“Apparently, there is a 50-50 chance that we live in a simulated world. What does philosophy make of this possibility?” Thank you, Wynn P Wheldon. Actually, this question has been central to philosophy for a very long time now, and, as usual, there is no simple answer to it. It raises attached questions, such as: […]
What if it’s all just a simulation? Read More
Thank you, Cez Yza, for a crucial question. The answer depends mostly on what we believe makes up a philosopher. If we follow Karl Popper, we are all already philosophers because we all hold philosophical prejudices, that is, we have views on life, the universe, and everything. Being a philosopher in this sense is neither
Can anyone become a philosopher? Read More
Thank you, Dom Eccleston, for a fantastic question; it scrutinizes the stereotype of the isolated contemplative sitting in an ivory tower rationalizing their way through metaphysical and existential puzzles. Questioning things that we take for granted is at the heart of philosophy, and all knowledge-driven endeavors, really. Because I trust that you’ll keep reading, I’ll
Does philosophy require solitude? Read More
“Is it less altruistic to support charities that we sympathise with/relate to, as opposed to supporting all charities within our means?” Thank you, Arjun Sambhi, for another head-scratcher! Altruism speaks to our motives, rather than specifically the things we do. We act from altruism when two things happen at once: firstly, when we are motivated
Is it less altruistic to support charities that we relate to? Read More
Thank you, Sami Naimat, for a classic question. Some people think that morality varies from person to person. This philosophical position is called moral relativism. There are truths about morality, according to moral relativism, and the truth depends on someone or some society. Even if you and I disagree about morality, we can still both
Is morality relativistic or absolute? Read More
Thank you, Gaurav Sharma, for this great question. I assume you are referring to Albert Camus’ interpretation of the Sisyphus myth, and I highly encourage you to dig into the core text because it is brilliant. Camus’ main message is that we must imagine Sisyphus happy to be able to accept the absurdity of our
Why must we imagine Sisyphus happy? Read More
“Is it true that all people are the same? What about differences such as between man and woman, boss and servant?” Thank you, Agar Mayor Gai-Makoon, for a timely and timeless question. In my opinion, people are not the same. First, let’s consider differences between man and woman, boss and servant. I’ll add some other
Are we all the same? Read More
“Does knowledge have intrinsic value or is its value respective to how applicable it is?” Thank you, Arjun Sambhi, for another corker of a question. Aristotle is famous for saying that we all naturally desire knowledge. But do we always want to know the truth? (Cue Mario Winans’ “I don’t Wanna Know”.) Imagine you had
Does knowledge have intrinsic value? Read More
Thank you, Orsolya Kárpáti, for raising a really important question. Let’s start by thinking about the role consent plays in our moral thinking. The first thing we might notice is the difference between consent as an utterance – saying, ‘I agree’ or ‘yeah, sure’ – and morally valid consent. We can say that we consent
Can you buy consent? Read More
“If you are influenced by the idea of someone, then you acquired it without acknowledgement, can it be considered plagiarism?” Thank you, Jong Camallere, for a tricky question. A very large part of what we think and say comes from our interactions with others: what we have seen, heard, learned and read from them. Yet
Is unacknowledged influence plagiarism? Read More
