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, 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, 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, Ali Muràád Bàloç, for this fascinating question. The first thing we have to ask is, what is hypocrisy? Ask most people, and they will tell you that hypocrisy is not practicing what you preach. But consider this: in the process of becoming mature adults, we often do things that we later condemn, or
Do people live without hypocrisy? Read More
Thank you, Daryl John Dumanig Panibon, for this important question. One way to begin answering a question is by making the question itself more precise. I propose that we understand the question, “is life worth living?” as equivalent to the question, “is there a reason to continue existing?” Since it is within our power at
Is life worth living? Read More
It seems so clear to me that living in rational way would benefit us way more. Thank you, Ayli Inrovdop, for this long-standing question. Your question already seems to imply a hypothesis that has had a long history in philosophy and continues to have a certain influence in everyday discourse, namely, the opposition between reason
Should we seek to live rationally rather than emotionally? Read More
Thank you, Andy Chartier, for such an intriguing question. Very generally, science is a methodological investigation into physical phenomena that aims at describing the actual world with the highest possible precision. Morality is an inquiry into what sorts of things we ought to value (compassion over hate) and what sorts of things we ought to
Can science determine morality? If so, how? Read More
Thank you, Ohkaydeh, for asking such a timeless question! The answer to this question depends on your conception of God, assuming that God does indeed exist and created the universe. The benefit of being a philosopher is that we can be creative and not worry too much about theology or committing various heresies. So, I
What’s the reason God created humans? Read More
Thank you, Alex Impey, for such a weighty question. Being in love and loving – that is, romantic love and non-romantic kinds of love – seem to overlap in astonishing ways: both share features such as attachment, attraction, warmth, and interest. That said, being in love certainly feels different to loving – why is that?
What’s the difference between loving someone and being in love with someone? Read More
Thank you, Arjun Sambhi, for such a head-scratcher. Ah, a very old question, in fact one of the oldest in the discipline of philosophy; and like all old questions, it is still with us, and rightly so. I will lay my cards on the table: I am a pretty committed disciple of Parmenides – the
Is nothing something? Read More
