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Only about 4.5% of surveyed philosophers accepted or leaned toward eliminativism.

The Claim

Eliminative materialism is a very popular position in metaphysics and consciousness studies.

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

Contemporary evidence does not support describing eliminative materialism as very popular. The 2020 PhilPapers Survey reports only about 4.5% acceptance or inclination toward eliminativism, while academic literature portrays it as a recognized but frequently criticized position. Its scholarly visibility should not be confused with widespread endorsement.

Caveats

  • Scholarly attention and controversy do not demonstrate widespread acceptance.
  • The PhilPapers survey primarily measures philosophers, not every profession within consciousness studies.
  • Survey nonacceptance should not automatically be described as explicit rejection.

The Receipts

  1. The united shades of eliminative materialism

    onlinelibrary.wiley.com

  2. identity theory, functionalism, panpsychism, dualism, or ...

    survey2020.philpeople.org

  3. PhilPapers Survey 2020

    survey2020.philpeople.org

  4. PhilPapers Survey 2020

    survey2020.philpeople.org

  5. Consciousness, Neuroscience, and Physicalism: Pessimism About Optimistic Induction

    link.springer.com

  6. Eliminative Materialism - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

    plato.stanford.edu

  7. Eliminativism Redux: Are Quotidian Pains Hurting Science? | Erkenntnis | Springer Nature Link

    link.springer.com

  8. Connectionism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

    plato.stanford.edu

  9. ‘Mind’ and ‘mental’: extended, pluralistic, eliminated

    doi.org

  10. Eliminative Materialism - Bibliography

    philpapers.org

+ 13 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

Consciousness StudiesEliminative MaterialismMetaphysics