What is your philosophy? Find out by answering thoughtfully these questions. It is probably easiest to print this page before answering.

http://philosopherswheel.com/questionnaire.htm Please update URL if needed.

If you want further clarification and explanation of the questions, try this article.
Please note that this questionnaire has been carefully researched and given to hundreds of people, and the questions were revised many times based on feedback from those who took the questionnaire.

Answer strongly agree, somewhat agree, yes and no/neutral, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree to each question.	strongly agree	somewhat agree	yes&no/neutral	somewhat disagree	strongly disagree
Note your answer in the column under each heading. Circle the scores there
Questions 1-11
1. The Heart has its reasons, which Reason does not know.	4E  2S	2E  1S	0	2R  1M	4R  2M
2. The senses cannot be trusted to give us the truth.	3R  2S	2R  1S	0	2E  1M	3E  2M
3. There is a rational explanation for everything, since events are produced according to physical laws.	3R  3M	2R  2M	0	2E  2S	3E  3S
4. Your thoughts and beliefs create your reality.	4S	2S	0	2M	4M
5. Reason leads us to discover the general truths and ideas that explain all existing things.	4R	2R	0	2E	4E
6. If you would know the truth of life, look inward into yourself.	1E  4S	1E  2S	0	1R  2M	1R  4M
7. Since we're all different, and times change, there can't be universal standards of right and wrong.	4E	2E	0	2R	4R
8. Do not seek your treasure in the things of this world, but only in the eternal things.	2R  4S	1R  2S	0	1E  2M	2E  4M
9. Reality is fluid and ever-changing; thus forever beyond the grasp of the rigid, abstract concepts & categories of our thought and language.	4E	2E	0	2R	4R
10. Ultimately, the universe is made of solid and indivisible particles.	4M	2M	0	2S	4S
11. The universe is unfolding according to a divine plan and order.	3R  3S	2R  2S	0	2E  2M	3E  3M
Add your circled scores here for questions 1-11	E_____S_____	E_____S_____		E_____S_____	E_____S_____
	R_____M_____	R_____M_____		R_____M_____	R_____M_____
Questions 12-22	strongly agree	somewhat agree	yes&no/neutral	somewhat disagree	strongly disagree
12. A human has no fixed character, but only a history; you must choose your character and meaning of life.	4E	2E	0	2R	4R
13. Spirit or mind creates the world, and all our science can only describe the effects after-the-fact.	4S	2S	0	2M	4M
14. Faith is unreliable; we'd better trust to what we know.	3R  2M	2R  1M	0	2E  1S	3E  2S
15. Psychic abilities exist, proving mind over matter.	4S	2S	0	2M	4M
16. All knowledge is based on experience and observation; rational theories alone are only meaningless abstractions.	4E	2E	0	2R	4R
17. Act on moral principles as best you know them, rather than yielding to the temptations and passions of the moment.	4R	2R	0	2E	4E
18. With understanding and clear, logical thinking, you can solve almost any problem and increase your control of events.	4R	2R	0	2E	4E
19. You can't wait until you have the answers; you're not fully alive unless you are taking a risk.	4E	2E	0	2R	4R
20. Our personal souls will survive death, and perhaps be back on earth for another go-round.	4S	2S	0	2M	4M
21. The soul can only be free by overcoming the body.	4S  2R	2S  1R	0	2M  1E	4M  2E
22. I am not a number; I am a free person!	3E  2S	2E  1S	0	2R  1M	3R  2M
Add your circled scores here for questions 12-22	E_____S_____	E_____S_____		E_____S_____	E_____S_____
	R_____M_____	R_____M_____		R_____M_____	R_____M_____
Questions 23-33	strongly agree	somewhat agree	yes&no/neutral	somewhat disagree	strongly disagree
23. Human consciousness and behavior can be fully explained in terms of the electro-chemistry of the brain and nervous system.	4M	2M	0	2S	4S
24. As Plato proved, a child has innate knowledge of mathematics; therefore eternal and rational truths exist.	4R	2R	0	2E	4E
25. Human history is largely explanable in terms of economic and technological conditions.	4M	2M	0	2S	4S
26. The best way to live is to follow the delightful energies of the body. Reason is only the outer bounds of energy.	4E  2M	2E  1M	0	2R  1S	4R  2S
27. Science will eventually give us most of the answers to what seems uncertain to us today.	4M  2R	2M  1R	0	2S  1E	4S  2E
28. There are universal symbols and archetypes that keep appearing in our experience.	3R  2S	2R  1S	0	2E  1M	3E  2M
29. Mathematics is probably one of the closest things to truth you can find.	4R	2R	0	2E	4E
30. Seeing is believing; whatever can't be touched, observed or tested experimentally probably doesn't exist.	3M  2E	2M  1E	0	2S  1R	3S  2R
31. By transcending the delusions of your thinking mind, you discover that you are not a separate ego, but are one with a greater being.	4S  2E	2S  1E	0	2M  1R	4M  2R
32. This is the best of all possible worlds; seen from God's viewpoint, all evil fits into a greater good.	4S	2S	0	2M	4M
33. God does not exist.	4M	2M	0	2S	4S
Add your circled scores here for questions 23-33	E_____S_____	E_____S_____		E_____S_____	E_____S_____
	R_____M_____	R_____M_____		R_____M_____	R_____M_____
Add your scores for questions 1-11, 12-22 and 23-33 here	E_____S _____	E_____S_____		E_____S _____	E_____S _____
	R_____M ____	R_____M_____		R_____M_____	R_____M_____

Then add all the E scores across the columns above  _______
Then all the S scores ________
Then all the R scores ________
Then all the M scores ________

Write the larger letter scores above the smaller letter scores here:
 

E and R	S and M
_______	________
minus _______	minus ________
equals _______	equals ________

Write the letter corresponding to the larger score next to the result. The left column is your E/R score and the right column is your S/M score.

For example:
 

E and R	S and M
30E	20S
minus  20R	minus  10M
equals 10E	equals  10S

The meaning of the scores: what is your philosophy?
1-25 R = somewhat intellectual; You rely on reason and distrust feelings and experiences
25-50 R = definitely intellectual
50-75 R = extremely intellectual
1-25 E = somewhat experiential;  You rely on your experience more than reason
25-50 E = definitely experiential
50-75 E = extremely experiential
1-25 S = somewhat spiritualist;   Spiritual realities are prior to and explain material ones
25-50 S = definitely spiritualist
50-75 S = extremely spiritualist
1-25 M = somewhat materialist;  Material realities are prior to and explain spiritual ones
25-50 M = definitely materialist
50-75 M = extremely materialist

If you are R and S, you are essentialist: universal ideas and archetypes are primary reality
If you are R and M, you are rationalist: the universe operates according to causal, logical laws
If you are E and S, you are existentialist: spontaneous flux of inner being is the primary reality
If you are E and M, you are empiricist: the test of experience determines truth

The approach to thinking shown by your score matches these Jungian functions and MBTI temperaments, although your temperament itself may be different:

R/S essentialist = N intuitive
R/M rationalist = T thinking
E/S existentialist = F feeling
E/M empiricist = S sensing

Here is a version of the philosophy wheel in which you can see the relationship of your score to your MBTI and Enneagram type, the chakras, and more.
See also the charts on the Philosophy Circle page.

Plot your score here on the map of the mind below. Your score places you in one of 32 quadrants.

In this next chart below I only show the quadrants. Imagine a circle around them.

I have estimated 2 defining keywords for each quadrant, and shown philosophers and traditions who I think may occupy them (positions are necessarily approximate). The quadrants in the opposite positions to each other, and same distance from the center, have opposite and complementary meanings.
 

	50-75S 25-50R Asceticism Abstraction Augustine	50-75S 0-25R Esoterics Revelation Metaphysics Plotinus	50-75S 0-25E Spiritism Psychism Mysticism Jesus(at 0 R/E)	50-75S 25-50E Transcendence Solipcism Berkeley Kierkegaard
25-50S 50-75R Essence Forms Plato Pythagoras	25-50S 25-50R Truth Eternal values Principles Classicism Leibniz	25-50S 0-25R Theology Theosophy Hegel Aquinas Kant (30S)	25-50S 0-25E Aspiration Faith Jung Teilhard de Chardin Buddha (20E)	25-50S 25-50E Awareness Awe Romanticism Schopenhauer James Alan Watts Jos.Campbell	25-50S 50-75E Existence Becoming Bergson Heidegger Heraclitus
0-25S 50-75R Order Doctrine Parmenides Spinoza	0-25S 25-50R Purpose Ideals Epictetus Stoicism Aristotle	0-25S 0-25R Theory Ideas Whitehead	0-25S 0-25E Reverence Nature Worship Pantheists Neo-pagans Quantum Theory	0-25S 25-50E Flux Adventure Authenticity	0-25S 50-75E Nihilism Absurdity Nietzsche Sartre
0-25M 50-75R Formulae Mathematics Descartes	0-25M 25-50R Calculation Structure Empedocles	0-25M 0-25R Explanation Manipulation Voltaire Einstein G.E.Moore	0-25M 0-25E Pragmatism Utilitarianism Mill Bentham Anaxagoras	0-25M 25-50E Relativism Chance Skeptics	0-25M 50-75E Chaos Iconoclasm Nominalism Hume
25-50M 50-75R Logic Geometry Euclid	25-50M 25-50R Natural Law Reliability Mechanics Hawking	25-50M 0-25R Prediction Engineering Freud Russell Marx Santayana	25-50M 0-25E Verification Secularism Experiment Dewey Carnap	25-50M 25-50E Sophism Evidence Locke Epicureans	25-50M 50-75E Sense- Perception Wittgenstein-- (later years)
	50-75M 25-50R Necessity Automism Newtonian-- Physics	50-75M 0-25R Atomism Determinism Hobbes Democritus	50-75M 0-25E Positivism Objectivism Darwin Lucretius	50-75M 25-50E Tangibility Carnality Bacon Skinner

Copyright 1990 by E. Alan Meece