: revise
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	91	143
Reject	155	280

n: 669

p: 0.0144

r: 0.09	Analytic-synthetic distinction: yes
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	412	166
Reject	236	145

n: 959

p: 0.0042

r: -0.09	Race: biological
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	94	427
Reject	87	264

n: 872

p: 0.0069

r: 0.09	Morality: constructivism
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Accept	Reject
Accept	74	206
Reject	104	407

n: 791

p: 0.0106

r: -0.09	Other minds: adult humans
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	30	1
Reject	798	7

n: 836

p: 0.0093

r: -0.09	Human genetic engineering: permissible
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	14	10
Reject	541	214

n: 779

p: 0.0123

r: -0.09	Truth: deflationary
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Accept	Reject
Accept	127	398
Reject	118	235

n: 878

p: 0.0081

r: -0.09	Well-being: objective list
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	10	12
Reject	420	262

n: 704

p: 0.0183

r: 0.09	Moral motivation: internalism
Philosophical knowledge: none	Accept	Reject
Accept	12	10
Reject	354	405

n: 781

p: 0.0132

Strongest correlations with demographic questions (target population)

r: 0.14	Philosopher: Wittgenstein
Philosophical knowledge: none	Yes	No
Accept	10	26
Reject	56	678

n: 770

p < 0.0001

r: 0.12	Philosopher: Quine
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Yes	No
Accept	35	238
Reject	31	468

n: 772

p: 0.0006

r: -0.12	AOS: Metaphysics
Philosophical knowledge: none	Yes	No
Accept	5	34
Reject	247	727

n: 1013

p < 0.0001

r: 0.12	Philosopher: Nietzsche
Philosophical knowledge: none	Yes	No
Accept	5	31
Reject	18	716

n: 770

p: 0.0008

r: -0.11	Philosopher: Quine
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Yes	No
Accept	30	429
Reject	36	277

n: 772

p: 0.0034

r: 0.1	Philosopher: Foucault
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Yes	No
Accept	9	264
Reject	7	492

n: 772

p: 0.007

r: 0.09	Region of nationality: Europe
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Yes	No
Accept	128	454
Reject	57	332

n: 971

p: 0.004

r: 0.09	Philosopher: Marx
Philosophical knowledge: none	Yes	No
Accept	5	31
Reject	26	708

n: 770

p: 0.0114

r: 0.09	AOS: 19th Century Philosophy
Philosophical knowledge: none	Yes	No
Accept	5	34
Reject	40	934

n: 1013

p: 0.0046

r: -0.08	Region of nationality: Europe
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Yes	No
Accept	49	295
Reject	136	491

n: 971

p: 0.0111

r: 0.08	AOS: 20th Century Philosophy
Philosophical knowledge: none	Yes	No
Accept	6	33
Reject	57	917

n: 1013

p: 0.0112

r: -0.08	Philosopher: Nietzsche
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Yes	No
Accept	8	451
Reject	15	298

n: 772

p: 0.0288

r: -0.08	Tradition: Analytic
Philosophical knowledge: none	Yes	No
Accept	24	14
Reject	844	119

n: 1001

p: 0.0145

r: 0.07	Philosopher: Reid
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Yes	No
Accept	15	444
Reject	5	308

n: 772

p: 0.0375

r: 0.07	AOS: Philosophy of Cognitive Science
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Yes	No
Accept	44	313
Reject	49	609

n: 1015

p: 0.0202

r: -0.07	Gender: male
Philosophical knowledge: none	Yes	No
Accept	29	10
Reject	804	161

n: 1004

p: 0.022

r: 0.07	Philosopher: Rorty
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Yes	No
Accept	6	267
Reject	3	496

n: 772

p: 0.0456

r: 0.07	Gender: female
Philosophical knowledge: none	Yes	No
Accept	9	30
Reject	159	806

n: 1004

p: 0.0304

r: 0.06	AOS: Philosophy of Mathematics
Philosophical knowledge: a lot	Yes	No
Accept	26	584
Reject	8	397

n: 1015

p: 0.0464

r: -0.06	AOS: Metaphilosophy
Philosophical knowledge: a little	Yes	No
Accept	11	346
Reject	38	620

n: 1015

p: 0.0496