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Philosophical personality test

SolitaryWalker

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http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=7951811862379420906

Foundationalist

Foundationalists believe in logical, ordered opinions, built on other opinions. Building ideas is like building a house - you have to start at the most basic truths, and work your way up from there, otherwise it simply doesn't work. Thus, a foundationalist's entire goal is to find a single universal truth, that cannot be refuted by any argument. Once that truth has been found, everything else can fall into place. "I think, therefore I am" is often argued to be one of these basic truths.

Famous foundationalists include: Rene Descartes.

The opposite of Foundationalism is Realism.
 

Dark Razor

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Rationalist

Rationalism is the most scientific of the philosophies. No matter how bizarre something may seem, rationalists will always discount the supernatural. To them, there is no such thing as a mystical, otherworldly explanation for anything, no exceptions. Everything, no matter how strange, can be proven through science sooner or later. If something is genuine, there is an explanation for it.

Famous rationalists include: Baruch Spinoza.

The opposite of Rationalism is Existentialism.
 

Langrenus

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Regressionist

Regressionists believe that every question must have an answer, and anything that cannot be answered must not be true. Thus, their search for truth is based around asking the question "Why?" rather than "How?". They're also the most annoying type to have a conversation with.

"It's hot today."
"Why?"
"Because there's no clouds blocking the sun, and no wind to create a breeze."
"Why?"
"Because the vapors in the air haven't condensed enough to form clouds, and the wind patterns haven't shifted to our region."
"Why?"

And so on.
 

Varelse

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Regressionist
Regressionists believe that every question must have an answer, and anything that cannot be answered must not be true. Thus, their search for truth is based around asking the question "Why?" rather than "How?". They're also the most annoying type to have a conversation with.

"It's hot today."
"Why?"
"Because there's no clouds blocking the sun, and no wind to create a breeze."
"Why?"
"Because the vapors in the air haven't condensed enough to form clouds, and the wind patterns haven't shifted to our region."
"Why?"

And so on.

Famous regressionists include: Paul Feyerabend.

The opposite of Regressionism is Spiritualism.
 

Zergling

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Rationalist
Rationalism is the most scientific of the philosophies. No matter how bizarre something may seem, rationalists will always discount the supernatural. To them, there is no such thing as a mystical, otherworldly explanation for anything, no exceptions. Everything, no matter how strange, can be proven through science sooner or later. If something is genuine, there is an explanation for it.

Famous rationalists include: Baruch Spinoza.

The opposite of Rationalism is Existentialism.
 

Lookin4theBestNU

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Spiritualist
Spiritualists rely on faith more than anything else. They will always believe in a supernatural power over scientific reasoning. Although they may worship different deities (God, Allah, Buddah, Zeus, and so on), the underlying philosophy is the same. Most spiritualists will seek higher answers in religious works, rather than philosophical reflection, and they tend to be fiercely devoted to their beliefs, even when all evidence points against it.

Famous spiritualists include: Blaise Pascal.

The opposite of Spiritualism is Regressionism.


An NF had to answer sooner or later ;)!
 

Siúil a Rúin

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Skeptic
The skeptic constantly lives in a state of denial - everything is false until proven otherwise. Skeptics refuse to follow religion, since it relies on theories that cannot be proven true or false. Likewise, they refuse to believe in most scientific research, since logic is viewed as an inadequate measure of truth (Just because A = B, and B = C, there's no proof that A = C). Although they can sometimes be depressing to talk to, skeptics are vital to scientific advancements, since they constantly look for problems with new theories.

Famous skeptics include: David Hume, Rene Descartes.

The opposite of Skepticism is Optimism.
 

reason

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I couldn't complete the test.

It is almost always the case with multiple coice tests that the answer you wish to give will sometimes not be available, forcing you to choose an inadequate alternative, but hoping that any small deviation will be irrelevent when all the answers are taken into consideration. However, with this test I could answer fewer questions correctly than which I had to improvise on, and so it quickly became apparant that it was futile. Instead, I'll just write up one more profile:

Pancritical Rationalist
The pancritical rationalist is "characterised as one who is willing to entertain any position and holds all his positions, including his most fundamental standards, goals and decisions, and his basic philosophical position itself, open to criticism." To the pancritical rationalist, nothing is justified, nor can be justified, a "position may be held rationally without needing justification at all-- provided that it can be and is held open to criticism and survives severe examination."

Famous pancritical rationalists include: Karl Popper

The opposite of pancritical rationalism can be either foundationalism or scepticism

Note: The quotes given in the description are taken from page 118 and 119 of The Retreat to Commitment by W. W. Bartley III
 

SolitaryWalker

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Skeptic
The skeptic constantly lives in a state of denial - everything is false until proven otherwise. Skeptics refuse to follow religion, since it relies on theories that cannot be proven true or false. Likewise, they refuse to believe in most scientific research, since logic is viewed as an inadequate measure of truth (Just because A = B, and B = C, there's no proof that A = C). Although they can sometimes be depressing to talk to, skeptics are vital to scientific advancements, since they constantly look for problems with new theories.

Famous skeptics include: David Hume, Rene Descartes.

The opposite of Skepticism is Optimism.

Thats the spirit! Real thought nearly always starts with skepticism.
 

Totenkindly

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Regressionist

But I had the same problems Nocturne had.

Then again, it's just a cheesy "OkCupid" test... so you get what you play for.
 

SolitaryWalker

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I couldn't complete the test.

It is almost always the case with multiple coice tests that the answer you wish to give will sometimes not be available, forcing you to choose an inadequate alternative, but hoping that any small deviation will be irrelevent when all the answers are taken into consideration. However, with this test I could answer fewer questions correctly than which I had to improvise on, and so it quickly became apparant that it was futile. Instead, I'll just write up one more profile:

Pancritical Rationalist
The pancritical rationalist is "characterised as one who is willing to entertain any position and holds all his positions, including his most fundamental standards, goals and decisions, and his basic philosophical position itself, open to criticism." To the pancritical rationalist, nothing is justified, nor can be justified, a "position may be held rationally without needing justification at all-- provided that it can be and is held open to criticism and survives severe examination."

Famous pancritical rationalists include: Karl Popper

The opposite of pancritical rationalism can be either foundationalism or scepticism

Note: The quotes given in the description are taken from page 118 and 119 of The Retreat to Commitment by W. W. Bartley III

Pancritial rationalism is compatible with many of these profiles and it only concersn epistemology.

What is your stance towards metaphysics? Dont think this test had anything to say about ethics, ethical extrapolations could at best be tangential here.
 

SolitaryWalker

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I agree, but while real thought always starts with scepticism, it ends with foundationalism and fideism.

Indeed faith is part of healthy rationalism, and we all are going to have to make some unwarranted metaphysical assunptions like 'truth exists and logic is the guide to it' whether we like it or not. Popper was right about how this renders metaphysical positivism untenable.
 

reason

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Pancritial rationalism is compatible with many of these profiles and it only concerns epistemology. What is your stance towards metaphysics? Dont think this test had anything to say about ethics, ethical extrapolations could at best be tangential here.
I believe the definition of pancritical rationalism I just gave is quite clear, but to restate, 'The pancritical rationalist is "characterised as one who is willing to entertain any position and holds all his positions, including his most fundamental standards, goals and decisions, and his basic philosophical position itself, open to criticism."' This includes epistemology, metaphysics, science, ethics and everything else.
 

SolitaryWalker

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I believe the definition of pancritical rationalism I just gave is quite clear, but to restate, 'The pancritical rationalist is "characterised as one who is willing to entertain any position and holds all his positions, including his most fundamental standards, goals and decisions, and his basic philosophical position itself, open to criticism."' This includes epistemology, metaphysics, science, ethics and everything else, pancritical rationalism is comprehensive, even applying to itself.

Seems to me that this is just a method to do philosophy and not a system in itself. Yet again, so are the rest of them. Foundationalism, as used here could also be applied to many things as well as to itself as it posits how ideas are to be discovered and does not specify what is discovered.
 

reason

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Indeed faith is part of healthy rationalism, and we all are going to have to make some unwarranted metaphysical assunptions like 'truth exists and logic is the guide to it' whether we like it or not. Popper was right about how this renders metaphysical positivism untenable.
How did you get, 'Indeed faith is part of healthy rationalism' from 'while real thought always starts with scepticism, it ends with foundationalism and fideism'? I have scarcely ever been misinterpreted as thoroughly, especially given that I was alluding to precisely the opposite, suggesting that faith, foundationalism, manifest truth, apriorism, etc. are when rationality fails us, when criticism is brought to a halt, when arbitrary dogmatism reigns.

The notion that faith is a necessary, nevermind a 'healthy,' component of any theory of rationality is why the sceptic always wins the argument, since to arbitrary commitment (enslavement?) to your preferred authority is often seen as the only recourse. This is what pancritical rationalism seeks to resolve, allowing the rationalist to be nondogmatic, without contradiction, and to retain his integrity in the face of sceptical arguments.
 
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