In the first part of our 3 part Philosophy 101, we discuss The Ship of Theseus, The Prisoners in a Cave, and 'Cognito, Ergo Sum' (I Think Therefore I Am).
In Part 2 we discuss The Trolley Problem and Utilitarianism.
In the 3rd part we discuss 'the meaning of life' and update the thinking to incorporate AI and the serach for artificial consciousness!
What are your favourite philosophical inquiries or puzzles? What are you interpretations of the questions we are discussing here?
Note: A 4th episode will follow looking purely at Eastern & Asian philosophy, I'm just on with the research now.
I would highly recommend a book called How The World Thinks by Julian Baggini. Baggini is an academic who became frustrated with what he found to a be Eurocentric chauvinism in his field. The book is somewhat of an overview rather than looking deeply into specific philosophical questions. He covers not just West vs East but looks at Japan, India, China, the Muslim world, Africa and Australia. I think this approach is essential to how apply philosophy to the modern world when we look at social structures, politics, art, the environment...everything. (Also, there is a copy in the Book section of the webstore). 😉