Philosophyspeaking topic
“A man will be imprisoned in a room with a door that's unlocked and opens inwards, as long as it does not occur to him to pull rather than push.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein
practice with this topic
Set the timer (5-30 min), take 20 seconds of prep if you like, start talking. Jot your thoughts onto the sticky-note board.
similar topics
- The face you see in the mirror is not your face; it is flipped left to right. In photos you look wrong to yourself because you are used to the mirror. So which one is your real face? Have you never actually seen yourself correctly, and can only other people see you?
- Responsibility and determinism: if every choice is fixed by prior causes, can we be morally blamed? If free will is an illusion, what happens to punishment and praise?
- I am wiser than this man; it is likely that neither of us knows anything worthwhile, but he thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas when I do not know, neither do I think I know.
- Descartes's evil demon: could all your perceptions be a deception, and how do we know we really exist? If everything can be doubted, what remains certain?
- Civilization depends on people accepting valid arguments even when they hate the conclusion.