Some Questions and Answers
The following questions were gleaned from those submitted to “Ask a Philosopher“. The particular questions I have elected to answer and record here, were those that piqued my interest. There is no other rational for their inclusion in this list. The answers shown here are those that I have submitted to that Pathways of Philosophy site. They can be found at the Pathways to Philosophy on the various questions and answers pages.
You can peruse the following index of questions grouped by topic. Or you can scan the questions in the order of publication by going here.
Introduction
- What is the point in philosophy, if we don’t know the answer to the basic most questions – like the reasons we are here, or what is this world?
- Why are people not thinking?
Metaphysics — Where Am I? — Non-Naive Realism — “What there is, is what you see!”
- What is reality?
- How do I know that what I perceive as the colour red is the same colour that you perceive as being red?
- If sense-data are so ‘immediate’ to us then why does there need to be a separation at all?
- Why would humans want to live without certainty?
- What is the universe contracting and expanding in?
- How is it possible that science keeps putting a theory forward about evolutionary biology when it doesn’t seem to make sense?
- What’s with solipsism?
Philosophy of Mind
- How can people have free will?
- Someone give me a convincing argument against the reasoning that humans have “free will”.
- How does one come to terms with consciousness and free-will scientifically?
- Do we have a mind in addition to our brains? If not then how do we explain conscious thoughts?
- If a person is sliced symmetrically in half instantaneously about the vertical axis, before that person’s inevitable death, where would his consciousness lie?
- What is the difference between the following two (alleged) possibilities?1. There might have existed someone physically just like me, who did not possess consciousness. 2. There might have existed someone physically just like me who possessed a consciousness just like mine WHO WAS NOT ME.
- I would like to know if your body and soul are separated?
- What is death?
Epistemology — How do I know? — Pragmatism — “What you see is what you get!”
- “Different cultures have different truths.”
- I believe that generalizations are a major problem in people’s way of thinking.
- Is the infinite a relative truth or an absolute truth?
- Can we know something that has not yet been proven to be true?
- What do you think of the wrecking ball that David Hume applies to science? Does he really show that necessary connections are merely based on psychological conditioning or constant conjunctions of similar events? What should be the impact of Hume and empiricism in this era of great scientific and technological advances?
Ethics — What ought I do? — Evolutionism — “To Thine Own Self Be True!”
- What does the word “good” mean?
- I want to know the purpose of life.
- What is the meaning of life?
- Is there any action that is good in itself, without reference to the consequences it brings about?
- Whose interest should be paramount in ethical judgment?
- Can a moral person be happy?
- What conditions must be present before we can say a person is truly happy?
- Is it human nature to be greedy or have we been corrupted?
- Why are people not contented with what they have?
- Do human being have a natural tendency to good, a natural tendency to evil, or some combination of tendencies?
- Is the preserving of one’s dignity or the serving of a principle other than self-interest ever a higher good than personal happiness?
- Are some acts morally obligatory regardless of the consequences for human benefit or harm?
- How important is objectivity in moral judgment?
- Is there a single universal moral code that is binding on all people at all times and in all places?
- Can nature, or what is natural, be considered any kind of guide to what is virtuous or even tolerable?
Applied Ethics
- Should this lady be informed about her illness, or would her knowing cause more harm than good?
- How can I support something I don’t believe in?
- Who owns the genetic material of an aborted fetus?
- Why is killing wrong?
- Is euthanasia wrong?
- It is said that I truly love another if my happiness is depends on his/her happiness. i.e. I cannot be happy unless s/he is happy. My questions is, is this always true, or Is there not a popular tendency to equate evil with immorality?
Political Philosophy — Classical Liberalism
- Where exactly does our (your) “Liberty” come from?
- Is the language of rights the best way to protect peace?
- Why, in a democracy which grants us virtual freedom, are we forced to receive an education?
Religious Philosophy
- Should religious doctrines and practices be regulated according to their moral worthiness?
- Examine Einstein’s claim that “God does not play dice with the universe” in the context of the teleological argument for the existence of God.
- In what ways should a Christian political thinker’s faith influence his or her political writings?
- What are your proofs against Christianity?
- Why do good things happen to bad people, and bad things happen to good people?
- what materials did he use to create with? If only God alone existed then wouldn’t it stand to reason that the only materials he had in order to create with was his own essence, energy etc.? Would this mean that pantheism or monism is a more logical form of theism? Otherwise you must posit creation ex nihilo which simply seems to me to be an appeal to authority at best and an appeal to magic at its worst.
- What is the best way to solve the Epicurean Paradox? How can you reconcile the existence of evil with an all good all powerful God?
Miscellaneous Questions
- Would you kindly tell me the differences between effectiveness and efficiency in management?
- Why is Ayn Rand considered by some as a philosopher, if she is not a “good” philosopher?
- I’m an ex-philosopher turned English (EFL) teacher. I have been trying to find some interesting philosophical texts that I could use with my students.
- “Final causes” and their applicability to physical systems.