If someone – Ben, say – was suddenly evaporated and replaced with an indistinguishable replica, did Ben die? What about if Ben was aware of his death? If Ben was gradually transformed by genetic and behavioural modifications into someone else – James, say – and the transformation happened so slowly that at no point did […]
Some questions about death Read More
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
Thank you, Dylan Atkin, for such a crucial question. In order to answer this question, we need a conception of a “sound mind”. Do we mean a person who is in full control of their cognitive capacities? Or someone who is emotionally stable? Or someone who holds the appropriate values and attitudes that we expect
Can one be simultaneously suicidal and sound of mind? Read More
Do you think all questions are valid? If not, what makes a question stupid? Thank you, Angela Geronimo, for this obviously valid and clever question. (While we could certainly differentiate validity and non-stupidity, I will here treat them as one.) Whether a question can to be considered stupid depends on what we mean by “stupid”
What makes a question stupid? Read More
Thank you, Daniel G. Shayne, for such a relevant and introspective question. Human decadence is one the greatest threats to the health of our environment, those we share it with, and ourselves. This being the case, it is of utmost importance that, if there is a defense against it, we identify and employ it –
Is there any defense against human decadence? Read More
How practical is it to not fall into the trap of good vs evil dichotomy? Thank you, Kirti Lamba, for this fascinating question. It is difficult to define the concepts ‘good’ and ‘bad’, if by “define” we mean analyzing these concepts into better-understood constituents. For example, it’s not clear that we can do to ‘good’
How can we define good, bad, and evil? Read More
Thank you, Gum Makur Gum, for such a perennial question! What does it mean to exist? Until Kant, many philosophers thought that existence was a property of a substance, much like color, weight, mass, etc. Saying that “This flower is red” was similar to saying that “This flower exists”, meaning that the flower had the
‘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
Thank you, Grace Robertson, for such a perennial question. To dye one’s hair is to change one’s appearance. Is it as simple a matter as changing one’s shirt? When we consider what clothing to wear, we consider practicality and appearance. You wear a coat because it’s cold, and you wear a particular style of coat
Why do people use hair dye? Read More
Thank you, Jayle Paña, for such a sensitive question. Hope is a belief in the possibility of some goal or, more generally, toward the destiny of human beings or the world. A state of hopelessness is one in which there are many signs and much believable evidence that point in the opposite direction of our
Why do people hope even in hopeless times? Read More
