Ideas in data
What do philosophers
actually believe?
Numbers put abstract debates in perspective. The PhilPapers survey asks professional philosophers what they think — these are the results.
When they lived
Ancient dates are approximate. Source: standard biographical references.
What philosophers believe today
Share who accept or lean toward each view. PhilPapers Survey, 2020.
NORMATIVE ETHICS
FREE WILL
Bars are drawn on a 0–100% scale. Respondents could choose more than one view. Figures to verify against published data.
Timeline
2,600 years of philosophy.
A selection of major thinkers plotted across history. Years shown are approximate.
PhilPapers survey 2020
Professional philosophers on the big questions.
1,785 philosophy faculty members surveyed. Figures are approximate and rounded.
Normative ethics
Free will
How to read this
Three things worth knowing.
No single view dominates
On most big questions — free will, normative ethics, the mind — philosophers are genuinely split. The data shows live disagreement, not settled consensus.
Survey respondents are specialists
These are tenure-track faculty, not the general public. Their views reflect decades of engagement with the arguments — which is both a strength and a limitation.
The options shape the answers
Survey categories like "compatibilism" bundle many different positions. A high score for one view does not mean all respondents meant the same thing by it.
Data sources
- PhilPapers Survey ↗ — the authoritative source for data on professional philosophers' views, conducted by Bourget & Chalmers.
- PhilPeople ↗ — academic profiles and publications for philosophy researchers worldwide.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ↗ — primary reference for thinker biographies and position descriptions.
Data FAQ