The term philosophy is attributed to the Greek philosopher Pythagoras and translates as "love of wisdom". In simple terms, philosophy is associated with activities people engage in to have a deeper understanding of a better life through wisdom.
Philosophical questions get individuals thinking on a deeper level helping them to understand concepts regarding various facets of life, utilising a philosophical way of thinking in real life situations.
Philosophical questions are designed so as to awaken the thought process in the person asking the question and the person seeking to answer them .Philosophical questions generate varied answers from people from different walks of life. Every individual tries to analyse and interpret their perspective on a philosophical question in a different manner. Questions about philosophy make us wonder and think differently leading to a positive discussion. It’s only when we are faced with a question that our inner eye is awakened.
The three central questions of philosophy are:
1. What is the nature of this world and our place in it?
2. What can we know and how can we know it?
3. How should we live our lives?
At the Socrates Café, these big, abstract questions, and the kinds of answers that philosophers have provided, are considered but we will be mostly interested in how they relate to the personal, social, and political issues we face in everyday life. Just about any question can be grist for a meaningful dialogue, or fine-tuned so that it can be looked at in a philosophical manner. For example, journalists often say that we are living in a ‘post-truth’ age and that we are drowning in a sea of ‘fake news’ and misinformation. But is there a way for us to reliably distinguish between what is true and what is false? Journalists also frequently denounce violations of human rights. But what are ‘rights’ and where do they come from? And how should we feel about the increasingly central role that science and technology plays in our lives? Should we rely on science to solve all our problems? Does technology always make life better? Doesn’t science and technology just create new ethical dilemmas for us to think about, such as those relating to the environment, artificial intelligence, automation, and genetic engineering?
We try and think out of the box when we give answers to philosophical questions. Questions that spark discussions involve answers that are compelling and intellectually stimulating. Philosophical questions bring out varied perspectives on philosophy. The best way to find answers to philosophical questions is through understanding the relevance of truth, reason, and existence associated with life. The following are examples of questions that are appropriate to be discussed at a Socrates Café. The range of similar type question is in the rage of infinity and you are encouraged to expand on these examples in the course of your Café.
Death
- What is death?
- Why are we dying to live if we are living to die?
- Why do we respect the dead more than the living?
- Why is facing death a difficult experience?
- If you could become immortal on the condition you would never be able to die or kill yourself, would you choose immortality?
- If you had the option of freezing your body in hopes that science would someday be able to bring you back to life, would you do it?
- What do you think would happen if there were no death for human beings?
- Should euthanasia be legal?
- Do you believe in life after death?
- Do you want to know the date of your death?
Friendship
- What is Friendship?
- What is true friendship?
- Can you be friends with everyone?
- What are the characteristic of a good friend?
- What is a perfect friendship?
- Is a good friend and a good person one and the same thing?
- Why is friendship important?
- Can life be meaningful without friends?
- Is it wrong to put friendship before truth?
- How long does it take to grow an old friend?
God
- What is God?
- Does belief make God exist?
- What is the basis for belief in God?
- Is God a creation of evolutionary sensory beings?
- Do atheists make their own gods?
- If judgement is for God, why do we pass judgement?
- Can religious beliefs affect scientific thinking?
- Why does God not intervene when evil takes root in people?
- Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people and good thing to happen to bad people?
- Would the world be a better place if religion ceased to exist?
Happiness
- What is happiness?
- Can spirituality make you a happy person?
- Are highly intelligent people less happy than individuals with average intelligence?
- Have we become less happy in this age of technology?
- Can achieving nothing make a person happy?
- Are humans obligated to better themselves and will that make them happier?
- Is the most important purpose in life to find happiness?
- Is there an absolute way to attain a happy state of mind?
- Do knowledge and understanding make you content and happy as a person?
- Do numbers in a bank account make people happy?
Humanity
- Does evil come from within, and if so why?
- If humanity was put on trial by an advanced race of aliens, how would you defend humanity and argue for its continued existence?
- Does fate exist? Does free will exist, or is every action predetermined?
- What rights does every human being have? Do those rights change based as one age?
- What is human consciousness?
- Are we the biggest threat to humanity? Will the world come to an end by human hands?
- What is racism? Will it ever cease to exist?
- If all humans want the same basic things, why is there so much violence and strife between people?
- Do all human beings have equal value regardless of their actions or is a person’s value based on their actions
- What is a person?
Justice
- What is Justice?
- Is justice a human construct or is it independent of humans?
- Why do people expect a universe full of randomness to be fair?
- With no laws or rules to influence your behaviour, how do you think you would behave?
- If scientists could accurately predict who was more likely to commit crimes, what should society do with that information?
- Would stricter laws make a better world?
- If babies are considered innocent, when do people cease to be innocent?
- If I steal a loaf of bread from you and eat it, when does the bread itself cease to be yours and becomes mine?
- Is it just and right to deny entry to a country when doing so probably means death for the immigrant and their family
- Is it ever right to break the law?
Life
- What is life?
- What is the meaning of life?
- Do you find meaning in your life?
- Does living your life for others make your life have meaning?
- Is there a difference between a good life and the good life?
- What is the meaning of a good life?
- Is there a perfect life?
- Why do we strive for perfection if it is not attainable?
- Is living life to the fullest possible?
- When, if ever, is taking a human life justified?
Love
- What is love?
- Is love a unitary concept or ha it many facets?
- Is it easier to love or to be loved?
- Is love simply physical desire or something more?
- How can you love yourself?
- Is having a big ego a negative trait of positive trait?
- Is it more important to be respected or liked?
- Do acts of kindness have a motive?
- Does love make the world go around?
- How do you know if you love someone enough to marry them?
Morality
- What is morality?
- Is it right to deny entry to a country when doing so probably means death for the immigrant and their family?
- If you could press a button and receive a million euro, but one stranger would die, would you press the button? And if so, how many times?
- What would be the most ethical way to give away five million euro?
- What’s more important: doing the right thing or doing things right?
- Can morality ever be objective, if so in what instances?
- If morality is subjective, how do we decide whose concept of morality is correct?
- Are intentions or outcomes more important when judging whether actions are moral?
- If you can save another’s life and don’t because doing so would break the law, are you ethically justified in your decision?
- How does morality, dependent on distance, shape our world?
Society
- What is Society?
- What is power? Does power corrupt?
- If you could start Irish society from scratch, what would it be like?
- If you were given the ability to reform how your country’s leaders were chosen and how they serve, what would you change?
- How far should governments go to prevent its citizens from causing harm to themselves?
- What should the role of a government be, what boundaries and limitations should it have?
- Is poverty and homelessness in society inevitable?
- Has social media been a net positive or a net negative for our society? Why?
- How would society change if men were able to get pregnant and men and women both had an equal chance of getting pregnant?
- Can a society exist without laws?
Values
- What is a value?
- What is a belief?
- Are personal values and beliefs important?
- What is personal integrity?
- How can you live with personal integrity?
- Who do you admire in your family? Among your friends? In life generally? Why do you admire them?
- What is the first thing you could start doing today that would have the most positive impact in your life?
- If you had all the time and all the money in the world, what would you do and why would you do it?
- What is it that you, and only you, can do for yourself, your family, your community and the world?
- Is a value the same as a virtue?
Virtue
- What is a virtue?
- Compassion?
- Empathy?
- Honesty?
- Humility?
- Loyalty?
- Mercy?
- Self-Discipline?
- Tolerance?
- Work Ethic?