Thank you, Agar Mayor Gai-Makoon, for this crucial question. The word “honesty” designates a virtue, or a settled and stable disposition to think, feel, and choose appropriately in some sphere of human experience. The particular sphere of experience in which honesty can be located seems to be that of truth-telling. There are three principal types […]
What does it take to be honest? Read More
Where can one start at a basic level and then continue to develop understanding and love for the subject? Thank you, Nazzarene Zen, for such a heuristic question. In one sense, I cannot answer the question, because “difficult to comprehend” is very personal, as is the development of love. But I will offer some general
Why is metaphysics so difficult to comprehend? 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
Thank you, Ehab Syed, for this fascinating question. The question is full of interesting ambiguity. What does it mean to live for others or ourselves? And in what sense of ‘better’? Are we asking which form of life is better? I will assume that to live for others or ourselves means to embrace one of
Is it better to live for ourselves or others? Read More
Thank you, Al Esperida, for such a profound question. We would all love to know what happens when our hearts stop beating. Even here in the secularized West, where the afterlife is dealt with only through horror movies and too-good-to-be-true TV mediums, it is a question which privately gnaws at most thinking people. But let’s
How would knowing there is life after death affect our daily lives? Read More
Thank you, Ajit Deshmukh, for your question. There are a few different ways to answer this question: one, to ask whether animals have a right to life; another, to ask whether humans have a duty of care towards them (non-human animals, that is); another still, to ask whether there is any reason to suppose that
Is killing an animal wrong? 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, Agar Mayor Gai-Makoon, for this intriguing question. The more I reflect upon it, the more mysterious it is that people are made happy by the fulfillment of their interests. I don’t think I have a good explanation for this; all I can do is hazard a few hypotheses. I will understand “happy” to
What makes people happy when their interests are fulfilled? Read More
Thank you, John Presley, for a great question and a great opportunity to reflect upon the fluid and slippery nature of our cultural icons. As good Aristotelians, we need to break down the question in order to get to the truth. We can start by defining the term icon. We get the word from the
What makes an artist an icon? 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
