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Michael Shaffer

Gustavus Adolphus College
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My Survey Responses

Survey Prompt Response
A priori knowledge Accept: no
Abstract objects Accept: nominalism
Aesthetic value Accept: objective
Aim of philosophy Accept: truth/knowledge
Analytic-synthetic distinction Accept: no
Belief or credence Accept: belief
Continuum hypothesis Accept: determinate
Eating animals and animal products Accept: omnivorism (yes and yes)
Epistemic justification Accept a combination of answers:
  • Accept externalism
  • Accept internalism
Experience machine There is no fact of the matter
External world Accept: non-skeptical realism
Footbridge Accept: don't push
Free will Accept: no free will
Gender Accept: biological
God Accept: atheism
Human genetic engineering Accept: permissible
Knowledge Accept: empiricism
Knowledge claims Accept: contextualism
Laws of nature Accept: non-Humean
Logic Accept: non-classical
Meaning of life The question is too unclear to answer
Mental content Accept a combination of answers:
  • Accept externalism
  • Accept internalism
Meta-ethics Accept: moral realism
Metaontology Accept a combination of answers:
  • Neutral towards heavyweight realism
  • Neutral towards anti-realism
  • Neutral towards deflationary realism
Metaphilosophy Accept: naturalism
Mind Accept: physicalism
Moral judgment Accept: non-cognitivism
Moral motivation Accept a combination of answers:
  • Accept externalism
  • Accept internalism
Moral principles Accept: moral generalism
Morality Accept: naturalist realism
Newcomb's problem Accept: one box
Normative ethics Accept: consequentialism
Perceptual experience Accept: representationalism
Personal identity Accept: biological view
Philosophical knowledge Accept: a little
Philosophical methods Accept a combination of answers:
  • Neutral towards linguistic philosophy
  • Accept empirical philosophy
  • Accept conceptual engineering
  • Reject conceptual analysis
  • Accept experimental philosophy
  • Reject intuition-based philosophy
  • Accept formal philosophy
Philosophical progress Accept: a little
Political philosophy Accept: communitarianism
Proper names Accept: Millian
Propositions Accept: structured entities
Quantum mechanics Accept: collapse
Race Accept: biological
Rational disagreement Lean towards: non-permissivism
Science Accept: scientific realism
Teletransporter The question is too unclear to answer
Time Accept: B-theory
Trolley problem Accept: switch
Truth Accept: correspondence
Vagueness Accept: epistemic
Zombies Accept: metaphysically possible