Thank you, Daniel Riggins, for a significant question, one that concerns all teachers and students of philosophy. Let me begin with a word of caution: I shall be discussing only Western philosophy, since that is my area of expertise. I cannot comment on philosophical traditions from different parts of the world, simply because I lack […]
How should philosophy be introduced? Read More
The only thought attached here is that it doesn’t seem fitting that the answer is, ‘Whatever science can’t answer.’ Thank you, Joshua Millard, for a great question. Your question has surely haunted all remotely self-aware philosophers at some point in their careers. Remarkably (or perhaps unremarkably, if you have followed philosophy for some time), there
What is the proper domain for philosophy? Read More
Thank you, Brian Eckelman, for such a perceptive question. It is a massive question. Here, I will focus just on what creates our understanding of reality within society. I want to draw a separation between ‘real effects’ and ‘reality’: something can have a real effect upon us, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is
Does perception dictate reality? Read More
Thank you, Arjun Sambhi, for such an important question! I will do my best to capture its complexity and implications. Imagine Juliet, a white American philosophy professor. As many academics, Juliet is liberal and fiercely against racism in any shape or form. She is informed of systemic racism in American society, and she is a
Thank you, Eoin Martin, for this lovely question! There are lots of ways you could go about tackling it. I want to look a bit closer at the central concept: attractiveness. In my answer, I will be talking about how attractiveness works, what plays a role in determining how attractive someone is, in the hope
Are men or women more attractive? Read More
Thank you, Heather Bennett, for a very important question. When we ask whether we should hold historical figures to the standard of modern morality, there is perhaps an implicit premise that the societies of the past and our own society have different moral standards. This may assume that moral standards are sensitive to different cultures
Thank you, Leonardo Assis, for such a scientific question! I think you would be quite right to say that a mathematical explanation of the beginning of the universe is plausible. The current common explanation of where our universe comes from – the big bang theory and the theory of the expansion of the universe –
Could we say that the universe began like a mathematical equation? Read More
Thank you, Joshua Genovea, for such a pertinent question. Your question is discussed by Machiavelli in his famous book, ‘The Prince’. Machiavelli advises rulers to inspire both fear and love in their subjects; but if they cannot obtain both, fear would be the safer bet. This is not only for the ruler’s own interest in
Is it better for the leader of a state to be feared or loved? Read More
Thank you, Alex Norris, for such an intriguing question! Even though your question covers several complex philosophical fields (metaphysics and modality, standard and non-standard logic, philosophy of mind and language), I hope my answer will be as clear and complete as possible. “There are things that do not exist.” This enigmatic sentence from A. Meinong
Are all things that can be imagined possible somewhere or somewhen? Read More
Thanks, Miguel Pineda, for this intriguing question! Before we can think about how morality and altruism are related, we first need to get clear on what we mean by ‘morality’ and ‘altruism’. Moral philosophers, like the rest of us, generally agree at least roughly about what moral norms require. Don’t kill, don’t lie, don’t steal
Is morality just altruism? Read More
