24 Nov 2021
Over a period of three weeks from 2 to 23 Nov 2021, a total of 79 responses were collected from a questionnaire on beliefs sent to members of the Singapore Philosophy Meetup Group (and some of their relations). Inspired by Pew Research Center's Political Typology, and using the statistical technique of cluster analysis, we were able to determine that there are two (2) main groups of respondents, very evenly divided: a group which we might call Skeptics (n=40; 51%) and a second group of Believers (n=39; 49%). Skeptics and Believers differ in terms of their distribution of responses across nearly every category of belief: Religion and spirituality, Consciousness, Social relations, Free will and meaning of life, Ethics, and Predetermination and purpose. Surprisingly, it is only within the category of beliefs about Epistemology that Skeptics and Believers do not differ much. Part I compares the distribution of responses between the two groups within each category of belief.
While there might there be more fine-grained typologies of belief hidden underneath this main clustering, the sample size of respondents is far too small to be able to discover such groups with certainty (Appendix points 3-6). Instead, we wanted to see if the questions themselves can be grouped together into so-called dimensions of belief based on correlations in responses. This will enable us to postulate which questions are more important in determining a respondent's profile of belief. The results are discussed in Part II.
Data and code are available here for those who wish to replicate or extend the analysis.
Summary: Skeptics and Believers are distinguished by substantial differences across major axes of belief, spanning not just religion, consciousness, ethics and the meaning of life but also social relations, self-interest and beliefs about inequality. Interestingly, Skeptics, while professing disagreement in the expected direction with regards to absolute moral values, spirituality, free will, and the meaning of life, are more likely to agree with the notion that self-interest above community is the strongest human motivation, while also being more likely to disagree with the idea that intrinsic human qualities are more important than environmental circumstances. Skeptics are also somewhat less enthusiastic about propositions regarding participatory social institutions and social or biological equality.
Unsurprisingly, Skeptics strongly disagree with the proposition of believing in a mainstream religion (93% overall disagreement) or non-material phenomena (80% overall disagreement). Meanwhile, Believers would perhaps be more accurately described as somewhat agnostic, with just over half expressing belief in a mainstream religion (56% overall agreement) and just under two-thirds expressing belief in non-material phenomena (62% overall agreement).
Believers are more likely to express agreement with the proposition that consciousness belongs only to life (as opposed to machines potentially acquiring it), with 61% expressing some level of agreement compared to only 36% of Skeptics. Meanwhile, Skeptics are more likely to reject the proposition that consciousness is an intrinsic quality of all matter (65% overall disagreement vs. 36% of Believers). In other words, Believers are more emphatic in circumscribing consciousness as uniquely belonging to life (while ambivalent about whether it is a property of matter), while Skeptics are more emphatic in rejecting the idea that all matter possess consciousness (while ambivalent about whether it is unique to biological life).
There are no clear distinctions in terms of beliefs about epistemology between Skeptics and Believers. Both groups express general agreement to the proposition that the external world really exists (60% overall agreement in Skeptics, 66% in Believers) and that some knowledge can be certain (55% overall agreement in Skeptics, 59% in Believers). Skeptics are somewhat more likely to express disagreement to certainty about knowledge, but from a low baseline (27% overall disagreement vs. 15% of Believers).
Skeptics are more likely to agree with the proposition that self-interest is the strongest motivation, with 64% expressing some level of agreement compared to only 39% of Believers. In spite of this, both groups express robust agreement to the proposition of participatory social institutions, although it is stronger in Believers (64% overall agreement in Skeptics, 82% in Believers). Likewise, while both groups generally agree with the proposition of the importance of equality in society (64% overall agreement in Skeptics, 74% in Believers), Believers are much more likely to be strongly affirmative (44% strongly agree vs. only 12% of Skeptics).
