What kind of atheist are you?

[°Leprechaun]

   http://www.selectsmart.com/nontheism/

        1.     Theravada Buddhist (100%)            
   2.   Taoist (81%)            
   3.   Strong Agnostic (64%)            
   4.   Deist (55%)            
   5.   Naturalistic Pantheist (51%)            
   6.   Ethical Culturist (44%)            
   7.   Freethinker (44%)            
   8.   Iconoclast (44%)            
   9.   Ignosticist (42%)            
   10.   Implicit Atheist (41%)            
   11.   Rationalist (40%)            
   12.   Secular Humanist (40%)            
   13.   Strong Atheist (39%)            
   14.   Transhumanist (37%)            
   15.   Unitarian Universalist (37%)            
   16.   Atheistic Paganist (35%)            
   17.   Objectivist (32%)            
   18.   Weak Agnostic (32%)            
   19.   Confucianist (21%)   

[Antonio the Sixth]

> including Buddhism as a "nonteistic philosophy"

I can't wait to see Nathan rip this apart.

[Lexii, harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy]

1.   Secular Humanist (100%)            
   2.   Ethical Culturist (99%)            
   3.   Strong Agnostic (99%)            
   4.   Rationalist (96%)            
   5.   Weak Agnostic (90%)            
   6.   Strong Atheist (86%)            
   7.   Iconoclast (84%)            
   8.   Ignosticist (84%)            
   9.   Transhumanist (79%)            
   10.   Objectivist (75%)            
   11.   Freethinker (73%)            
   12.   Deist (69%)            
   13.   Unitarian Universalist (66%)            
   14.   Implicit Atheist (66%)            
   15.   Confucianist (65%)            
   16.   Naturalistic Pantheist (53%)            
   17.   Taoist (52%)            
   18.   Theravada Buddhist (47%)            
   19.   Atheistic Paganist (43%)

[°Leprechaun]

> including Buddhism as a "nonteistic philosophy"

I can't wait to see Nathan rip this apart.

Belief in God is not a requirement for being a Buddhist.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Anyway,

        1.     Weak Agnostic (100%)            
   2.   Strong Agnostic (98%)            
   3.   Transhumanist (91%)            
   4.   Ethical Culturist (85%)            
   5.   Confucianist (84%)            
   6.   Unitarian Universalist (82%)            
   7.   Naturalistic Pantheist (81%)            
   8.   Freethinker (77%)            
   9.   Implicit Atheist (76%)            
   10.   Ignosticist (75%)            
   11.   Rationalist (75%)            
   12.   Secular Humanist (75%)            
   13.   Atheistic Paganist (71%)            
   14.   Deist (69%)            
   15.   Strong Atheist (67%)            
   16.   Iconoclast (65%)            
   17.   Theravada Buddhist (65%)            
   18.   Taoist (60%)            
   19.   Objectivist (38%)

I guess that more or less makes sense, for what it is.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

> including Buddhism as a "nonteistic philosophy"

I can't wait to see Nathan rip this apart.

The fact that the phrase the quiz uses is 'non-believer' is actually way worse than just classifying Theravada as a not-necessarily-theistic belief system would have been.  Confucianism is arguable--the Catholic Church, for instance, finally decided, in 1939, largely for realpolitik reasons, that it didn't count as a religion, and academic East Asianists are pretty evenly split on whether or not we agree with this--and I guess Tao might be arguable too based on what I know about it, but describing Theravada Buddhism as a 'nontheistic philosophy' makes about as much sense as describing Mormonism as an 'American political ideology'.

[°Leprechaun]

> including Buddhism as a "nonteistic philosophy"

I can't wait to see Nathan rip this apart.

The fact that the phrase the quiz uses is 'non-believer' is actually way worse than just classifying Theravada as a not-necessarily-theistic belief system would have been.  Confucianism is arguable--the Catholic Church, for instance, finally decided, in 1939, largely for realpolitik reasons, that it didn't count as a religion, and academic East Asianists are pretty evenly split on whether or not we agree with this--and I guess Tao might be arguable too based on what I know about it, but describing Theravada Buddhism as a 'nontheistic philosophy' makes about as much sense as describing Mormonism as an 'American political ideology'.

I would say that we don't actually know what exactly what Buddha taught, because like Jesus and Socrates we don't have any of his writings, only the writings of his followers and the various schools of Buddhism don't agree, anyway (just like Christians). To describe Theravada as a "not-necessarily-theistic belief system" is fine by me. The point is that not all Buddhists believe in God. Obviously some do.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

> including Buddhism as a "nonteistic philosophy"

I can't wait to see Nathan rip this apart.

The fact that the phrase the quiz uses is 'non-believer' is actually way worse than just classifying Theravada as a not-necessarily-theistic belief system would have been.  Confucianism is arguable--the Catholic Church, for instance, finally decided, in 1939, largely for realpolitik reasons, that it didn't count as a religion, and academic East Asianists are pretty evenly split on whether or not we agree with this--and I guess Tao might be arguable too based on what I know about it, but describing Theravada Buddhism as a 'nontheistic philosophy' makes about as much sense as describing Mormonism as an 'American political ideology'.

I would say that we don't actually know what exactly what Buddha taught, because like Jesus and Socrates we don't have any of his writings, only the writings of his followers and the various schools of Buddhism don't agree, anyway (just like Christians). To describe Theravada as a "not-necessarily-theistic belief system" is fine by me. The point is that not all Buddhists believe in God. Obviously some do.

Nobody serious uses the fact that we don't have any writings from Jesus as an argument that actually-existing Christianity isn't a religion or doesn't have the characteristics as a religion that it's generally recognized to have.

[°Leprechaun]

If your definition of religion includes a belief in "God", then yes I would call Christianity a religion.
By that definition many Buddhists are not "religious".

Then issue was not what is a religion, however, the issue was whether all Buddhists believe in "God".

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

If your definition of religion includes a belief in "God",

But why would it?

The problem with the inclusion of Buddhism in this quiz (along with Confucianism, Tao, and, frankly, Unitarian Universalism) is that it's being lumped in with all these abstract philosophical conceptualizations. Theravada Buddhism and 'weak agnosticism' are simply not part of the same conceptual category at all.

[°Leprechaun]

If your definition of religion includes a belief in "God",

But why would it?

The problem with the inclusion of Buddhism in this quiz (along with Confucianism, Tao, and, frankly, Unitarian Universalism) is that it's being lumped in with all these abstract philosophical conceptualizations. Theravada Buddhism and 'weak agnosticism' are simply not part of the same conceptual category at all.

The connection between these beliefs is tenuous at best, but one thing that they have in common is that none of them embrace the traditional "western" God. (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). Those three although very different are often classified as "western" or "Abramic" religions.

Of course, the question "What kind of atheist are you"? is problematic. Many people associate the term with rejection of religion.

[°Leprechaun]

My point is that while the test is fatally flawed it is designed for people that aren't Jews, Christians or Muslims.

[°Leprechaun]

These tests (whether political, religious or whatever) usually are poor indicators of what a person actually believes, but may in some cases, help give a person a better idea of where to search. In my case, for example, while I don't want to label myself as a Buddhist or Taoist, these two "religions" have a great deal of appeal to me. However, I already knew that before I took the test.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I just feel like if the test is going to include things like Objectivism then it would make a lot more sense for it to include, say, dialectical materialism, rather than East Asian religions that happen not to be conventionally theistic.

[°Leprechaun]

http://www.selectsmart.com/philosophy/

here's another one but it is about specific philosophers rather than philosophies

[anvi]

Hmm... 

As I understand Theravāda, the scriptures reject the notion that there was any eternal being that created the universe, but those same scriptures and practice acknowledged the existence of many kinds of spirits and demonic figures in the six loka-s (realms), including our own. 

Confucian thinkers of many centuries are all over the map on the notion of "divine" beings.  Many early and late Confucians acknowledge the person-like nature of tian and the persistent existence of dead ancestors, but at least one major early thinker and a number of medieval ones use such vocabulary only to talk about natural "patterns" that imbue material forms.  So, there is no one view.

As far as Daoism is concerned, even the Dao De Jing makes mention in a number of places of natural spirits and their potencies.  Daoists as early as the early Han attested to a whole panoply of spirits, and Laozi himself was one of them.

So, it's hard to call any of these traditions "atheist" in any blanket sense, as far as I know.

[Associate Justice PiT]

        1.   Objectivist (100%)             
   2.   Secular Humanist (92%)             
   3.   Strong Agnostic (90%)             
   4.   Rationalist (88%)             
   5.   Ethical Culturist (87%)             
   6.   Freethinker (87%)             
   7.   Ignosticist (87%)             
   8.   Iconoclast (86%)             
   9.   Strong Atheist (81%)          
   10.   Unitarian Universalist (69%)          
   11.   Deist (67%)             
   12.   Weak Agnostic (65%)          
   13.   Naturalistic Pantheist (64%)          
   14.   Confucianist (61%)          
   15.   Transhumanist (61%)          
   16.   Implicit Atheist (61%)          
   17.   Atheistic Paganist (58%)          
   18.   Theravada Buddhist (47%)          
   19.   Taoist (38%)

     Not a fan of my top result. At least the few after that are pretty good ones.

[Lexii, harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy]

Your top result is
Jean-Paul Sartre
SelectSmart.com
Type In ''Jean-Paul Sartre'' Or Any Philosophy Search Term:
 Philosophy Information Search
Your Complete Results:
   1.   Jean-Paul Sartre (100%)            
   2.   David Hume (99%)            
   3.   Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (81%)            
   4.   Thomas Hobbes (73%)            
   5.   John Stuart Mill (72%)            
   6.   William of Ockham (71%)            
   7.   Stoics (70%)            
   8.   Nel Noddings (64%)            
   9.   Jeremy Bentham (63%)         
   10.   Immanuel Kant (62%)            
   11.   Benedictus Spinoza (57%)            
   12.   Aristotle (47%)            
   13.   St. Augustine (46%)            
   14.   Thomas Aquinas (46%)            
   15.   Prescriptivism (46%)            
   16.   Ayn Rand (40%)            
   17.   Epicureans (39%)            
   18.   Plato (37%)            
   19.   Cynics (35%)            
   20.   William James (0%)         
   21.   Jean-Jacques Rousseau (0%)

[Antonio the Sixth]

   1.   John Stuart Mill (100%)            
   2.   Thomas Aquinas (98%)            
   3.   Jeremy Bentham (98%)            
   4.   St. Augustine (88%)            
   5.   Aristotle (85%)            
   6.   Ayn Rand (78%)            
   7.   Jean-Paul Sartre (77%)            
   8.   Plato (76%)            
   9.   Stoics (70%)            
   10.   Immanuel Kant (69%)            
   11.   David Hume (66%)            
   12.   William of Ockham (58%)            
   13.   Nel Noddings (50%)            
   14.   Benedictus Spinoza (49%)            
   15.   Epicureans (48%)            
   16.   Prescriptivism (44%)            
   17.   Thomas Hobbes (38%)            
   18.   Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (34%)            
   19.   Cynics (30%)            
   20.   William James (30%)         
   21.   Jean-Jacques Rousseau (0%)

Rand at #6, WTF? I systematically voted against options that prioritized self-interest.

Also, Kant should be way higher. And where the hell is Rawls?

[Mr. Smith]

Well that was fun, not surprised that Objectivism hit the pit.

1.   Theravada Buddhist (100%)            
   2.   Taoist (93%)            
   3.   Strong Agnostic (88%)            
   4.   Deist (87%)            
   5.   Ethical Culturist (79%)            
   6.   Naturalistic Pantheist (78%)            
   7.   Unitarian Universalist (78%)            
   8.   Weak Agnostic (77%)            
   9.   Ignosticist (65%)            
   10.   Atheistic Paganist (64%)            
   11.   Freethinker (64%)            
   12.   Confucianist (62%)            
   13.   Implicit Atheist (59%)            
   14.   Secular Humanist (57%)            
   15.   Rationalist (57%)            
   16.   Transhumanist (56%)            
   17.   Strong Atheist (49%)            
   18.   Iconoclast (41%)            
   19.   Objectivist (23%)

As for Philosophies

   1. St. Augustine (100%)            
   2.   Thomas Aquinas (99%)            
   3.   Jeremy Bentham (89%)            
   4.   John Stuart Mill (76%)            
   5.   Aristotle (63%)            
   6.   Immanuel Kant (57%)            
   7.   Thomas Hobbes (56%)            
   8.   Plato (54%)            
   9.   Epicureans (50%)            
   10.   William of Ockham (49%)            
   11.   William James (44%)         
   12.   Benedictus Spinoza (43%)            
   13.   Ayn Rand (42%)            
   14.   Nel Noddings (41%)            
   15.   Prescriptivism (40%)            
   16.   Cynics (37%)            
   17.   Jean-Paul Sartre (30%)            
   18.   David Hume (27%)            
   19.   Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (23%)            
   20.   Stoics (15%)            
   21.   Jean-Jacques Rousseau (0%)

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

   1.   Thomas Aquinas (100%)
   2.   St. Augustine (86%)
   3.   William of Ockham (73%)
   4.   Aristotle (72%)
   5.   Benedictus Spinoza (63%)
   6.    Plato (59%)
   7.    Stoics (52%)
   8.   Jeremy Bentham (45%)
   9.   Nel Noddings (43%)
   10.    Immanuel Kant (36%)
   11.    Cynics (33%)
   12.    John Stuart Mill (33%)
   13.    Epicureans (32%)
   14.    Jean-Paul Sartre (27%)
   15.   William James (25%)          
   16.   David Hume (25%)
   17.   Ayn Rand (20%)
   18.   Prescriptivism (20%)
   19.   Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (19%)
   20.   Thomas Hobbes (0%)
   21.   Jean-Jacques Rousseau (0%)

Kant, James, and Nietzsche's general frameworks are a lot more central to my philosophical and theological project than this suggests, but I suppose it makes sense that I don't tend to come to the same conclusions as them (especially with Nietzsche).

Where's Philippa Foot? Isn't the trolley problem mostly associated with her?

lmao this site also has 'Would Locke become romantically involved with you?'

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Sorry St. Augustine :/

   1.   Jeremy Bentham (100%)   
   2.   Immanuel Kant (83%)
   3.   Prescriptivism (74%)   
   4.   Nel Noddings (72%)
   5.   Benedictus Spinoza (70%)   
   6.   Jean-Paul Sartre (67%)
   7.   John Stuart Mill (61%)
   8.   Stoics (57%)
   9.   Thomas Aquinas (56%)
   10.   Aristotle (54%)
   11.   Ayn Rand (43%)
   12.   Epicureans (43%)
   13.   St. Augustine (38%)
   14.   Plato (37%)
   15.   David Hume (28%)
   16.   Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (28%)
   17.   William of Ockham (27%)
   18.   Thomas Hobbes (25%)
   19.   Cynics (8%)   
   20.   William James (0%)         
   21.   Jean-Jacques Rousseau (0%)

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

   1.   Jeremy Bentham (100%)

[afleitch]

   1.   Jeremy Bentham (100%)

?



Anyway.

Top 3 Hume, Hobbes, Stoics. 100% for Hume.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

   1.   Jeremy Bentham (100%)

?

Not a fan of Benthamite utilitarianism, although the man did a lot of really good work in other areas. Philosophically more sympathetic to Mill if I had to choose.