Introduction

We start with a simple question: How should you live your life? There is fundamental philosophical disagreement about the right answer to that question. While philosophical disagreement is nothing new, this chapter presents a novel perspective on a potential explanation for some of that disagreement—i.e., heritable differences in personality. We introduce some of the materials and methods that we have used to scientifically establish the relation of personality with some philosophical judgments in free will, intentional action, and moral objectivism. Readers are invited to consider some of the specific cases and questions we have used to provide evidence for the theoretical core of the book—i.e., the Philosophical Personality Argument. The conclusion of this argument states that one’s endorsement of some philosophical claims is partially a function of one’s personality. Finally, we provide potential guides for reading the book based on the interests of the reader (e.g., considering strengths and limits of empirical evidence; theoretical implications for philosophy and psychology; ethical policy analysis for choice architecture and human factors research).