Survey Results

Spacetime: relationism or substantivalism?

Population

AOS

Region

for

Exclude answers beyond respondent's first 50

Include skip/insufficiently familiar answers

626 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:
relationism

45.37% (45.05%)

Reject or lean against:
relationism

0.32% (0.00%)

Accept or lean towards:
substantivalism

27.48% (27.16%)

Reject or lean against:
substantivalism

0.48% (0.00%)

Accept a combination of views

0.80%

Accept an alternative view

2.56%

The question is too unclear to answer

2.24%

There is no fact of the matter

1.76%

Agnostic/undecided

19.81%

Other

0.64%

N = 626, excluding skipped & insufficiently familiar (504 respondents)

Alternative Views

20 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.

IDEA (4): idealism (3) ideal (1)
TRAN (4): transcendental (2) transcendentally (1) transparentism (1)

Longitudinal comparison to 2009 survey

This question was not in the 2009 survey

Strongest correlations with main questions (target population)

r: -0.33	Metaontology: heavyweight realism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	62	112
Reject	115	80

n: 369

p < 0.0001

r: 0.3	Metaontology: anti-realism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	37	135
Reject	19	175

n: 366

p < 0.0001

r: -0.28	Concepts: nativism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	52	141
Reject	81	105

n: 379

p < 0.0001

r: 0.27	External world: idealism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	36	223
Reject	8	269

n: 536

p < 0.0001

r: -0.24	External world: non-skeptical realism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	211	47
Reject	255	22

n: 535

p < 0.0001

r: 0.23	Justification: coherentism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	59	130
Reject	30	182

n: 401

p < 0.0001

r: -0.22	Abstract objects: Platonism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	95	146
Reject	146	112

n: 499

p < 0.0001

r: -0.21	Science: scientific realism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	196	57
Reject	240	39

n: 532

p < 0.0001

r: 0.2	Moral motivation: internalism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	121	86
Reject	93	136

n: 436

p < 0.0001

r: 0.2	Experience machine: yes
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	55	195
Reject	21	250

n: 521

p < 0.0001

r: 0.2	Principle of sufficient reason: true
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	97	118
Reject	64	182

n: 461

p < 0.0001

r: -0.19	Continuum hypothesis: determinate
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	52	81
Reject	72	90

n: 295

p: 0.001

r: 0.19	Extended mind: yes
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	141	82
Reject	89	133

n: 445

p < 0.0001

r: 0.19	Morality: constructivism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	57	156
Reject	31	199

n: 443

p < 0.0001

r: -0.18	Truth: correspondence
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	129	111
Reject	175	91

n: 506

p < 0.0001

r: -0.18	Justification: nonreliabilist foundationalism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	42	145
Reject	86	124

n: 397

p: 0.0004

r: -0.18	Causation: primitive
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	36	166
Reject	72	165

n: 439

p: 0.0002

r: -0.17	Philosophical methods: intuition-based philosophy
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	120	151
Reject	159	117

n: 547

p < 0.0001

r: 0.17	Propositions: acts
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	29	170
Reject	9	206

n: 414

p: 0.0006

r: 0.17	Truth: epistemic
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	34	205
Reject	17	248

n: 504

p < 0.0001

r: -0.16	Philosophical methods: formal philosophy
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	152	119
Reject	204	72

n: 547

p < 0.0001

r: -0.16	Morality: non-naturalism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	46	164
Reject	85	146

n: 441

p: 0.0006

r: -0.16	Consciousness: dualism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	43	164
Reject	83	155

n: 445

p: 0.0008

r: 0.16	Metaontology: deflationary realism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	59	113
Reject	45	150

n: 367

p: 0.0024

r: -0.15	Philosophical progress: a lot
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	110	154
Reject	161	124

n: 549

p: 0.0003

r: -0.15	Properties: transcendent universals
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	35	144
Reject	61	151

n: 391

p: 0.0031

r: -0.15	Moral judgment: cognitivism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	170	80
Reject	211	61

n: 522

p: 0.0007

r: -0.15	Method in history of philosophy: analytic/rational reconstruction
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	123	82
Reject	154	57

n: 416

p: 0.0025

r: 0.15	Personal identity: psychological view
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	127	95
Reject	105	132

n: 459

p: 0.0016

r: -0.15	Normative concepts: value
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	76	98
Reject	87	103

n: 364

p: 0.0053

r: 0.15	Material composition: nihilism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	14	107
Reject	10	182

n: 313

p: 0.0098

r: -0.15	Quantum mechanics: hidden-variables
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	35	113
Reject	46	129

n: 323

p: 0.0089

r: 0.14	Response to external-world skepticism: pragmatic
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	57	141
Reject	39	190

n: 427

p: 0.003

r: -0.14	Time travel: metaphysically possible
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	102	118
Reject	136	103

n: 459

p: 0.0023

r: -0.14	Propositions: structured entities
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	77	122
Reject	104	113

n: 416

p: 0.0037

r: 0.14	External world: skepticism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	18	241
Reject	10	267

n: 536

p: 0.0011

r: 0.14	Knowledge claims: contextualism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	155	82
Reject	105	140

n: 482

p: 0.0026

r: -0.14	True contradictions: impossible
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	148	65
Reject	201	44

n: 458

p: 0.0037

r: 0.14	Foundations of mathematics: constructivism/intuitionism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	37	127
Reject	17	150

n: 331

p: 0.0139

r: 0.13	Belief or credence: neither
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	44	127
Reject	42	164

n: 377

p: 0.0091

r: -0.13	Propositional attitudes: representational
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	94	105
Reject	119	88

n: 406

p: 0.0068

r: -0.13	Belief or credence: credence
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	56	115
Reject	70	138

n: 379

p: 0.0091

r: 0.13	Semantic content: radical contextualism (most or all)
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	69	120
Reject	36	165

n: 390

p: 0.0083

r: -0.13	Semantic content: moderate contextualism (intermediate)
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	97	92
Reject	123	78

n: 390

p: 0.0086

r: -0.13	Response to external-world skepticism: dogmatist
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	17	177
Reject	44	187

n: 425

p: 0.0063

r: 0.13	Laws of nature: Humean
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	98	161
Reject	70	210

n: 539

p: 0.0021

r: -0.13	Aim of philosophy: truth/knowledge
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	114	145
Reject	146	116

n: 521

p: 0.0026

r: -0.13	Personal identity: further-fact view
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	37	184
Reject	53	181

n: 455

p: 0.007

r: -0.12	Logic: classical
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	143	86
Reject	173	68

n: 470

p: 0.0067

r: 0.12	Mental content: internalism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	92	146
Reject	64	196

n: 498

p: 0.0053

r: -0.12	Temporal ontology: eternalism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	79	99
Reject	109	117

n: 404

p: 0.0121

r: -0.12	Knowledge claims: invariantism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	66	171
Reject	98	145

n: 480

p: 0.0064

r: -0.12	Other minds: fish
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	155	82
Reject	176	70

n: 483

p: 0.0085

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

n: 482

p: 0.0089

r: -0.12	Analysis of knowledge: other analysis
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	61	167
Reject	91	158

n: 477

p: 0.0094

r: -0.12	Values in science: necessarily value-free
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	32	189
Reject	52	180

n: 453

p: 0.0125

r: 0.11	Temporal ontology: presentism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	40	139
Reject	37	189

n: 405

p: 0.0208

r: -0.11	Foundations of mathematics: logicism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	23	138
Reject	23	144

n: 328

p: 0.0385

r: -0.11	Meta-ethics: moral realism
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	164	91
Reject	202	78

n: 535

p: 0.0086

r: 0.11	Analysis of knowledge: justified true belief
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	76	152
Reject	50	199

n: 477

p: 0.0142

r: 0.11	Theory of reference: deflationary
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	44	147
Reject	30	179

n: 400

p: 0.025

r: -0.11	Other minds: flies
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	68	169
Reject	97	149

n: 483

p: 0.0142

r: -0.11	Immortality: yes
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	104	127
Reject	135	106

n: 472

p: 0.0155

r: 0.11	Meaning of life: subjective
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	106	129
Reject	83	151

n: 469

p: 0.0177

r: 0.11	True contradictions: actual
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	42	171
Reject	24	221

n: 458

p: 0.0207

r: -0.11	A priori knowledge: yes
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	209	58
Reject	243	41

n: 551

p: 0.0116

r: 0.11	Philosophical progress: a little
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	139	125
Reject	119	166

n: 549

p: 0.012

r: -0.11	Philosophical methods: empirical philosophy
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	175	96
Reject	187	89

n: 547

p: 0.0132

r: 0.1	Consciousness: identity theory
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	39	168
Reject	26	212

n: 445

p: 0.0275

r: -0.1	Other minds: cats
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	215	22
Reject	229	17

n: 483

p: 0.0306

r: -0.1	Analytic-synthetic distinction: yes
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	175	96
Reject	208	74

n: 553

p: 0.0232

r: -0.09	Philosophical methods: conceptual engineering
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	106	165
Reject	126	150

n: 547

p: 0.0266

r: 0.09	Philosophical progress: none
Spacetime: relationism	Accept	Reject
Accept	16	248
Reject	7	277

n: 548

p: 0.0428

Strongest correlations with demographic questions (target population)

r: -0.22	AOS: Metaphysics
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	78	202
Reject	133	161

n: 574

p < 0.0001

r: -0.22	Tradition: Analytic
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	217	60
Reject	268	13

n: 558

p < 0.0001

r: 0.19	Tradition: Continental
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	26	251
Reject	3	278

n: 558

p < 0.0001

r: 0.15	Region of PhD: Canada
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	16	189
Reject	3	221

n: 429

p: 0.0013

r: -0.15	Philosopher: Lewis
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	24	194
Reject	41	176

n: 435

p: 0.002

r: 0.14	AOS: Continental Philosophy
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	22	258
Reject	5	289

n: 574

p: 0.0005

r: 0.14	Philosopher: Hegel
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	14	204
Reject	1	216

n: 435

p: 0.0038

r: -0.13	Philosopher: Leibniz
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	7	211
Reject	17	200

n: 435

p: 0.0048

r: -0.13	AOS: Decision Theory
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	5	275
Reject	17	277

n: 574

p: 0.0017

r: 0.13	Region of nationality: Canada
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	26	240
Reject	12	261

n: 539

p: 0.0034

r: 0.12	Region of PhD: Europe
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	30	175
Reject	11	213

n: 429

p: 0.0102

r: -0.12	Region of affiliation: Oceania
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	7	274
Reject	24	272

n: 577

p: 0.003

r: 0.12	Philosopher: Arendt
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	6	212
Reject	0	217

n: 435

p: 0.0103

r: -0.12	Region of nationality: United States
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	124	142
Reject	162	111

n: 539

p: 0.0054

r: -0.12	Region of PhD: Oceania
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	7	198
Reject	12	212

n: 429

p: 0.0158

r: 0.12	Tradition: Other tradition
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	34	243
Reject	10	271

n: 558

p: 0.0059

r: 0.11	AOS: 19th Century Philosophy
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	19	261
Reject	5	289

n: 574

p: 0.0065

r: -0.11	Other demographics: YOB
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	112	154
Reject	131	136

n: 533

p: 0.0115

r: 0.11	AOS: 17th/18th Century Philosophy
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	41	239
Reject	25	269

n: 574

p: 0.0088

r: 0.1	Region of affiliation: Canada
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	21	260
Reject	11	285

n: 577

p: 0.0164

r: 0.1	Philosopher: Nietzsche
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	8	210
Reject	2	215

n: 435

p: 0.0465

r: 0.09	AOS: Asian Philosophy
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	10	270
Reject	2	292

n: 574

p: 0.0232

r: 0.09	AOS: Social and Political Philosophy
Spacetime: relationism	Yes	No
Accept	27	253
Reject	16	278

n: 574

p: 0.0319