Pathways school of philosophy
Sketch of Geoffrey Klempner

ASK A PHILOSOPHER!


There's nothing more frustrating than finding yourself stuck with a philosophical question or problem and not knowing how to approach it. Ask a question and we'll see what we can do to help you think about your problem more clearly.

This service is offered courtesy of Pathways to Philosophy, the independent distance learning project run by the International Society for Philosophers.

Ask a Philosopher was launched in 1999 on the Sheffield University web site. Since then, we have responded to many thousands of questions submitted from all over the world.

New answers are posted on the latest Answer page. Your question is more likely to be answered if you show that you have thought about the problem and are not just asking us to do your homework for you. For advice on formulating your question see below.



If you have a question which you would like to put to our panel click this button

If you are a philosopher and think you have the answer to a question click this button


QUESTION OF THE MONTH

Each month we will select the most original or thought provoking question to display here. The prize is the Pathways CD-ROM containing the current snapshot of the 3500+ Pathways pages on the web, together with Anthony Harrison-Barbet's 900 page e-text Philosophical Connections, containing profiles of 126 Western philosophers with detailed hyperlinked analysis of the historical progression of their ideas.


Jan 24  Andy asked:

I have spent my entire life feeling distant and lost among my peers. But it all seemed to come clear in my freshman Intro to Philosophy class. I want to learn philosophy. I want to find my true answers for my world and existence but I disagree with today's academic approach towards philosophy. Philosophy for me has never been sitting in a class room and reading out of a book. To me philosophy is an examination of our true spirit we can take our minds anywhere they want to go, answer any question that we are vexed by. The human mind is a an amazing place to go and to see what we are really made of.

So I say the true path to philosophical reasoning is to look inward. I am by no means a genius I just do not want to study philosophy in the same old boring lame 20th century academic system. If you could shed a little light on my predicament and help me find my way to a more ethical and reasoning life.

Response from Geoffrey Klempner


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Answer a question

Philosophy graduates and teachers are invited to contribute their expertise. If you would like to help, you are welcome to submit your response to any of the questions or answers posted on the current Answer page. You can submit your answer by clicking the Answer button above.

The latest questions are distributed to members of the Ask a Philosopher panel. If you would like to join the panel, please email askaphilosopher@fastmail.net, including a brief CV and statement of your academic qualifications.

Alternatively, show us what you can do by submitting answers to some of the questions on these pages:

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Please note that this is an opportunity to show how philosophers think — what is a philosophical approach to a question — and not simply to sound off about your own pet theory. There is too much of that on the internet already.


Questions and answers archives

To check whether your question has been answered before, or to browse through the archives of questions and answers, try the PhiloSophos Knowledge Base which includes a Freefind search engine.

The search engine searches for pages which have all the terms entered in the search box. If no pages have all the terms, then the search engine will show the pages with the best fit first.



To increase the likelihood of your question being answered

* Check with previous questions and answers to make sure that your particular question has not appeared before.

* If you are having difficulty with an essay or course work, try to put the question in your own words rather than simply writing down the question you have been set.

* Tell us if you have any ideas about how your question might be tackled. We like to see that you have made some effort in thinking the question through for yourself before coming for help!


Problems removed

Try the Pathways Problem Removal Service if your problem is more practical in nature. We can give advice in identifying and solving your problem. In certain circumstances, we are also prepared to offer practical help.

We are not agony aunts, and we can't promise that you will like the advice that we give.


Some easy-to-remember URLs

http://go.to/ask-a-philosopher (Ask a Philosopher)
http://welcome.to/philosophers (Answer page)
http://how.to/philosophise (Pathways Study Guide)
http://back.to/philosophy (Pathways Philosophy Test)
http://tentativeanswers.blogspot.com (Tentative Answers)


Thank you for taking the time to visit these pages.

Geoffrey Klempner
Director of Studies




Pathways to Philosophy

Programs page
Student letters
How-to-do-it guide
Essay archive
Launch page

Pathways teaching materials © G. Klempner 1995–2010
'Sketch' © June Wynter 1999