World Philosophy Day

Thursday November 17th

Questions about Art

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:

• What is art?• Why does art matter to us?• What do we mean by ‘great’ art?• What would a world without art be like?• If there was a fire in an art gallery, would you risk running in to save

an artwork? Which would you save?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class

Questions about Business Studies

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:• Is profit the most important thing in a business?• Would it be immoral to buy and sell kidneys?• Is management an art or a science?• What does it mean to be an ‘ethical’ business?• Is there such a thing as a ‘fair’ price?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class

Questions about Classical Civilisation

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:

• Was slavery wrong even when no-one believed it was?• Why do we study ancient civilisations?• Why do we watch tragedy?• Can we say that the world has improved in the past 2000 years?• What did it mean to be a ‘hero’ in the ancient world and does it mean the

same today?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class

Questions about Design

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:

• What is the difference between good and bad design?• Why do we need design?• Is design an art or a science?• Where do design ideas come from?• If you could re-design a human, what would you change?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class

Questions about Drama and Theatre Studies

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:• What makes people want to act?• Can theatre change the way we think?• Is the meaning of a play purely personal?• What does it mean to ‘become’ a character in a play?• Should some plays be banned and if so, why?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class

Questions about Economics

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:

• Could we manage without money?• Can you put a price on anything?• Can economics explain human behaviour?• Are economic laws like the laws of physics?• Is economic growth a good thing in itself?• Is there such a thing as a ‘fair’ wage?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class

Questions about Geography

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:

• What is a map?• What defines a country?• Is Geography an art or a science?• How many answers are there to the question: ‘where do you live?’• Is space real or imaginary?• What is a river?• If we sent a Geographer to Mars, what would they do?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class

Questions about Geology

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:

• Can Geology prove how old the Earth is?• Could animal behaviour predict earthquakes?• If you split a rock in half, do you always get 2 rocks?• Is it irrational to live near a volcano?• How sure can we be about what is inside the Earth?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class

Questions about History

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:• Is the past real?• Is there such a thing as a true historical record?• Does the way we think of historical events change the way they

are?• Why do human beings tell stories about their past?• Do non-human animals have an awareness of history?• What do we mean by the cause of an event?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class

Questions about IT

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:• Can computers think?• Are there any jobs a robot couldn’t do?• Could we be living in a virtual reality?• Is the mind a computer?• Could computers have feelings?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class

Questions about Language

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:

• How do words get their meaning?• Where do words come from?• Is there such a thing as the ‘true’ meaning of a poem?• Do fictional characters exist?• What makes people write?• Do non-human animals have a language?• Does language shape our thought?• Is any translation perfect?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class.

Questions about Maths

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:

• Was maths discovered or invented?• Do numbers exist?• Could anything be infinite?• Why is mathematics so useful?• Can you imagine a world where maths didn’t work?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class

Questions about Music

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:

• Why do we listen to music?• How does music acquire meaning?• Can everyday sounds be a form of music?• Is birdsong a form of music?• Can silence be musical?• Is musical quality purely a matter of personal taste?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class

Questions about PE

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:• How does the mind influence the body?• What is the definition of ‘health’?• Is the body a machine?• Has sport been corrupted by money?• Why does winning matter?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class

Questions about Philosophy and Ethics

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:

• What should philosophers be thinking about in the modern world?• Could a bad person be a good philosopher?• If you click on the first hyperlink of a Wikipedia page, and keep doing it

for the next page and so on, eventually you get to Philosophy. Why?• Has Science taken over from Philosophy?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class

Questions about Politics

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:• Could an ideal society exist?• Is democracy philosophically defensible?• Where do rights come from?• Should the voting age be lowered?• Would having a single world government help?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class

Questions about Science

Choose a question to discuss with a partner:

• What is science?• Could there be a scientific explanation of love?• What is the difference between science and maths?• Is history part of science?• How many sciences are there?• Could there be a science of ghosts?• Could science come to an end?• Does science rule out faith or depend on it?

Be prepared to give a summary to your class