Philosophyspeaking topic
The past no longer exists, the future does not exist yet, and the present is an instant too short to measure. If no part of time actually exists, how do we manage to feel that we live inside it?
— Saint Augustine, the reality of time
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 unexamined life is not worth living.
- The Chinese room: a person who speaks no Chinese sits in a room matching Chinese symbols according to a rulebook, producing flawless answers. Do they understand Chinese? Is producing the right output ever the same thing as understanding?
- Acts and omissions: is there a moral difference between doing harm and failing to prevent it? Should pushing someone carry the same weight as watching them fall?
- The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.
- Moore's naturalistic fallacy: is it a mistake to reduce 'good' to pleasure or to what is natural? If 'good' cannot be fully defined by anything else, how do we know it?