The Big Questions of Philosophy

By far, one of the coolest parts about philosophy is how many ways it can connect to other fields of study. Philosophy provides those who study it with the unique opportunity to ask and answer questions about almost anything. The following are just some examples:

1. How much can we know about anything?

2. What do we owe to our communities?
3. Who, of those in a society, should rule?

4. What is goodness?

5. Does God exist? If God exists, how does God exist?
6. What constitutes societal progress?
7. How do you know that you exist? How do you know others exist?
8. Is there a standard outside of humans that guides morality?
9. Should art ever be censored?
10. What sets humans apart from animals?
11. Do you have free will?
12. What responsibility do people have for other living things? For non-sentient beings like plants? 13. What makes some people more credible than others?
14. What is fairness? Why do we strive for fairness?
15. What is happiness? Is it the same for everyone?

16. What societal change is possible or impossible?
17. What purpose do laws serve?
18. Is it ethical to eat animals?
19. Is all art political?
20. What are some good and bad habits? What makes them good or bad?
21. Does the individual have different interests than the community?
22. How does knowledge transfer from one mind to another?
23. What is the meaning of life?
24. How do I fit in with society?
25. Should society prioritize the individual over the collective? Or vice versa?
26. What is consciousness?
27. What makes good art? What makes bad art? What can be considered beautiful?
28. Do other people know you better than you know yourself?
29. Is truth something that is created, or is it discovered?

30. What is the relationship between knowledge and power?
31. What kind of lenses do you view the world through?
32. What is the nature of time?
33. What is a soul, and who has one?
34. What role do art and music play in the way people think?
35. What in the universe is real? Are you real?
36. Why think about art and not just experience it?

While this list contains many examples, it is up to you as a young philosopher to come up with new questions that reflect and critique the world you live in. Next time you find yourself wondering about the state of existence or society or even something mundane about something a friend said, consider writing your own list! Even if there is no concrete answer to your questions or the ones listed here, they are sure to lead you down interesting trains of thought.