225 Philosophical & Thought-Provoking Questions
That'll Get Your Wheels Turning
By Maryn Liles
Philosophical & Thought-Provoking Questions That'll Get Your Wheels Turning
https://parade.com/1185047/marynliles/philosophical-questions/
Once in a while, it’s nice to sit back, relax, and ponder the true meaning of life. These philosophical questions don’t necessarily have black-and-white answers and are meant to provoke the deeper side of the human experience.
Whether you’re into philosophical questions about happiness or are fascinated by interesting thought-provoking questions about ethics, this giant list of philosophical questions will get the wheels in your noggin turning and will challenge you to think
about life in a different way.
In addition to helping you see a new perspective, these thought-provoking questions make great conversation starters. Asking friends and family some of these deep questions is also a fun way to help you get to know them a little better.
No matter what you use these interesting philosophical questions for, you’re in for a lot to think about!
Philosophical Questions
1. Is happiness just chemicals flowing through your brain or something more?
2. Can we really know everything?
3. What is the meaning of a good life?
4. Is there a God?
5. What in life is truly objective and not subjective?
6. What is consciousness?
7. Is there inherent order in nature or is it all chaos and chance?
8. Is there an alternative to capitalism?
9. Is it more important to be respected or liked?
10. Are we in the Matrix?
11. Have we become less happy in this age of technology?
12. What is mathematics?
13. Are humans obligated to better themselves?
14. Is there a meaning of life?
15. Is having a big ego a negative or positive trait?
16. Is there absolute mortality?
17. Is the most important purpose in life to find happiness?
18. Do we have free will?
19. Does life require a purpose and a goal?
20. Would you kill 10 people to save 100?
21. What is happiness?
22. How can people believe in truths without evidence?
23. Is it easier to love or to be loved?
24. What is time?
25. Do acts of kindness have a motive?
26. Is mind or matter more real?
27. Is love simply physical desire or something more?
28. Where do thoughts come from?
29. Does evil come from within, and if so why?
30. What is beauty?
31. Are people in this current generation less or more sensitive than people from past generations?
32. Where were people before they were born?
33. What is true friendship?
34. How does gravity work?
35. Can achieving nothing make a person happy?
36. Does the Law of Attraction exist?
37. Have gadgets and apps taken away emotions?
38. Does observation alter an event?
39. If everyone spoke their mind would this world be a better place?
40. Where does the universe end?
41. Is there a perfect life?
42. What is infinity?
43. Why do we strive for perfection if it is not attainable?
44. Does sound happen if nothing is present to hear it?
45. Does utilizing time properly make our lives meaningful and happy?
46. Is it more important to be liked or respected?
47. Can life be meaningful without friends?
48. Where does the soul live?
49. How do you know if you love someone enough to marry them?
50. Is there a reason for life?
51. Do numbers in a bank account make people happy?
52. What will happen at the end of the world?
53. Is living life to the fullest possible?
54. What will happen at the end of the world?
55. Can spirituality make you a happy person?
56. What is education?
57. Are highly intelligent people less happy than individuals with average intelligence?
58. Is there a supreme power?
59. Is there an absolute way to attain a happy state of mind?
60. How did the universe begin?
61. Does living your life for others make your life have meaning?
62. Can we have happiness without sadness?
63. Do knowledge and understanding make you content and happy as a person?
64. What are numbers?
65. Does fate exist?
66. When does consciousness begin?
67. Does an ideal government exist?
68. Is life all a dream?
69. Does life have a reason?
70. If everything evolved from amoebas, how does the world still have amoebas?
71. Are there limitations on free speech?
72. The structure of DNA appears to be intelligently designed, what are the implications?
73. Do aliens exist?
74. Are we a minuscule part of intelligent life in the universe?
75. Is trust more important than love?
Philosophical Questions That Are Thought Provoking
76. Why do we do things we do not like to do?
77. If lying is wrong, are white lies okay?
78. Do atheists make their own gods?
79. How should people live their lives?
80. Can artificial intelligence be creative?
81. If judgment is for God, why do we pass judgment?
82. What is intelligence?
83. Can religious beliefs affect scientific thinking?
84. What is intelligence?
85. Will a world without reliance on modern technology make any progress?
86. Do we have a soul?
87. Is human potential capable of anything?
88. What do people strive for after enlightenment?
89. Is death a new beginning?
90. What defines you?
91. Why does God not intervene when evil takes root in people?
92. What happens after we die?
93. Does belief make God exist?
94. Isn’t one person’s terrorist another person’s freedom fighter?
95. Will robots take over the world in the future?
96. How much control do you have over your life?
97. Does the path to salvation lie within us?
98. How do you know your perceptions are real?
99. Are we the biggest threat to humanity?
100. If money cannot buy happiness, can you ever be truly happy with no money?
101. Do parallel universes exist?
102. What role does honor play in today’s society?
103. How does one find purpose in life?
104. Is a family still relevant in the modern world?
105. If aliens attack, what will we do?
106. What is true love?
107. Do guns protect people or kill people?
108. What is true strength?
109. Will racism cease to exist?
110. How do you know that your experience of consciousness is the same as other people’s experience of consciousness?
111. Why is beauty associated with morality?
112. Who decides what morality is?
113. Why do we respect the dead more than the living?
114. Is a “wrong” act okay if nobody ever knows about it?
115. Does God have supreme power?
116. What is the difference between living and being alive?
117. Will the world be a better place if caste and religion cease to exist?
118. Who defines good and evil?
119. What’s more important: doing the right thing or doing things right?
120. Why do people fear losing things that they do not even have yet?
121. Do we love ourselves more in the virtual world and less in the real world?
122. What makes a good friend?
123. Is humanity doomed to head in a destructive direction?
124. Do you make your own decisions, or let others make them for you?
125. Should full access to the internet be a fundamental right?
126. What is reality?
127. Is peace the only way to stop a war?
128. What is the truth?
129. Can memories be erased?
130. What makes you, you?
131. Is religion conceptualized by one’s own belief system?
132. What things hold you back from doing the things that you really want to?
133. Will the world come to an end by human hands?
134. What is true happiness?
135. Intelligence or wisdom, what’s more important for a better world?
136. Where is the line between insanity and creativity?
137. Is true beauty subjective or objective?
138. What one piece of advice would you offer to a newborn infant?
139. What is the extent of freedom human beings should have?
140. Does nature shape our personalities more than nurture?
141. What is the meaning of rich and poor in the modern world?
142. To what extent do you shape your own destiny, and how much is down to fate?
143. Do we control technology or is technology controlling us?
144. If you could choose just one thing to change about the world, what would it be?
145. Is it worse to fail at something or never attempt it in the first place?
146. What exactly is self-esteem and where does it come from?
147. Will a curb on buying guns and arms reduce the number of shooting sprees in the world?
148. Is the way we compensate people for their jobs ideal or should we have some way of making sure people are paid appropriately?
149. Do we change when we have power?
150. Can a person be “educated” without a formal education?
Philosophical Questions That Are Intellectual
151. Will technological advances wipe out humanity?
152. What are dreams and why do we have them?
153. Does understanding philosophy lead to progress?
154. Will it ever be possible to travel through time? Space?
155. Is there a species more advanced than humans in the universe?
156. Is defining people according to race a social construct or a biological category?
157. If all the currencies in the world did not have monetary value, would our world be a much better place?
158. Is there a difference between fair trade and free trade? What is it and which is of greater importance?
159. Is it possible time is being altered right now?
160. Is preservation of a country’s culture a good reason for limiting immigration?
161. Why do we throw away food when we know people are dying of hunger?
162. Does the English language make us feel superior to other countries?
163. Which is more important, justice or mercy?
164. Will artificial intelligence help increase human lifespan in the future?
165. Is it always good to have choices?
166. Does awareness of consciousness have benefits?
167. Is torture ever justified?
168. Do thoughts have a pattern?
169. When you are driving and see one shoe on the side of the road, what do you think happened to the other shoe?
170. Will stricter laws make a better world?
171. Should we limit the amount of money people can earn and save to avoid an unequal distribution of wealth?
172. Are we losing our right to privacy?
173. Since the birth rate is down in the United States, should people be required to have at least one child?
174. Is limiting immigration to developed countries right?
175. Does democracy work for every country?
176. Does faith make belief stronger?
177. Should people have the right to live and travel anywhere they wish with no state or country boundaries?
178. Why can’t every person be a genius?
179. Should people be allowed to sell their organs and should organ donors be financially compensated?
180. Is there freedom in creativity and art in the modern age?
181. Should the government make organ donation compulsory?
182. Do the simple things become complexities when we try to attain perfection?
183. Should governments have penalties for those who live unhealthy lifestyles?
184. Will concepts and theories in regard to religion becoming obsolete come true?
185. Is love different from sexual desire? Passion? How?
186. Is blind belief prevalent more among holy, spiritual, and pious people?
187. Is there a cause for every event?
188. Can dreams be associated with the unforeseen future?
189. Do wars ever solve the problems of countries and governments?
190. If we live in a civilized world why do we see so many distinctions between rich and poor?
191. Can some things exist that aren’t in time?
192. Do computers have the ability to be creative?
193. Does luck exist?
194. What rights, if any, do animals have?
195. Are clowns funny or scary?
196. Are there universal human rights? What are they?
197. If time travel is possible, would we have met time travelers already?
198. Are emotions rational or irrational?
199. Does an afterlife exist?
200. Do you think anyone has actually met their true soulmate?
201. Can we know about happiness without knowing about sadness?
202. Does time have a beginning or an end?
203. Are people born evil? Or do they end up doing evil things as a result of early childhood experiences or other external factors?
204. Is beauty truly in the eye of the beholder?
205. Are we morally obligated to help others?
206. Is world peace achievable?
207. Are people natural-born leaders, or do they develop the traits over time?
208. What harsh truths do you prefer to ignore?
209. Is suffering a necessary part of the human condition?
210. What would you genetically change about humans to make them a better species?
211. How much does language affect our thinking?
212. If you could press a button and receive a million dollars, but one stranger would die, would you press the button?
213. Has social media been a net positive or a net negative for our society? Why?
214. Is existence necessary?
215. Do the cosmos have a purpose?
216. If humanity was put on trial by an advanced race of aliens, how would you defend humanity and argue for its continued existence?
217. What’s the difference between justice and revenge?
218. If babies are considered innocent, when do people cease to be innocent?
219. Where does your self-worth come from?
220. Why are drugs banned but not harmful food additives and alcohol?
221. Is it ever okay to share a secret?
222. How long will you be remembered after you die?
223. How likely do you think it will be that humans will last another 1,000 years without killing ourselves off?
224. Would you want to know you are going to die beforehand or die suddenly without warning?
225. Does the study of philosophy ever lead to answers or simply more questions?