Ask a Philosopher
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.
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.
Andrew and John are joint prize winners:
Jun 18 Andrew asked:
Questions are not only words are they? I can imagine a world where thoughts are constructed from all sorts of signs and symbols. I can imagine worlds where beings think with their hands or with their eyes or with a combination of both hands and eyes. I learned to draw by questioning with my hands and eyes and never a word passed my brain. I am a excellent drawer now.
If some questioning is embodied we are going to struggle to put it into words aren't we? So can it be said that a good question is only one that can be put into words?
Can we question embodied questions?
Embodied question:
Eyes and hands react to smudge of charcoal on paper and neither rub it out or add to it because the answer to the question was leave it alone. But none of this happened in words.
— o O o —
Jun 26 John asked:
What is a question? I make this inquiry with regard to the metaphysical implication regarding two aspects of questioning:
1) What is the effect of questioning upon the nature of being human? Another way of expressing this is to ask, 'What is a questioner?' What is the ontic distinction between a 'me' who asks and a 'me' who doesn't?
2) What is the difference between questioning and answering? Again, a fundamentally ontic question regarding the nature of the 'me' who asks and the 'me' who answers must be distinct, but in what way are 'we' distinct?
I think of these questions in regard to the manner by which humans distinguish themselves from other animals or perhaps from their nonhuman ancestors. Is questioning the way that we make ourselves human and, if so, how does this function to transform us and what are the implications for ethics, ontology and philosophy in general?
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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:
page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 page 8 page 9 page 10
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)
— Thank you for taking the time to visit these pages.
Geoffrey Klempner
Director of Studies
