Thank you, Emir, for such an intriguing question. I have a bold (many would say foolish) answer for you. I want to suggest that your question is even more correct than you perhaps realise. Western philosophy is, I think, obviously concerned with the occult, at least insomuch as the occult is concerned with things ‘hidden’, […]
Is western philosophy mostly an occult philosophy? Read More
Thank you, Zeeshan Ahmed, for an intriguing question. What it means to ‘comprehend’ something is its own interesting philosophical question, and one that’s received less attention that might be expected. However, we can probably say a couple of things to shape our thinking without much controversy. One is that comprehension involves appreciating the structure, or
Thank you Mr Wynn P Wheldon for such a significant question! Michel Foucault wrote extensively on this subject. My answer will be based on some of his insights. First let us understand what is meant by the word “humane”. We usually mean “merciful”, which implies that somehow incarceration is a “softer” kind of punishment than
Is incarceration more humane than corporal punishment? Read More
Thank you, TG Dee, for this perennial question. To understand why this seems to be the case, we have to understand what it is to be good or to be evil. It seems to me that to be good involves acting, desiring, feeling, in accordance with certain standards. For multiple reasons it is not easy
Why is evil consistent and the good is faltering? Read More
Thank you, Mahesh Sonawane, for this very important question! It is one I often struggle with myself (hence my taking far too long to come up with this answer – sorry!), and I will not pretend to have a definitive recipe for optimism for you. However, I hope this can at least help. Something I
When there is so much suffering in the world, how can we stay positive? Read More
Thank you, Dávid Mező, for this immortal question. Unsurprisingly, we are living beings that are born, develop, reproduce, and die. This seems almost a necessity. However, we sometimes hear in the media about astonishing advances in the genetics of senescence and the medical treatment of ageing. The subject, if not yet topical today, will most
Should we accept death and ageing, or try to beat them with science? Read More
Thank you, Ayli Inrovdop, for such a topical question. A single vote hardly ever breaks a tie, so what’s the point in voting? To begin, you could vote in the hope of having your own interests represented by the candidate or party that advocates for the policies most advantageous to you. After all, even though
Thank you, Kurt Elarcosa! A classic question, and timely too! If ever there was a year that prompted a question like this, it’s 2020. Let’s get to it. First, we need to distinguish between evil and suffering, as they are actually mutually exclusive. Physical suffering, pain, can come from growth or healing, as in growing
Why does an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God allow evil and suffering? Read More
Thank you, Aditya Pandey, for an important and enduring question. We have here two distinct but intimately related questions. The first question really concerns whether we know when life begins, while the second pits life against body autonomy. Both require a substantial answer to the question of what constitutes life. I will therefore briefly explore
Thank you, Eoin O’Sullivan, for an important question. A common understanding of justice – namely, “distributive justice” – is that we distribute certain goods fairly across a certain population. Goods represent the fundamental interests of citizens. Some political philosophers have argued that there are certain “primary goods” that are universal across any given political community
Does Walzer’s pluralism about political “goods” make sense? Read More
