Експерименталната философия между наука и хуманитаристика

Experimental philosophy relies on traditional philosophy to define the problems by which traditional philosophy objectifies its theories. As opposed to this approach, experimental philosophers strive to distinguish their colleague’s intuitions from folk intuitions, with regard to notions such as free will, determinism, the afterlife, moral responsibility. According to experimental philosophers, a theory can be verified through an empirical database, using inventories, questionnaires and even case studies. Thus, a philosopher’s concept of moral responsibility should not be taken for granted; instead, in striving for certainty, a philosopher’s theory should be compared with that of non-philosophers. This method does not devalue the philosopher’s opinion but rather supports philosophical concepts and theory with empirical data.Experimental philosophers tend to explore intuitions in order to find which beliefs are intuitively produced and which are not. Also, how large and significant is the difference between the intuitions of philosophers and those of ordinary people. A good way to find the answer is to survey both groups and see how their answers differ. In the article, the author explores what kind of intuitions philosophers and ordinary people have and share, and to what extent philosophical theories can be confirmed or rejected on the basis of a comparative analysis between the responses of these two groups.