The study of government and the relationship of individuals to communities including the state.
Great question! Basically, your freedom exists in your choosing from a set of acceptable behaviour choices provided to you by institutions of power, namely, the state or your culture. That being said, try walking into your neighbour’s house uninvited and pulling some ice cream out of the freezer, and you’ll find that cultural and societal […]
‘If I can be punished for something, should I expect to be included in discussions about the thing I could be punished for, along with the kind of punishment that will be meted out? For example, if I live in a society where ‘being aggressive’ is considered a criminal act, should there ever be a
Who should be included in the political decision-making process? Read More
What’s the role of philosophy in our life and could it bring new innovation to our life like science? Thank you, Li Kelvin, for such a crucial question. As is to be expected, the answer hinges on what we take philosophy to mean. If we think it’s just a 9-5 job of detached concept-mongering or
How does philosophy work in our day-to-day life? Read More
Why do we classify perceptions in opposite categories (either good/bad, black/white)? Thank you, Orsolya Kárpáti, for these two great questions. They are so deep that they require books worth of answers, which would draw from fields of history, technology, religion, culture studies, and psychology. Why? Let’s start with a better understanding of what cosmologies are.
Why has dualistic cosmology become so powerful in our world? Read More
Thank you, Roy Head, for such an intriguing question. When considering this question, I assume that most people would think of ‘health’ or ‘life’ insurance, rather than ‘car’, ‘fire’, ‘liability’, ‘property’, etc. Yet they are all insurances, and I intend to cover all of them in this Opinion. Google defines insurance as “an arrangement by
Is insurance (and selling it) moral? Read More
Context: He’s also been described as a vigilante and anti-hero, but he beats up bad guys for a living? Thank you, Olivia Rose Brown, for this wonderful question! I agree that Batman’s violence makes him problematic, but there are even more ethical issues related to his activity. Batman spends most of his time fighting criminals,
Is Batman a superhero? Read More
Thank you, Charmaine Elaine, for this multi-faceted question. The phrase “taking a stand” can be used to describe a variety of behaviors in different contexts; in what follows, I will consider two interpretations. First, is it wrong not to engage in political activity? Second, is it wrong not to adopt a firm position on a
Is it wrong not to take a stand? Read More
Thank you, Mohammed Ajmi, for this timely question. In many respects, our societies are safer than the ones in which our ancestors lived. At the same time, however, it could be argued that humanity has never been so under threat as it is now. Think of the existence of weapons of mass destruction (especially when
Thank you, Carmen Plaza, for such a perplexing question. Nature is in some ways chaotic, and we therefore all seek, as human beings, to fit into a social structure (cities, universities, jobs, etc.) which precedes our own existence and yet changes with it. We do this for evolutionary reasons, and it influences heavily what we
Thank you, John Robbins, for such a thoughtful question. One way to approach it is to start by asking: what is a feminist? A person who believes in and supports feminism. And what is feminism? The term is somehow misleading, as it seems to mirror concepts like ‘masculinism’ or ‘male chauvinism’ – that is, the
Should we all be feminists? Read More
