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What Philosophical School of Thought do you fall in?

jorndoe June 25, 2017 at 07:56 22100 views 37 comments
What Philosophical School of Thought do you fall in?
[i]This brief quiz assesses your philosophical world view and determines to which of the eight schools of thought you are closest.
It has 11 or so questions, some of which I might answer differently than any of the given options.[/i]

Don't take it serious or anything, it's just one of those fun little things.
I might be classified differently on different days of the week.

List of philosophies (Wikipedia article)

Comments (37)

jorndoe June 25, 2017 at 07:57 #80710
At the first go I got Epicureanism, and Humanism on the second.
Noble Dust June 25, 2017 at 08:03 #80712
Platonism. Eh. It's fine. Really more of an existentialist with humanist/Christian theist/mystic/taoist leanings.
TimeLine June 25, 2017 at 08:52 #80726
I am a fan of Kantianism, but ultimately I am perhaps more aligned with neoplatonism. It is hard to say, really (I got platonism too).
unenlightened June 25, 2017 at 08:58 #80727
Skepticism. I don't believe it!
Wosret June 25, 2017 at 10:11 #80736
I got Skepticism too, what are the odds?
Pierre-Normand June 25, 2017 at 10:36 #80749
It's always difficult deciding what kind of an -ist one foremost is.

I'm all for eudemonia and flourishing. So I may primarily be a florist.
I approve of the locution chi va piano va sano. So, I may also be a pianist.
In other moods I simply feel like being a recidivist, a playlist or a quarterfinalist.
Metaphysician Undercover June 25, 2017 at 11:12 #80754
Quoting jorndoe
At the first go I got Epicureanism, and Humanism on the second.


Believe it or not jorndoe, I am the same as you, Epicurean. I don't think I would ever get Humanism though, so I don't know how that works.
noAxioms June 25, 2017 at 12:14 #80760
Stuck at first question. I do have a meaning of life. It is not on the list, and none-of-the-above is not an option. None of the options listed is even close to my philosophy.
What is divinity? Sounds like they want a definition. Are they asking if I believe in God? But they ask that several questions later.
What happens after Death? I presume they mean 'to me', but again, my answer is not up there.

I scored epicureanism in the end, which spell-check doesn't like.
Agustino June 25, 2017 at 13:17 #80779
I think the test is muddled, at certain points I had no "right" choice to pick, so I picked one which refuted all the others (which were wrong). I got Platonism, for what it's worth.

I picked "Other" in your poll. I don't belong to any school of thought, I think they're all mistaken. I don't understand how you guys adhere to any of them.

I would say most truth is found in Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism, Stoicism, Skepticism, Existentialism, Epicureanism. But I would not adhere to any of them.

I would not put much worth in Cynicism, Cyrenaicism, Hedonism, Empiricism, Humanism, Eclecticism, etc.
geospiza June 25, 2017 at 15:45 #80816
Skepticism. I would have predicted Humanism.
Thorongil June 25, 2017 at 16:15 #80826
These are not parallel schools of thought. Some are -isms relating to moral positions, others to metaphysical positions, and some to both.

I put other. As I say in my profile, I describe myself in the following way:

Metaphysical voluntarist
Epistemological idealist
Ethical realist
Philosophical pessimist

Of these, I waver the most with respect to the first, as lately I've been attracted to classical theism and Platonism.
0 thru 9 June 25, 2017 at 17:05 #80832
When I first saw this thread, thought it said "What Philosophical School of Thought do you FAIL in?
And I thought, well, most of them... :-d
T Clark June 25, 2017 at 17:07 #80833
I am a strong follower of T Clarkism. It fits my world view and values perfectly. For some reason, it wasn't included on the Wikipedia list.
Wosret June 25, 2017 at 17:13 #80834
Reply to 0 thru 9

Lol, solidarity.
0 thru 9 June 25, 2017 at 17:15 #80836
Reply to T Clark
Aerobic exercise benefits aside, isn't following oneself kind of chasing your own tail? :D jk!
T Clark June 25, 2017 at 17:19 #80837
Quoting 0 thru 9
Aerobic exercise benefits aside, isn't following oneself kind of chasing your own tail?


Well, I tried to take the quiz and I didn't agree with any answer on any of the questions. Straight "none of the above" or "who cares" on all of them.
0 thru 9 June 25, 2017 at 17:22 #80839
Reply to T Clark
I know, same here! Ize just being silly and yankin your chainsaw. ;)
T Clark June 25, 2017 at 17:25 #80842
Quoting 0 thru 9
I know, same here! Ize just being silly and yankin your chainsaw


I knew that.

When I forced myself to pick answers, it said I am a skeptic.
Agustino June 25, 2017 at 18:29 #80864
Quoting Thorongil
Of these, I waver the most with respect to the first, as lately I've been attracted to classical theism and Platonism.

What about Aristotelianism, what's your position on it and why?
WISDOMfromPO-MO June 25, 2017 at 18:43 #80869
It said Platonism for me.

I tend to have a postmodern worldview.

I wonder how Plato would feel about modernity / the Enlightenment.

The biggest problem with modernity / the Enlightenment is its belief in progress. I don't believe in progress.
litewave June 25, 2017 at 18:56 #80873
Platonism. Sort of fits metaphysically, because it seems to me that abstract objects are parts of objective reality but I don't think they are more "real" or "perfect" than their instances.
Thorongil June 25, 2017 at 21:16 #80893
Reply to Agustino I don't think I know enough about it to have a position on it. As a species of Platonism, I suppose I'm certainly not opposed to it.
BC June 25, 2017 at 21:54 #80896
Quoting WISDOMfromPO-MO
I don't believe in progress.


I seems really unreasonable of me to say this, but I doubt very much that you have no belief in progress. Why so?

a) One has to do a tremendous amount of disassociating with the world one grew up in (the modern world) to really have no belief in progress. That much disassociation would make it difficult for you to operate in this world -- which it appears tp not be a problem for you.

b) I would guess that you expect certain benefits of progress, which you recognize as superior to what you could get in the past. For instance, you know that if you developed an infection in 1850, there was a fairly good chance you would die from it. Take your pick: tuberculosis or streptococci, or whatever you might get. In 1950, there were effective treatments for TB and strep infections. Why? Progress in medicine, bacteriology, micro mycology, and industrial production of antibiotics.

I don't see how you can deny the progression of events that has taken place since you were born. Even if you are only 18 years old, there has been a progression of speed in digital processing, digital memory, and communication since your post-modern nativity. You saw the photos from the Pluto Fly-By, didn't you? The latest pictures from Saturn and Jupiter? Fake news?

If by progress you mean "progress in the nature of human nature" well, sure -- there's not much evidence there of progress in the last 18 years (or however long either one of us has been on earth).

c) Your view of progress is itself the result of a progression and promotion of ideas. Post-Modernism didn't step out of a scallop shell like Aphrodite.

d) I don't know you, can only guess about this, and I don't mean it as an insult (and many of us do the same thing for practical reasons) but I suspect this is a position assumed for the time being.

How would Plato feel about modernity and the Enlightenment? Well, when you opened the door of the time machine and he stepped into 21st century Manhattan, he might very well have a stroke, and you would never find out. At the very least, he'd probably faint when you turned the lights on.
_db June 25, 2017 at 23:05 #80906
I prefer not to identify myself with any "schools" or "movements". It smells too much of dogmatic traditionalism. The map is confused for the territory, the "way things are" is not identifiable or reducible to a single person's name. "Reality" is more mysterious and withdrawn. The names of metaphysical systems, the terminology and structures, all of this makes them works of art. Even if they are ultimately right, it would still be wrong to call reality by these names.

But this indeterminacy is apparently intolerable, so people divide themselves up into different groups, all with their special idols and "masters". It goes beyond the pragmatic use of terms for ease of communication and into a realm of competition, so it's no longer about what "reality" is like but more about who can outsmart everyone else. Belonging to a group of fellow idolizers makes you feel like you're a part of something bigger, a tradition, and that you have "superpowers" of sorts - you "see" the world "differently" than the "other" people.

So let's be clear here: "reality", the "way things are", is not identical to a person's name. The world is not "Aristotelian" or "Platonic", it's not "Deleuzian" or "Schopenhauerian", it's not "Hegelian" or "Kantian", it's none of these things. Aristotle might have been right about the four causes but that doesn't make the world "Aristotelian". Schopenhauer might have been right about the "Will" but it doesn't make the world "Schopenhauerian". Labeling reality like this seems to be an affront to reality itself. It means you believe that you, or your idol, is a master of reality, and that reality answers to this.

If someone comes along and tells me "your thought is very Aristotelian!" or "you sound like a Heideggerian!" I will tell them I have no need for these labels outside of basic communication. I don't need to be a "part" of any tradition, I don't want to be a part of any tradition, and it's a mistake to identify reality with these labels, so take your names and shove off. Stop trying to make reality something that has a determinate identity, as if someone has a monopoly on reality. How nauseating it would be if the way things are is intrinsically and timelessly linked to someone's name! It's absurd!
Thinker June 26, 2017 at 00:53 #80927
Quoting darthbarracuda
darthbarracuda


I identify with the darthbarracuda school of philosophy, I think - maybe.
Srap Tasmaner June 26, 2017 at 01:43 #80931
That test is really odd. I got it to spit out "Empiricism" which I'm vaguely okay with, but I knew that's what I was making it say because I like the other options in the poll even less.

I feel dirty.
lambda June 26, 2017 at 02:05 #80939
Classical theism and Berkeleyan idealism.
_db June 26, 2017 at 04:11 #80949
Quoting Thinker
I identify with the darthbarracuda school of philosophy, I think - maybe.


No, NO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Janus June 26, 2017 at 05:42 #80961
Answered the stoopid questions and scored 'skepticism'. I'm not an 'ist' at all, but I guess it had to be something. It's flawed all the way down.
Wosret June 26, 2017 at 06:01 #80963
Personally I'm now going to tell everyone that I'm a skeptic because of the test until the day I die. I'm getting it tattooed into my calf as we speak.
Thinker June 26, 2017 at 13:38 #81044
Quoting darthbarracuda
I identify with the darthbarracuda school of philosophy, I think - maybe.
— Thinker

No, NO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


Only on Tuesday - is today Tuesday?
Hanover June 26, 2017 at 17:18 #81087
Reply to Wosret Instead of tattooing it, I'd get it tagged on my ear like they do to cows. It's easier to see.
Wosret June 26, 2017 at 17:22 #81089
Reply to Hanover

Lol, I misspelled calve. I learned most of everything I know from audio lectures and audio books over the years while working eh, I'm not the greatest in print. Glad that I have the spell checker.
Terrapin Station June 26, 2017 at 21:34 #81141
For a number of those I had to give "the closest wrong answer" . . . And doing that, the quIz has me as being an epicurean.

I wouldn't normally describe myself as an epicurean. But I'd not normally say that I belong to any school per se. My views are idiosyncratic in combination, and even my favorite philosophers I disagree with more often than I agree with them.

However, if I had to give a handful of folks that I'm most similar to, it would be the philosophers listed in my profile as my favorites: Russell, Quine, Hume, Socrates, Davidson, Searle, Reichenbach, Mach, Nozick, Ayer, Feyerabend, Achille Varzi, Foucault, Santayana

Maybe I should include Moore in that, too, as I'm similar to him in disposition in a couple ways, but I doubt include him because I more strongly disagree with some of the views he's best known for.
BlueBanana June 27, 2017 at 15:47 #81423
Reply to noAxioms
Faced the same trouble.

I got humanism as my result from the quiz, but I'm not quite sure of that. I suppose the poll asked for the test result instead of the answerer's own opinion?
Ciceronianus June 27, 2017 at 15:53 #81428
Pragmatic Stoicism.
S June 27, 2017 at 23:43 #81647
I got hedonism. Not surprised much, given my answers. I wouldn't describe myself as a hedonist, except quite loosely. Anyone else get this or am I the only one so far? I see that I'm presently the only one on the poll for hedonism. Interesting.