University of California, Los Angeles
Department of Philosophy
PhD, 1988
Tempe, Arizona, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Epistemology
Metaphysics

My Survey Responses

Survey Prompt Response
A priori knowledge Accept: yes
Abortion Lean towards: permissible
Abstract objects Lean towards: nominalism
Aesthetic value Lean towards: subjective
Aim of philosophy Accept: understanding
Analytic-synthetic distinction Lean towards: no
Capital punishment Lean towards: impermissible
Concepts Lean towards: empiricism
Eating animals and animal products Lean towards: omnivorism (yes and yes)
Epistemic justification Lean towards: internalism
Experience machine Accept: no
External world Accept: non-skeptical realism
Footbridge Accept: push
Free will Accept: compatibilism
Gender Lean towards: social
God Accept an alternative view: Polytheism with alien and/or AI deities we haven't met yet.
Hume Accept a combination of answers:
  • Accept naturalist view of world, argues we can't have knowledge of it
Interlevel metaphysics Insufficiently familiar with the issue
Kant Accept: one world
Knowledge Accept: empiricism
Knowledge claims Insufficiently familiar with the issue
Law Insufficiently familiar with the issue
Laws of nature The question is too unclear to answer
Logic Lean towards: classical
Meaning of life Lean towards: objective
Mental content Accept: externalism
Meta-ethics Lean towards: moral realism
Metaphilosophy Lean towards: naturalism
Mind Lean towards: physicalism
Moral judgment Accept: cognitivism
Moral motivation Lean towards: externalism
Newcomb's problem Accept: two boxes
Normative ethics Accept: deontology
Perceptual experience Accept an alternative view: Direct realism
Personal identity Lean towards: psychological view
Philosophical methods Accept a combination of answers:
  • Accept conceptual analysis
  • Lean against linguistic philosophy
  • Accept intuition-based philosophy
  • Accept empirical philosophy
  • Accept conceptual engineering
  • Neutral towards formal philosophy
  • Lean against experimental philosophy
Philosophical progress Accept: a little
Political philosophy Insufficiently familiar with the issue
Principle of sufficient reason Lean towards: false
Proper names Accept: Millian
Race Accept: social
Science Accept: scientific realism
Teletransporter Lean towards: survival
Time Accept: B-theory
Time travel Lean towards: metaphysically possible
Trolley problem Accept: switch
Truth Lean towards: correspondence
Vagueness Lean towards: semantic
Values in science Accept: can be either
Zombies Lean towards: metaphysically possible