Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Philosophical Intuitions and Demographic Differences

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

The argument here is whether people have similar intuitions about (say) moral problems around the world. Yale professor Joshua Knobe argues that philosophical intuitions are "robust across demographic differences". Against him are Edouard Machery (Pittsburgh) and Stephen Stich (Rutgers), who have researched this question, and argue, "we identify 90 studies, with more than 75,000 participants, reporting demographic differences in philosophical intuitions!" Knobe's response? "Many of these studies are not concerned with demographic differences in the usual sense (culture, age, gender, etc.) but rather with individual differences in personality or cognitive style." Yes, well, maybe it's time to do away with "demographic differences in the usual sense", since (as the research shows!) there's more variation within such groups than there is between them.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
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Last Updated: Nov 13, 2024 10:52 p.m.

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