Philosophical questions and their essence. Unusual questions that make you think

Philosophy acts where science is powerless. Philosophers are allowed to think about everything from metaphysics to morality, which means they can shed light on the fundamental questions of existence. What is it bad news? There are questions that even philosophers are unable to answer.

Here are eight mysteries of philosophy that we may never solve.

1. Why the universe arose from nothing

Our presence in the universe is difficult to explain. The insecurity of our daily lives makes us take our existence for granted, but there are times when we enter a deep state of existential consciousness and question ourselves. Why is all this in the universe, and why does everything obey precise laws? Why should something exist? We live in a universe that has spiral galaxies, northern lights and SpongeBob Square Pants. If you worship him, then you urgently need drug treatment help, and not sit and talk about the philosophy of a cartoon character with a square ass.

And as Sean Carroll noted, “Physics cannot explain why these laws and not others operate in the universe, although physicists sometimes try to disprove this. And they could have avoided this mistake if they had taken philosophers seriously.” As for philosophers, the best they can come up with is the anthropic principle, it lies in the fact that in our universe everything is exactly the way it is, and not otherwise, due to our presence in it as observers, but something in this explanation seems like a tautology.

2. Is our universe real?

This is the classic question of the Cartesians - followers of Descartes. They ask how we can know that something we see around us is real and not a huge illusion created invisible force(which Rene Descartes called the “evil demon”)? Not long ago, this issue was associated with the problem of the so-called “brain in a flask,” a type of thought experiment that illustrates a person’s dependence in understanding reality on his subjective feelings.

Moreover, it may very well be that we are not really who we think we are. By assuming that the people taking part in the simulation are not who they really are, on the contrary, they are suppressing their true selves for the role they are required to perform in the simulation. These philosophical reflections also make us wonder what the word “real” actually means. Realists claim that if the universe around us seems rational to us (as opposed to fabulous, incomprehensible and devoid of any rules), then we accept it as real and true. Or, as Cifer said after a bite of computer steak in The Matrix: “Ignorance is bliss.”

3. Does free will exist?

(Atoms and particles move randomly, but our brain is made of particles and atoms?
How then can free will exist?)

This is also called the dilemma of determinism, we do not know whether our actions are controlled by the chain of events that have occurred (or some other external mechanism), or whether we are free artists creating our lives according to our own desires. Philosophers (and some scientists) have been debating this dilemma for a long time, and it seems that this debate is endless. If the decisions we make depend on our past, then determinism exists and we are not really free to choose. But if in fact everything is different, which is called indeterminism, then all our actions should be considered random, but this again is not free will. At the same time, libertarians (not to be confused with a political party) adhere to the idea of compatibilism, which implies the idea that free will can exist along with deterministic worldviews. Research by neuroscientists exacerbates the problem because... they found that our brain makes a decision before we even think about it. But if we don't have free will, then why do we think instead of being like a zombie brain. Quantum mechanics makes this issue even more confusing by suggesting that we live in a probabilistic world and determinism of any kind is impossible. And as Lynas Vepstas said, “Consciousness must be closely connected with the perception of time, namely with the fact that the past cannot be changed and the future is unknown. This suits us because... If the future were predetermined, we certainly would not have free will, and there would be no point in participating in the passage of time."

4. Does God exist?

We cannot say for sure whether there is God or not. Both believers and atheists are wrong in some ways, agnostics are right. True agnostics adhere to the point of view of the Cartesians, followers of the philosophy of Descartes, accepting the existence of inexplicable concepts and the limitations of human knowledge. We don't know enough about internal processes universe, therefore we cannot make categorical statements about the emergence of reality, and whether there is someone in charge at its foundation. Many people rely on naturalists to assume that the universe moves according to autonomous laws, without ruling out the existence of a great designer who created these laws (which is called deism). As mentioned earlier, we may be living in a simulation where we are controlled by gods. Or perhaps the Gnostics are right that the mighty of the world This exists in another reality, which we do not know about. These are not necessarily omniscient and omnipotent gods, perhaps they are simply powerful creatures. Once again, these are not scientific questions, but rather thought experiments, forcing us to think about the limitations of human experience and knowledge.

5. Is there life after death?

I hasten to warn you that here you will not find out whether we will end our lives plucking the strings of a harp on a fluffy cloud or forever unloading coal in the mines of hell. Simply because we cannot ask the dead if there is something on the other side of life, we can only guess what awaits us. Materialists assume that there is no life after death, but this is just an assumption that we can neither prove nor disprove. By examining in detail the machinations of the universe through the prism of Newton/Einstein theory or taking into account filters quantum mechanics, there is nothing that would make us believe that our life is limited only by our stay on earth. This is a matter of metaphysics, and the possibility that the cosmos rotates in such a way that our lives repeat themselves. Hans Moravec, in his thoughts on the quantum Many-Worlds interpretation, said that it is impossible not to observe the universe, we must always remain alive and observe the universe in one way or another. This topic is extremely controversial, but like the question of the existence of God, scientists are not yet able to solve this problem, leaving it to philosophers.

6. Can we perceive the world objectively?

There is a difference between objectively understanding the world (or at least trying to do so) and perceiving the world as it is without allowing the brain to change it. Everything you know, what you have touched, what you have seen, what you have smelled - all this is filtered through many physiological and cognitive processes. Therefore, your subjective experience in this life is unique. Using our classic example, we can show that people perceive the color red differently. You cannot know for sure that you perceive the world the same way as someone else; with our level of technical and scientific development this is impossible. Only artificial intelligence can objectively perceive reality. But assuming that the machine will think logically and will have some kind of knowledge, can we assume that its objective reality is actually objective? It is worth noting that most of Buddhist philosophy is based on this fundamental limitation (what they call emptiness), and the exact opposite of Plato's idealism.

7. What is morally right?

Obviously, we can never say one hundred percent what is right and what is wrong. IN different times In history, philosophers, theologians and politicians claim that they have figured out how to evaluate the correctness of human actions and have established rules of behavior. But it's not that simple. Life is too complex to be limited by universal morals and ethics. The Golden Rule is a great idea (treat people the way you want them to treat you), but it nevertheless denies moral autonomy and leaves no meta for punishing crimes committed(for example, imprisonment for criminals), and may even justify oppression (Emmanuel Kant was one of the most vocal critics). Moreover, this overly simplistic rule does not allow for the development of more complex scenarios. For example, is it possible to sacrifice people for money? Who is more important from a moral point of view - a newborn child or an adult monkey? As neuroscientists have shown, morality is not only part of our upbringing, it is part of our psychology. As a result, we can say that morality always exists, only the understanding of what is good and what is bad changes over time.

8. What do the numbers mean?

We use numbers every day, but let's ask ourselves a question. What do numbers mean, why and why do they help us explain the workings of the universe (such as Newton's laws)? Mathematical formulas may be made up of numbers, sets, groups and points - but are they real objects or do they simply explain the relationships that exist in all these structures? Plato claimed that numbers were real (never mind that we couldn't see them), while the Formalists argued that numbers were abstract, merely explaining mathematical relationships. This is a truly ontological problem that takes us back to the nature of the universe, namely which aspects of it are concrete and which are abstract.

Copyright site © - Elena Semashko - translation of article from io9.com

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Bitorez Mendez

1. Where is the justification for Plato’s judgment that numbers or numbers, no matter what you call them, are real?
2. Where is the justification for the formalists’ judgment that numbers or numbers, no matter what you call them, are abstract?
3. Why quoting catchphrase: “treat people the way you want them to treat you.”, further in the text it is not said about a person’s attitude to solving a problem, but only about the person’s very actions in a given situation? There is a huge difference between: “treat people the way you want them to treat you.” and “treat people the same way you want them to treat you.”!
4. A person perceives information about objects through feelings, with his consciousness. Your "I". Based on simple logic, if you travel on a train at a speed of, say, 60 km/h, looking out the window you notice the movement of relatively stationary objects. If a train runs on a parallel track, in the same direction at the same speed, the feeling of movement will disappear. Similarly, if it is known that our consciousness notices how our physical and mental vibrations change, then it has a different nature and is outside of time and therefore outside of space, and since all matter moves in time, it means that the human Self is not the brain or the body, but something else that is beyond objectivism and subjectivism, which means that it certainly cannot be objective. It is in a state of absolute. But the “I”, concentrating the flow of itself, from the absolute, into objective reality - receiving information about objects through the senses - such perception is objective, since the environment is completely objective. It cannot be subjective, since it would not be stable and would be completely destroyed.
5. Free will does not exist. Only because this is not the correct formulation of the question, due to not knowing the meaning of the terms “Will” and “Freedom”. No one has had or can have any freedom, in the understanding of this word that we now know. In fact, the term "freedom" is complete nonsense. "Free will" is even more nonsense. As you know, freedom is a state of an individual in which he is the determining cause of his actions, that is, it is not directly determined by other factors, including natural, social, interpersonal-communicative and individual-tribal. What then is will? Exactly the same. How is it possible that 2 different words have the same interpretation? It's like playing cards with 5 kings in the deck. Therefore, it turns out that complete confusion arises when asking the question: “Does free will exist?” And it all started with the fact that for unknown reasons, the term “freedom” was assigned the interpretation of the term “will”. Either because of brainlessness, or because of simple ignorance. And freedom is - TO BUTT WITH THE WILL. That's all. In other words, recognize yourself as weak-willed, flawed, weak, etc.
6. And neither physicists nor philosophers will ever be able to explain why everything in the world obeys one or another specific laws. The only thing they can do is observe them and describe them. And all this is only because physicists study nature only from a material point of view, ignoring the metaphysical and spiritual component because of their own personalities, because supposedly no one has ever seen it, touched it, or heard it. But philosophers do not have a single concept in their philosophy. Everyone explains everything in their own way, and in philosophical disputes with other philosophers, they do not want to find the truth, but self-affirmation. And any coin has both sides. And if you want to get all the information about a coin, then looking at it from only one side, the chances that you can reliably study the coin are zero.

Agnosticism - Philosophical teaching, which denies the finally resolved question of the knowability of the world, the attainability of truth, limits the role of science only to the knowability of phenomena (Protagoras, Kant, J. Berkeley, Hume).

Axiology – Philosophical doctrine of the nature of values.

Anthropocentrism - The view that man is the center and highest goal of the universe.

In Marxist philosophy it is believed that relations of production are:

Determining the relationship between people.

According to the pragmatic concept of truth:

Truth is what is useful and helps solve unsolved problems.

In the structure of personality, Freud identifies:

It, beyond I, I

In Plato's Philosophy, the idea of a horse differs from a real living horse in that:

The idea is primary, the horse is secondary.

In Kant's Philosophy “the thing in itself”:

That which causes sensations in us but cannot itself be known .

“War of all against all is a natural state”:

He considered will as the main principle of life:

Schopenhauer

Time - A set of relationships expressing the coordination of states changing each other, their sequence and duration. Time is one-dimensional, irreversible, homogeneous.

The highest form of matter motion:

Social movement.

Identification of the causes of hereditary connections, bringing individual phenomena under the general law is typical for:

Explanations.

Hegel: " Phenomenology of spirit", "Science of logic", "Philosophy of history".

Marx believes that the main thing in society is:

Mode of production

Global problems:

Problems on the solution of which the survival of humanity depends.

War and peace, demography, ecology.

Epistemology – Philosophical doctrine of knowledge. Founder J. Locke.

Deism - A religious and philosophical doctrine that recognizes God as the world’s mind, which designed the expedient “machine” of nature and gave it laws and movement, but rejects God’s further intervention in the self-movement of nature (i.e., “divine providence,” miracles, etc.) and does not allow any other path to the knowledge of God other than reason. It became widespread among the thinkers of the Enlightenment and played a significant role in the development of free thought in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Movement - Any change, interaction, unfolding in space and time. It is absolute and relative.

Dialectics – A system of universal principles, but instructions that guide the cognitive and practical activities of people. The idea of mutually exclusive and simultaneously presupposing opposites.

“Reliable knowledge about the world is impossible,” states:

Skepticism.

Dualistic philosophy is characteristic of:

Rene Descartes.

If a theory does not reveal an empirical consequence in a prediction in practice, then they say:

Falsification of knowledge.

The laws of dialectics were first formulated by: Hegel.

The law of dialectics, answering the question about the source of development:

The law of dialectics, revealing the source of self-propulsion and development:

The law of unity and struggle of opposites.

The law of dialectics hides the most general mechanism development:

The law of transition of quantitative changes into qualitative ones.

The law of dialectics characterizing the direction, form and result:

Denial of denial.

Idealism – A direction of philosophy that resolves the main issue of philosophy in favor of the primacy of spirit, consciousness, and subjectivity.

The main forms of idealism are objective and subjective.

The first asserts the existence of a spiritual principle outside and independently of human consciousness, the second either denies the existence of any reality outside the consciousness of the subject, or considers it as something completely determined by his activity.

The largest representatives of objective idealism: in ancient philosophy - Plato, Plotinus, Proclus; in modern times - G. W. Leibniz, F. W. Schelling, G. W. F. Hegel.

Subjective idealism is most clearly expressed in the teachings of J. Berkeley, D. Hume, and the early J. G. Fichte (18th century). In everyday usage, “idealist” (from the word “ideal”) often means a selfless person striving for lofty goals.

The ideological leader of the Slavophiles is:

Individualism – Putting your interests above the interests of society .

Individual consciousness fatalism

Irrationalism – Downplays the role of reason.

Kant wrote the work: " Moral duty"

Collectivism – Putting the interests of society above one's own.

The concept... characteristic of V. Solovyov:

All-unity.

Who first used the term “philosophy”?

“LOGOS” in the philosophical teachings of Heraclitus means:

A universal law to which everyone in the world is subject.

Marx " Capital"

Materialism – The direction of philosophy, which solves the main question of philosophy in favor of primary matter, nature, objective being. The term "materialism" has been used since the 17th century. mainly in the sense of physical concepts of matter, and from the beginning. 18th century in a philosophical sense to contrast materialism with idealism. Historical forms of materialism: ancient materialism (Democritus, Epicurus), Renaissance materialism (B. Telesio, G. Bruno), metaphysical (mechanistic) materialism of the 17th-18th centuries. (G. Galileo, F. Bacon, T. Hobbes, P. Gassendi, J. Locke, B. Spinoza; French materialism of the 18th century - J. La Mettrie, C. Helvetius, P. Holbach, D. Diderot), anthropological materialism (L. Feuerbach), dialectical materialism (K. Marx, F. Engels, V. I. Lenin).

Metaphysics - Philosophical doctrine about the ultimate, super-experienced principles and principles of being.

Milesian school - Symbol for the first ancient Greek natural philosophers and natural scientists who lived in the 6th century. BC e. in the city of Miletus (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes).

A thought whose name is associated with the discovery of the unconscious:

A thinker who believes that man is driven by sexual instincts:

Naturalistic approach to society:

It views society as supreme creation nature as a natural continuation of cosmic laws.

Impossible to falsify:

The existence of God.

Social economic philosophy: Marx

Restriction or suppression of sensual desires, voluntary transfer of sensual will:

Asceticism.

Ontology– philosophical doctrine about being. The founder of the doctrine of ontology, Francis Bacon.

Founder of Idealism:

Plato (objective idealism).

Founder of materialism:

Democritus

The main idea of the philosophy of French enlightenment:

The priority of reason as the highest authority in solving problems of human society.

The basic principle of ancient philosophy:

Cosmocentrism.

The main idea of Westernism is:

Russia is developing along the European path.

The main statement of empiricism:

All human knowledge is based on experience.

Submits falsification of hypotheses about:

The existence of life on earth

According to Kant, before the formation of man as a moral being, the following is of fundamental importance:

Moral duty.

They posed the problem of being in antiquity:

“Act in such a way that the maximum of your will can at the same time become the principle of universal legislation”:

Pragmatism – Western philosophy.

Representative of Medieval Philosophy:

Thomas Aquinas.

Representatives of German philosophy:

Kant, Hegel, Feuerbach .

The cause of inequality in human society, Rousseau believed:

Own.

Progress -

Simple indivisible substance according to Leibniz:

Space - A set of relations expressing the coordination of existing objects, their location relative to each other and relative size. Space is three-dimensional, homogeneous, isotropic.

A work about a man, his mortality and death:

The method developed by Freud is called:

Psychoanalysis.

Growing interdependence different regions world:

Globalization.

Revolution - Deep qualitative changes in the development of any phenomena of nature, society or knowledge (for example, a social revolution, as well as a geological, industrial, scientific, technical, cultural revolution, a revolution in physics, in philosophy, etc.).

Regression - The type of development, which is characterized by a transition from higher to lower, processes of degradation, lowering the level of organization, loss of the ability to perform certain functions; also includes moments of stagnation, a return to obsolete forms and structures. The opposite of progress.

A representative would agree with the statement “thinking is the same product of brain activity as bile is a product of activity”:

Vulgar materialism.

The secular worldview position of the Renaissance, opposing scholasticism and the spiritual domination of the church:

Humanism.

The originality of my philosophical type lies primarily in the fact that I based my philosophy not on being, but on freedom:

N. Berdyaev.

Sensualism – A direction in the theory of knowledge, according to which sensations and perceptions are the basis and main form of reliable knowledge. Opposes rationalism.

Conciliarity in the philosophy of the Slavophiles:

Free unity of people in Christ.

A set of religious doctrines and teachings about the essence and action of God:

Theology

Solovyov: “The meaning of love”, “beauty in nature”, “justification of goodness”.

According to the sociology of Marxism, the main driving force development of society is:

Class struggle

Medieval philosophy: God

The essence of Socrates' ethical rationalism:

“Virtue is the result of knowing what is good, while lack of virtue is the result of knowledge.”

The essence of the ethical teaching of Epicurus is that:

We must enjoy life.

The essence of the problem of biology and sociology in man is:

Interaction and correlation of genes on education.

Scholasticism – a type of religious philosophy characterized by a combination of theological and dogmatic premises with rationalistic methodology and interest in formal logical problems.

Systematizer of scholasticism - Thomas Aquinas.

Thesis due to Thales:

"Know yourself."

Hegel’s theory of development, which is based on the unity and struggle of opposites:

Dialectics.

The theory of scientific knowledge is called:

Epistymology.

Fatalism – The idea of the inevitable predetermination of events in the world; belief in impersonal fate (ancient stoicism), in unchangeable divine predestination (especially characteristic of Islam), etc.

Philosophy from Greek:

Love of Wisdom .

A philosopher who considered logic the main tool of knowledge:

Aristotle

A philosophical movement that recognizes reason as the basis of cognition and behavior:

Rationalism.

A characteristic feature of medieval philosophers:

Theocentrism.

Central philosophical problem D. Yuma:

Cognition

“Man is the measure of all things”:

Protagoras

What is a worldview?

Worldview is a set of the most general views on the world and a person’s place in it.

The era of restoration of the ideals of antiquity in Europe:

Revival (Renaissance).

Eschotology – The doctrine of the ultimate destinies of the world and man.

The main object of study of the Renaissance:

Schopenhauer – Representative of the philosophy of life.

Evolution - Irreversible historical development of living nature.

Existentialism – Philosophy of existence, existence (human existence); the main modes (manifestations) of human existence - care, fear, determination, conscience; a person perceives existence as the root of his being in borderline situations (struggle, suffering, death). By comprehending himself as existence, a person gains freedom, which is the choice of himself, his essence, which imposes on him responsibility for everything that happens in the world.

Each of us comes into this life to learn. Learn from events, meetings, even suffering. But we often refuse to see what exactly they want to convey to us, we become fixated on one lesson for a long time - and waste years when we could have spent several months on it.

If we more often asked ourselves questions that make us think about life, perhaps we would learn much faster.

Children's philosophy

As children's book author Bernadette Russell says, children should ask their parents philosophical questions that will shape their worldview and help them grow up. And, of course, children's fairy tales and cartoons will help them formulate these questions. The mistake of many parents is that they do not decipher for their children the meaning of the cartoons they watched and the fairy tales they read. What questions do the tales of Saltykov, Pushkin and others make you think about? famous personalities? Saltykov in his fairy tales condemns the government and comically shows the intelligentsia, so such fairy tales, with a deeper reading, can be interesting even to adults.

Philosophical questions for children

Here are a few questions that make little fidgets think and that parents must answer.

1. How to treat animals?

Any Living being needs care and love, especially our little pets. Fostering love for smaller friends will help children learn kindness, fearless expression of love, and care.

2. How much do the best things in life cost?

We get all the best absolutely free - love for life and people, laughter, communication with friends, sleep, hugs. They are not bought, not because they are free, but because they are priceless.

3. What's good in life?

All life is good, no matter what troubles it brings us! In every day, even the darkest, there is a place sun rays- green traffic light on the way home, ice cream bought for dessert, warm weather. Teach your children to feel life and, of course, to believe in magic.

4.Can one person change the world?

We won't change the whole world, but we can change ourselves - and then the world will change for us. Our little personal world will become exactly the way we want it to be, because a person receives what he himself emits.

The most unusual questions

Below is a list of the most extraordinary questions that will make you think, but will initially leave you stumped. Probably, each of us will find our own answer to all of them.

1. Is it possible to lie to your interlocutor by remaining silent?

It all depends on how exactly the question was posed and what exactly it concerns. Usually silence cannot be called a lie, but there are cases when it can be regarded as such.

2. What would you choose: wealth and a wheelchair or health and poverty?

This question makes us think about the fact that the things we are chasing so hard, ruining our health and pushing aside our moral principles, are not at all worth the effort. After all, none of us will take money with us to the grave.

3. What advice would you give to a newborn for the future?

Each of us would probably answer this question differently. But, you must admit, it is the charming childish spontaneity that adults lack so much! And perhaps this is exactly what you should wish for - always and under any circumstances to remain yourself.

4. If you could change your future, would you change it?

Changing the future leads to changes in the present. In the past, which is preserved in your memory and heart, there were necessary lessons that you successfully completed. And if you renounce them, your future will no longer be securely girded by past experiences.

5. Knowing that tomorrow will be the last day of your life, what actions would you decide to take?

How much time we spend doubting and fearing. Knowing that life is so short, we consciously sacrifice our desires, aspirations, and dreams just because we are plagued by doubts. And then we regret it, because in practice, a seemingly long life turns out to be incredibly short.

Eternal questions about life in books

How many books have been written on philosophical topics! What big philosophical questions do these books make you think about? Not every person grows spiritually and intellectually into such books, but if you pick up one of them, you can be sure that you will take away something valuable for yourself from it. Almost all such texts carry a message to the reader that makes them think about their life and their worldview.

List of books with deep meaning

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess is a novel that unvarnishes the cruelty of the world around us. The metamorphoses that occur with the hero, who at first himself showed unprecedented cruelty, until he experienced it himself in prison, raise questions in readers that are worth thinking about - about how our society works, why there is so much cruelty in it. And the motto of the book says that life must be accepted as it is. Invaluable advice, isn't it?

"April Witching" by Ray Bradbury - short story about unhappy female love, which every girl once experienced. Do we need such life experiences? Can we overcome suffering? Pain lives inside every person, like a poisonous flower, and only we decide what to do with this flower - water it or pick it and throw it away.

What question does the book “A Happy Death” by Albert Camus make you think about? Each of us once asked ourselves: why was I born into this world, is happiness waiting for me? Albert Camus is looking for answers to these questions together with his hero. After all, the main meaning of life may not be in achievements or pleasures, but in feeling this happiness.

Have you ever thought about how dear your family and friends really are? Which important role Is family important in our lives? Marquez in his book “One Hundred Years of Solitude” talks about people who are happy to have guests, but are indifferent to each other.

How long have you been torn by your own conscience? Conscience is an individual choice for everyone, as the author of the novel “The French Lieutenant’s Mistress” claims. This book has two endings.

“We are responsible for those we have tamed”

What questions did Exupery’s “The Little Prince” make those who read this work think about? The work is easily divided into many quotes filled with childish wisdom. And although this story is perceived as a fairy tale, in fact, “The Little Prince” is recommended for adults to read. As you read, you will find many questions on a philosophical topic, the answers to which are also in the work. What is friendship really? Do we see beauty around us? Do we know how to be happy or do we lose this quality as we grow older?

Conclusion

Life is complex, multifaceted, and somewhat cruel. But she asks us questions that make us think. Love for her, sincere and not clouded by problems, makes us truly happy people. This should be the task of each of us - to understand that happiness does not depend on external factors, but on internal content.

Religion offers answers to many of these questions, but it is based on divine intervention, which the church considers "authoritative", and is expressed as a dogmatic, irrational belief. Science and philosophy abandon dogma and try to answer these questions using reason, logic and experience.

Philosophy is a fairly broad and complex concept, but its essence can be boiled down to finding answers to the 10 questions presented below.

1. What is the nature of the Universe?

Where did she come from? When did it begin to exist? Why did she appear? What influences its change? Is it developing or collapsing? Does it function on its own or does it need some kind of intentional control to keep it from becoming chaos?

2. Is there any Supreme Being?

If so, what is His nature? Did he create the universe? Does He control it, and if so, at what level? What is His connection with man? Can He interfere in human affairs? Is He good? If He is so good and omnipotent, then why does evil exist?

3. What is the place of man in the Universe?

Is man the highest form of development in the Universe or is he just an insignificant grain of sand in infinite space? Is the human spirit a product of some higher spiritual forces or has it evolved from matter? How is the Universe disposed towards humans: friendly, indifferent or completely hostile?

4. What is reality?

What is consciousness and what is thought? Are the thoughts real? What is more important: consciousness or matter? Did consciousness create matter or did matter evolve into consciousness? Where do ideas come from? Do thoughts have any influence on our lives or are they just fantasies? What is Truth? Is there a universal Truth that is always true for all people, or is it individual for everyone?

5. What determines the fate of each person?

Is man the creator and driving force of his life, or does he live under the influence of a force over which he has no control? Is there free will or is our life determined by external factors, and if so, what are these factors? Is there some higher power that can interfere in our lives? Or is everything predetermined from the beginning of time? Or is our life a random set of events, phenomena and incidents? Is there some other life control mechanism that we don't know about?

6. What is good and evil?

What is morality? What is ethics? Who accepted the boundaries of good and bad, right and wrong? On what basis? Is there an absolute standard for defining good or bad regardless of personal opinion? What to do if the decisions of other people (society, government), which determine the scope of good and bad, contradict personal beliefs? Should we obey others or follow our own conscience? If, as an answer to the fifth question, we assume that we do not have free will, then what difference does it make how we act in life, good or bad? If we have no choice, will it change anything whether we are good or evil?

7. Why is our life the way it is?

What should it be ideal life? What would a utopian society or heaven on earth look like? Is it even possible to create a utopia? If so, how? Will utopia provide personal freedom? What will need to be done with those who are against the utopian system? If we start to control or punish them, will it remain a utopia?

8. What is the ideal relationship between the individual and the state?

When does the individual serve the state or when does the state serve the individual? What is the ideal form of government? When does a person have the right not to submit to the dictatorship of the state? What is the maximum permissible degree of government influence? In what case will a person protesting against the established order be right?

9. What is education?

What is important for young people to know and what is not? Who should control education: parents, the student himself, society or the state? Should a person be educated in order to be free and live according to his own interests? Or should he subordinate his desires to serving other people or the state?

10. What happens after death?

Is death the end of everything, or does a person have a soul that continues to exist after death? If there is a soul, is it immortal, or will it eventually also cease to exist? If the soul continues to exist after death, what does that existence look like? If existence after death is possible, will those who behaved “good” be rewarded, and will those who behaved “badly” be punished? If so, how can this be reconciled with the predetermination of fate?

From the moment a person begins to think, he strives to understand the world around him and his own existence. He tried to explain this with the help of myths, superstitions and religions on the one hand and with the help of science and philosophy on the other. Religion offers answers to many of these questions, but it is based on divine intervention, which the church considers "authoritative", and is expressed dogmatically, irrational faith. Science and philosophy abandon dogma and try to answer these questions using reason, logic and experience. Philosophy is a fairly broad and complex concept, but its essence can be boiled down to finding answers to the 10 questions presented below.

1. What is the nature of the Universe?

2. Is there any Supreme Being?

3. What is the place of man in the Universe?

4. What is reality?

5. What determines the fate of each person?

Is man the creator and driving force of his life, or does he live under the influence of a force over which he has no control? Is there free will or is our life determined by external factors, and if so, what are these factors? Is there some higher power that can interfere in our lives? Or is everything predetermined from the beginning of time? Or is our life a random collection of events, phenomena and incidents? Is there some other life control mechanism that we don't know about?

6. What is good and evil?

7. Why is our life the way it is?

What should an ideal life be like? What would a utopian society or heaven on earth look like? Is it even possible to create a utopia? If so, how? Will utopia provide personal freedom? What will need to be done with those who are against the utopian system? If we start to control or punish them, will it remain a utopia?

8. What is the ideal relationship between the individual and the state?

9. What is education?

10. What happens after death?

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