Test: which moral philosophy is yours (even if you don't know it)

[Agathon]

Take this test, it will give you a reasonable account of which famous philosophers share your beliefs.

http://selectsmart.com/PHILOSOPHY/

It seems to work pretty well as I got roughly the result I expected excepting Aquinas (since I don't believe in God). In fact as someone who does professional philosophy I think it is one of the better tests I've seen online (you actually have to think about some of the questions).

1. Plato
2. Aquinas
3. Aristotle

At a guess David Floyd will come down very close to Locke.

[Az]

1. Aristotle
2. Aquinas
3. Jeremy Bentham
4. John Steward Mill
5. Epicureans
6. Plato

[GePap]

I came out

Satre (100%! And i have never read a bit he wrote)
Bentham
Kant
Mill
Epicurians
Nietzsche! only 64%

Plato was all the way at the bottom.

[Az]

who is this Bentham fella, and what does he believe in?

[GePap]

A link:

http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/b/bentham.htm

Not that I care to read it, but for info.

edit: the intro:

A leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law and one of the 'founders' of utilitarianism, Jeremy Bentham was born in Houndsditch, in London, on 15 February 1748. He was the son and grandson of attorneys, and his early family life was coloured by a mix of pious superstition (on his mother's side) and Enlightenment rationalism (from his father). Bentham lived during a time of major social, political and economic change. The 'industrial revolution,' with the massive economic and social shifts that it brought in its wake, the rise of the middle class, revolutions in France and America--all were reflected in Bentham's reflections on existing institutions. In 1760 Bentham entered Queen's College, Oxford and, upon graduation in 1764, studied law at Lincoln's Inn. Though qualified to practice law, he never did so. Instead, he devoted most of his life to writing on matters of legal reform--though, curiously, he made little effort to publish much of what he wrote.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Azazel
who is this Bentham fella, and what does he believe in?

The founder of utilitarianism and designer of strange prisons. You can look at him if you visit the University of London since his embalmed body is still on display.

Here he is.

[GePap]

I guess it is not just for Communist leaders.

Creepy.

[Buck Birdseed]

Lovely. I got Ayn Rand as #3, that totally kills me. And Mill as #2! Wheee!

The moral philosopher I usually most identify with (Kant) came out top though, which is nice.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Buck Birdseed
Lovely. I got Ayn Rand as #3, that totally kills me. And Mill as #2! Wheee!

The moral philosopher I usually most identify with (Kant) came out top though, which is nice.

Presumably you said something about rationality being essential to ethics.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Floyd can't be Locke... he's not there for comparison .

1. Satre (same as GePap, never read him)
2. Kant
3. Mill
4. Hobbes
5. Epicurians
6. Hume
7. Nietzsche
8. Perscriptivism
9. Bentham
10. Spinoza
11. Stoics
12. Ayn Rand
13. Aristotle
14. Plato
15. Nel Noddings (who?)
16. Cynics
17. Ockham
18. Aquinas
19. St. Augustine


Hmm... my top 6-7 are very similar to GePap..

[Drake Tungsten]

1. Aquinas   (100%)
2.  Spinoza   (100%)
3.  Stoics   (96%)
4.  Nietzsche   (73%)
5.  Aristotle   (71%)

I don't really like the Western-only nature of this test. I've always found Eastern philosophy to be more insightful.

[GePap]

I am disillusioned: Satre is a big Nietzsche fan, but still, my boy came out sixth... and behind Mills and bentham, folks that Nietzche could not have disgareed much more with.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Floyd can't be Locke... he's not there for comparison .

1. Satre (same as GePap, never read him)

Hey Imran,

Sartre was a communist!

[Az]

Ahh, thanks. I thought the name rang somewhat familiarly to me.


I expected the utilitarianist thinkers to come on top, but that's the nature of web quizes.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

I don't really like the Western-only nature of this test. I've always found Eastern philosophy to be more insightful.

But it isn't philosophy.