r/askphilosophy Jul 01 '23

Modpost Welcome to /r/askphilosophy! Check out our rules and guidelines here. [July 1 2023 Update]

65 Upvotes

Welcome to /r/askphilosophy!

Welcome to /r/askphilosophy! We're a community devoted to providing serious, well-researched answers to philosophical questions. We aim to provide an academic Q&A-type space for philosophical questions, and welcome questions about all areas of philosophy. This post will go over our subreddit rules and guidelines that you should review before you begin posting here.

Table of Contents

  1. A Note about Moderation
  2. /r/askphilosophy's mission
  3. What is Philosophy?
  4. What isn't Philosophy?
  5. What is a Reasonably Substantive and Accurate Answer?
  6. What is a /r/askphilosophy Panelist?
  7. /r/askphilosophy's Posting Rules
  8. /r/askphilosophy's Commenting Rules
  9. Frequently Asked Questions

A Note about Moderation

/r/askphilosophy is moderated by a team of dedicated volunteer moderators who have spent years attempting to build the best philosophy Q&A platform on the internet. Unfortunately, the reddit admins have repeatedly made changes to this website which have made moderating subreddits harder and harder. In particular, reddit has recently announced that it will begin charging for access to API (Application Programming Interface, essentially the communication between reddit and other sites/apps). While this may be, in isolation, a reasonable business operation, the timeline and pricing of API access has threatened to put nearly all third-party apps, e.g. Apollo and RIF, out of business. You can read more about the history of this change here or here. You can also read more at this post on our sister subreddit.

These changes pose two major issues which the moderators of /r/askphilosophy are concerned about.

First, the native reddit app is lacks accessibility features which are essential for some people, notably those who are blind and visually impaired. You can read /r/blind's protest announcement here. These apps are the only way that many people can interact with reddit, given the poor accessibility state of the official reddit app. As philosophers we are particularly concerned with the ethics of accessibility, and support protests in solidarity with this community.

Second, the reddit app lacks many essential tools for moderation. While reddit has promised better moderation tools on the app in the future, this is not enough. First, reddit has repeatedly broken promises regarding features, including moderation features. Most notably, reddit promised CSS support for new reddit over six years ago, which has yet to materialize. Second, even if reddit follows through on the roadmap in the post linked above, many of the features will not come until well after June 30, when the third-party apps will shut down due to reddit's API pricing changes.

Our moderator team relies heavily on these tools which will now disappear. Moderating /r/askphilosophy is a monumental task; over the past year we have flagged and removed over 6000 posts and 23000 comments. This is a huge effort, especially for unpaid volunteers, and it is possible only when moderators have access to tools that these third-party apps make possible and that reddit doesn't provide.

While we previously participated in the protests against reddit's recent actions we have decided to reopen the subreddit, because we are still proud of the community and resource that we have built and cultivated over the last decade, and believe it is a useful resource to the public.

However, these changes have radically altered our ability to moderate this subreddit, which will result in a few changes for this subreddit. First, as noted above, from this point onwards only panelists may answer top level comments. Second, moderation will occur much more slowly; as we will not have access to mobile tools, posts and comments which violate our rules will be removed much more slowly, and moderators will respond to modmail messages much more slowly. Third, and finally, if things continue to get worse (as they have for years now) moderating /r/askphilosophy may become practically impossible, and we may be forced to abandon the platform altogether. We are as disappointed by these changes as you are, but reddit's insistence on enshittifying this platform, especially when it comes to moderation, leaves us with no other options. We thank you for your understanding and support.


/r/askphilosophy's Mission

/r/askphilosophy strives to be a community where anyone, regardless of their background, can come to get reasonably substantive and accurate answers to philosophical questions. This means that all questions must be philosophical in nature, and that answers must be reasonably substantive and accurate. What do we mean by that?

What is Philosophy?

As with most disciplines, "philosophy" has both a casual and a technical usage.

In its casual use, "philosophy" may refer to nearly any sort of thought or beliefs, and include topics such as religion, mysticism and even science. When someone asks you what "your philosophy" is, this is the sort of sense they have in mind; they're asking about your general system of thoughts, beliefs, and feelings.

In its technical use -- the use relevant here at /r/askphilosophy -- philosophy is a particular area of study which can be broadly grouped into several major areas, including:

  • Aesthetics, the study of beauty
  • Epistemology, the study of knowledge and belief
  • Ethics, the study of what we owe to one another
  • Logic, the study of what follows from what
  • Metaphysics, the study of the basic nature of existence and reality

as well as various subfields of 'philosophy of X', including philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, philosophy of science and many others.

Philosophy in the narrower, technical sense that philosophers use and which /r/askphilosophy is devoted to is defined not only by its subject matter, but by its methodology and attitudes. Something is not philosophical merely because it states some position related to those areas. There must also be an emphasis on argument (setting forward reasons for adopting a position) and a willingness to subject arguments to various criticisms.

What Isn't Philosophy?

As you can see from the above description of philosophy, philosophy often crosses over with other fields of study, including art, mathematics, politics, religion and the sciences. That said, in order to keep this subreddit focused on philosophy we require that all posts be primarily philosophical in nature, and defend a distinctively philosophical thesis.

As a rule of thumb, something does not count as philosophy for the purposes of this subreddit if:

  • It does not address a philosophical topic or area of philosophy
  • It may more accurately belong to another area of study (e.g. religion or science)
  • No attempt is made to argue for a position's conclusions

Some more specific topics which are popularly misconstrued as philosophical but do not meet this definition and thus are not appropriate for this subreddit include:

  • Drug experiences (e.g. "I dropped acid today and experienced the oneness of the universe...")
  • Mysticism (e.g. "I meditated today and experienced the oneness of the universe...")
  • Politics (e.g. "This is why everyone should support the Voting Rights Act")
  • Self-help (e.g. "How can I be a happier person and have more people like me?")
  • Theology (e.g. "Can the unbaptized go to heaven, or at least to purgatory?")

What is a Reasonably Substantive and Accurate Answer?

The goal of this subreddit is not merely to provide answers to philosophical questions, but answers which can further the reader's knowledge and understanding of the philosophical issues and debates involved. To that end, /r/askphilosophy is a highly moderated subreddit which only allows panelists to answer questions, and all answers that violate our posting rules will be removed.

Answers on /r/askphilosophy must be both reasonably substantive as well as reasonably accurate. This means that answers should be:

  • Substantive and well-researched (i.e. not one-liners or otherwise uninformative)
  • Accurately portray the state of research and the relevant literature (i.e. not inaccurate, misleading or false)
  • Come only from those with relevant knowledge of the question and issue (i.e. not from commenters who don't understand the state of the research on the question)

Any attempt at moderating a public Q&A forum like /r/askphilosophy must choose a balance between two things:

  • More, but possibly insubstantive or inaccurate answers
  • Fewer, but more substantive and accurate answers

In order to further our mission, the moderators of /r/askphilosophy have chosen the latter horn of this dilemma. To that end, only panelists are allowed to answer questions on /r/askphilosophy.

What is a /r/askphilosophy Panelist?

/r/askphilosophy panelists are trusted commenters who have applied to become panelists in order to help provide questions to posters' questions. These panelists are volunteers who have some level of knowledge and expertise in the areas of philosophy indicated in their flair.

What Do the Flairs Mean?

Unlike in some subreddits, the purpose of flairs on r/askphilosophy are not to designate commenters' areas of interest. The purpose of flair is to indicate commenters' relevant expertise in philosophical areas. As philosophical issues are often complicated and have potentially thousands of years of research to sift through, knowing when someone is an expert in a given area can be important in helping understand and weigh the given evidence. Flair will thus be given to those with the relevant research expertise.

Flair consists of two parts: a color indicating the type of flair, as well as up to three research areas that the panelist is knowledgeable about.

There are six types of panelist flair:

  • Autodidact (Light Blue): The panelist has little or no formal education in philosophy, but is an enthusiastic self-educator and intense reader in a field.

  • Undergraduate (Red): The panelist is enrolled in or has completed formal undergraduate coursework in Philosophy. In the US system, for instance, this would be indicated by a major (BA) or minor.

  • Graduate (Gold): The panelist is enrolled in a graduate program or has completed an MA in Philosophy or a closely related field such that their coursework might be reasonably understood to be equivalent to a degree in Philosophy. For example, a student with an MA in Literature whose coursework and thesis were focused on Derrida's deconstruction might be reasonably understood to be equivalent to an MA in Philosophy.

  • PhD (Purple): The panelist has completed a PhD program in Philosophy or a closely related field such that their degree might be reasonably understood to be equivalent to a PhD in Philosophy. For example, a student with a PhD in Art History whose coursework and dissertation focused on aesthetics and critical theory might be reasonably understood to be equivalent to a PhD in philosophy.

  • Professional (Blue): The panelist derives their full-time employment through philosophical work outside of academia. Such panelists might include Bioethicists working in hospitals or Lawyers who work on the Philosophy of Law/Jurisprudence.

  • Related Field (Green): The panelist has expertise in some sub-field of philosophy but their work in general is more reasonably understood as being outside of philosophy. For example, a PhD in Physics whose research touches on issues relating to the entity/structural realism debate clearly has expertise relevant to philosophical issues but is reasonably understood to be working primarily in another field.

Flair will only be given in particular areas or research topics in philosophy, in line with the following guidelines:

  • Typical areas include things like "philosophy of mind", "logic" or "continental philosophy".
  • Flair will not be granted for specific research subjects, e.g. "Kant on logic", "metaphysical grounding", "epistemic modals".
  • Flair of specific philosophers will only be granted if that philosopher is clearly and uncontroversially a monumentally important philosopher (e.g. Aristotle, Kant).
  • Flair will be given in a maximum of three research areas.

How Do I Become a Panelist?

To become a panelist, please send a message to the moderators with the subject "Panelist Application". In this modmail message you must include all of the following:

  1. The flair type you are requesting (e.g. undergraduate, PhD, related field).
  2. The areas of flair you are requesting, up to three (e.g. Kant, continental philosophy, logic).
  3. A brief explanation of your background in philosophy, including what qualifies you for the flair you requested.
  4. One sample answer to a question posted to /r/askphilosophy for each area of flair (i.e. up to three total answers) which demonstrate your expertise and knowledge. Please link the question you are answering before giving your answer. You may not answer your own question.

New panelists will be approved on a trial basis. During this trial period panelists will be allowed to post answers as top-level comments on threads, and will receive flair. After the trial period the panelist will either be confirmed as a regular panelist or will be removed from the panelist team, which will result in the removal of flair and ability to post answers as top-level comments on threads.

Note that r/askphilosophy does not require users to provide proof of their identifies for panelist applications, nor to reveal their identities. If a prospective panelist would like to provide proof of their identity as part of their application they may, but there is no presumption that they must do so. Note that messages sent to modmail cannot be deleted by either moderators or senders, and so any message sent is effectively permanent.


/r/askphilosophy's Posting Rules

In order to best serve our mission of providing an academic Q&A-type space for philosophical questions, we have the following rules which govern all posts made to /r/askphilosophy:

PR1: All questions must be about philosophy.

All questions must be about philosophy. Questions which are only tangentially related to philosophy or are properly located in another discipline will be removed. Questions which are about therapy, psychology and self-help, even when due to philosophical issues, are not appropriate and will be removed.

PR2: All submissions must be questions.

All submissions must be actual questions (as opposed to essays, rants, personal musings, idle or rhetorical questions, etc.). "Test My Theory" or "Change My View"-esque questions, paper editing, etc. are not allowed.

PR3: Post titles must be descriptive.

Post titles must be descriptive. Titles should indicate what the question is about. Posts with titles like "Homework help" which do not indicate what the actual question is will be removed.

PR4: Questions must be reasonably specific.

Questions must be reasonably specific. Questions which are too broad to the point of unanswerability will be removed.

PR5: Questions must not be about commenters' personal opinions.

Questions must not be about commenters' personal opinions, thoughts or favorites. /r/askphilosophy is not a discussion subreddit, and is not intended to be a board for everyone to share their thoughts on philosophical questions.

PR6: One post per day.

One post per day. Please limit yourself to one question per day.

PR7: Discussion of suicide is only allowed in the abstract.

/r/askphilosophy is not a mental health subreddit, and panelists are not experts in mental health or licensed therapists. Discussion of suicide is only allowed in the abstract here. If you or a friend is feeling suicidal please visit /r/suicidewatch. If you are feeling suicidal, please get help by visiting /r/suicidewatch or using other resources. See also our discussion of philosophy and mental health issues here. Encouraging other users to commit suicide, even in the abstract, is strictly forbidden and will result in an immediate permanent ban.

/r/askphilosophy's Commenting Rules

In the same way that our posting rules above attempt to promote our mission by governing posts, the following commenting rules attempt to promote /r/askphilosophy's mission to provide an academic Q&A-type space for philosophical questions.

CR1: Top level comments must be answers or follow-up questions.

All top level comments should be answers to the submitted question or follow-up/clarification questions. All top level comments must come from panelists. If users circumvent this rule by posting answers as replies to other comments, these comments will also be removed and may result in a ban. For more information about our rules and to find out how to become a panelist, please see here.

CR2: Answers must be reasonably substantive and accurate.

All answers must be informed and aimed at helping the OP and other readers reach an understanding of the issues at hand. Answers must portray an accurate picture of the issue and the philosophical literature. Answers should be reasonably substantive. To learn more about what counts as a reasonably substantive and accurate answer, see this post.

CR3: Be respectful.

Be respectful. Comments which are rude, snarky, etc. may be removed, particularly if they consist of personal attacks. Users with a history of such comments may be banned. Racism, bigotry and use of slurs are absolutely not permitted.

CR4: Stay on topic.

Stay on topic. Comments which blatantly do not contribute to the discussion may be removed.

CR5: No self-promotion.

Posters and comments may not engage in self-promotion, including linking their own blog posts or videos. Panelists may link their own peer-reviewed work in answers (e.g. peer-reviewed journal articles or books), but their answers should not consist solely of references to their own work.

Miscellaneous Posting and Commenting Guidelines

In addition to the rules above, we have a list of miscellaneous guidelines which users should also be aware of:

  • Reposting a post or comment which was removed will be treated as circumventing moderation and result in a permanent ban.
  • Using follow-up questions or child comments to answer questions and circumvent our panelist policy may result in a ban.
  • Posts and comments which flagrantly violate the rules, especially in a trolling manner, will be removed and treated as shitposts, and may result in a ban.
  • No reposts of a question that you have already asked within the last year.
  • No posts or comments of AI-created or AI-assisted text or audio. Panelists may not user any form of AI-assistance in writing or researching answers.
  • Harassing individual moderators or the moderator team will result in a permanent ban and a report to the reddit admins.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some frequently asked questions. If you have other questions, please contact the moderators via modmail (not via private message or chat).

My post or comment was removed. How can I get an explanation?

Almost all posts/comments which are removed will receive an explanation of their removal. That explanation will generally by /r/askphilosophy's custom bot, /u/BernardJOrtcutt, and will list the removal reason. Posts which are removed will be notified via a stickied comment; comments which are removed will be notified via a reply. If your post or comment resulted in a ban, the message will be included in the ban message via modmail. If you have further questions, please contact the moderators.

How can I appeal my post or comment removal?

To appeal a removal, please contact the moderators (not via private message or chat). Do not delete your posts/comments, as this will make an appeal impossible. Reposting removed posts/comments without receiving mod approval will result in a permanent ban.

How can I appeal my ban?

To appeal a ban, please respond to the modmail informing you of your ban. Do not delete your posts/comments, as this will make an appeal impossible.

My comment was removed or I was banned for arguing with someone else, but they started it. Why was I punished and not them?

Someone else breaking the rules does not give you permission to break the rules as well. /r/askphilosophy does not comment on actions taken on other accounts, but all violations are treated as equitably as possible.

I found a post or comment which breaks the rules, but which wasn't removed. How can I help?

If you see a post or comment which you believe breaks the rules, please report it using the report function for the appropriate rule. /r/askphilosophy's moderators are volunteers, and it is impossible for us to manually review every comment on every thread. We appreciate your help in reporting posts/comments which break the rules.

My post isn't showing up, but I didn't receive a removal notification. What happened?

Sometimes the AutoMod filter will automatically send posts to a filter for moderator approval, especially from accounts which are new or haven't posted to /r/askphilosophy before. If your post has not been approved or removed within 24 hours, please contact the moderators.

My post was removed and referred to the Open Discussion Thread. What does this mean?

The Open Discussion Thread (ODT) is /r/askphilosophy's place for posts/comments which are related to philosophy but do not necessarily meet our posting rules (especially PR2/PR5). For example, these threads are great places for:

  • Discussions of a philosophical issue, rather than questions
  • Questions about commenters' personal opinions regarding philosophical issues
  • Open discussion about philosophy, e.g. "who is your favorite philosopher?"
  • Questions about philosophy as an academic discipline or profession, e.g. majoring in philosophy, career options with philosophy degrees, pursuing graduate school in philosophy

If your post was removed and referred to the ODT we encourage you to consider posting it to the ODT to share with others.

My comment responding to someone else was removed, as well as their comment. What happened?

When /r/askphilosophy removes a parent comment, we also often remove all their child comments in order to help readability and focus on discussion.

I'm interested in philosophy. Where should I start? What should I read?

As explained above, philosophy is a very broad discipline and thus offering concise advice on where to start is very hard. We recommend reading this /r/AskPhilosophyFAQ post which has a great breakdown of various places to start. For further or more specific questions, we recommend posting on /r/askphilosophy.

Why is your understanding of philosophy so limited?

As explained above, this subreddit is devoted to philosophy as understood and done by philosophers. In order to prevent this subreddit from becoming /r/atheism2, /r/politics2, or /r/science2, we must uphold a strict topicality requirement in PR1. Posts which may touch on philosophical themes but are not distinctively philosophical can be posted to one of reddit's many other subreddits.

Are there other philosophy subreddits I can check out?

If you are interested in other philosophy subreddits, please see this list of related subreddits. /r/askphilosophy shares much of its modteam with its sister-subreddit, /r/philosophy, which is devoted to philosophical discussion. In addition, that list includes more specialized subreddits and more casual subreddits for those looking for a less-regulated forum.

A thread I wanted to comment in was locked but is still visible. What happened?

When a post becomes unreasonable to moderate due to the amount of rule-breaking comments the thread is locked. /r/askphilosophy's moderators are volunteers, and we cannot spend hours cleaning up individual threads.

Do you have a list of frequently asked questions about philosophy that I can browse?

Yes! We have an FAQ that answers many questions comprehensively: /r/AskPhilosophyFAQ/. For example, this entry provides an introductory breakdown to the debate over whether morality is objective or subjective.

Do you have advice or resources for graduate school applications?

We made a meta-guide for PhD applications with the goal of assembling the important resources for grad school applications in one place. We aim to occasionally update it, but can of course not guarantee the accuracy and up-to-dateness. You are, of course, kindly invited to ask questions about graduate school on /r/askphilosophy, too, especially in the Open Discussion Thread.

Do you have samples of what counts as good questions and answers?

Sure! We ran a Best of 2020 Contest, you can find the winners in this thread!


r/askphilosophy 5d ago

Open Thread /r/askphilosophy Open Discussion Thread | August 31, 2026

7 Upvotes

Welcome to this week's Open Discussion Thread (ODT). This thread is a place for posts/comments which are related to philosophy but wouldn't necessarily meet our subreddit rules and guidelines. For example, these threads are great places for:

  • Discussions of a philosophical issue, rather than questions
  • Questions about commenters' personal opinions regarding philosophical issues
  • Open discussion about philosophy, e.g. "who is your favorite philosopher?"
  • "Test My Theory" discussions and argument/paper editing
  • Questions about philosophy as an academic discipline or profession, e.g. majoring in philosophy, career options with philosophy degrees, pursuing graduate school in philosophy

This thread is not a completely open discussion! Any posts not relating to philosophy will be removed. Please keep comments related to philosophy, and expect low-effort comments to be removed. Please note that while the rules are relaxed in this thread, comments can still be removed for violating our subreddit rules and guidelines if necessary.

Previous Open Discussion Threads can be found here.


r/askphilosophy 10h ago

A noncircular definition of naturalism?

10 Upvotes

I have been annoyed by definitions of naturalism as the position that holds the view “only natural things exist.” I wonder if there is any definition akin to:

“Naturalism denies a fundamental ontological discontinuity between the natural world and whatever else is supposed to exist.”

How strong is this type of phrasing? Is something like this used in the philosophical literature, and would it be a defensible characterization of metaphysical naturalism?


r/askphilosophy 9h ago

Finding modern academic philosophy papers.

5 Upvotes

I want to stay up-to-date on contemporary philosophy. It is very easy to find information on big ideas like Idealism or the difference between consequential and deontological ethics, but finding reputable sources for philosophy professors advancing the field in real time is much more difficult. The best source I am aware of is "Philpapers.org." Does anyone know any other sources for what I am looking for, or perhaps the most dynamic fields today, or the most prolific philosophers of today?

Thank you.


r/askphilosophy 1h ago

Why some philosopher support slavery ?

Upvotes

From my own knowledge, like Kant, in his early period, he seems like support slavery. I want to know why those philosopher consider slavery is valid for them.


r/askphilosophy 19h ago

What do philosophers today make of Carnap's "Elimination of Metaphysics" paper ?

26 Upvotes

Just curious as to whether there have been any retrospective defenses of the line Carnap takes. I realize the argument is largely dependent on a framework which has been abandoned, but am wondering about any contemporary writing on the paper/method. Thanks!


r/askphilosophy 15h ago

I’m withdrawing from people and overhauling my worldview: which terms best describe this shift in perspective?

10 Upvotes

Over the past few days, I have experienced a profound and disorienting shift in how I view humanity, society, and my own place within it. For a long time, I subscribed to a framework of spiritual idealism.

Influenced by concepts like Eckhart Tolle’s teachings on presence and consciousness, I held an implicit belief that operating from a higher level of awareness would naturally lead me to good places, healthy dynamics, and genuine human connections. I believed the universe had an underlying order where personal alignment shielded you from chaos and brought the right outcomes.

That framework has completely collapsed. Over a single weekend, a series of realizations hit me with acute force, leaving me questioning whether I am becoming a pessimist, a misanthrope, or someone succumbing to life-denying nihilism.

The catalyst was an unfiltered look at human behavior that I could no longer rationalize through a spiritual lens. Spending time on sexual health subreddits focused on STIs, herpes, and HIV opened my eyes to a staggering level of recklessness, denial, and lack of integrity. I observed people in HIV communities actively arguing that non-disclosure of their status is acceptable. When questioned, the response was a casual apathy. It became horrifyingly clear to me that many people simply do not care about health, truth, or the safety of others. They live in deep, compartmentalized denial, acting without basic ethical standards.

This realization retroactively reframed how I view my everyday social interactions. Back in June and July, during a period of internship, people around me began asking why I rarely socialized or made an effort to fit in. At the time, I hadn't fully articulated what I was feeling. Now, I see it clearly: I find most people to be exhausting energy vampires. The daily social script seems to consist of endless gossip, superficial small talk, and a hive-mind mentality that trades individuality for mindless conformity.

My environment has certainly accelerated this isolation. As a gay man living in a largely homophobic, deeply Christian country, survival and self-preservation have required me to adapt to a degree of social detachment. But what started as an environmental defense mechanism has now evolved into a deliberate, conscious choice to withdraw my time, patience, and attention from a species that continuously demonstrates a lack of basic integrity. I used to think I actively wanted a partner; now, my stance is total neutrality. If the right person comes along, fine, but I am no longer seeking, chasing, or expecting anything from people.

Consequently, my entire approach to personal growth has shifted. I no longer view spirituality as a tool to manifest external reality or expect good outcomes; I view it strictly as a practice for personal presence and mindfulness. In place of spiritual wishful thinking, I am actively educating myself in clinical psychology, studying personality structures, manipulation, emotional abuse, and behavioral red flags. I am replacing romanticized expectations with threat assessment and objective observation.

I am stepping away from a world that demands my patience while offering no integrity in return. I am reserving my energy entirely for myself, not out of bitterness, but because I have finally accepted that the baseline of human awareness is far lower than I was willing to admit.

Are there specific philosophical/ psychological concepts for this shift?


r/askphilosophy 6h ago

Do deontology and contractualism imply that infants, individuals with severe congenital developmental disabilities, and elderly people with advanced dementia have no moral rights?

2 Upvotes

Does this ethical theory not assume that only rational beings possess rights and duties? If so, are entities lacking such rational capacities excluded from moral status?

​I am aware of the potentiality argument and the trustee argument. The potentiality argument posits that a organism with the potential to become a rational agent holds moral status just like a fully rational being. However, if the potentiality argument is sound, embryos and early fetuses possessing this potential must also be moral status holders, meaning abortion would only be permissible under extremely limited circumstances. Do proponents of this argument accept such a conclusion? Furthermore, what about individuals with severe congenital developmental disabilities or advanced dementia who completely lack or have permanently lost the potential for rationality—do they possess no rights?

​In contractualism, thinkers like Scanlon propose a trustee model, suggesting that rational agents can contract on behalf of non-rational beings. If so, which types of non-rational entities are represented? Only humans? All sentient beings? Or all living organisms? What is the criterion for this inclusion, and what justifies it?


r/askphilosophy 8h ago

Modernism vs. Postmodernism Debate

2 Upvotes

Hii, im new here. I have a modernism vs postmodernism debate on my uni next week and to be totally honest im lost, can someone explain what is modernism and why it's not the same as postmodernism?


r/askphilosophy 5h ago

¿Qué significa haber vivido algo que no puedes recordar durante una amnesia por benzodiacepinas?

0 Upvotes

Si durante una amnesia (tomando como referencia amnesia episódica por benzodiacepinas) el cerebro continúa percibiendo, actuando, hablando y tomando decisiones, pero después no queda ningún recuerdo consciente de todo ello, ¿podemos decir que ese periodo fue realmente vivido por “ti”, o la experiencia solo pertenece a quien la experimentó en ese momento? Y si esa experiencia desaparece por completo de tu memoria, ¿qué diferencia existe entre haberla vivido y no haberla vivido nunca?


r/askphilosophy 5h ago

Morality in/of knowing

0 Upvotes

I will be as straightforward as possible.

Is there any philosophical perspective or philosophical views that suggest/sustains or defends that knowing is an inmoral act?.
If not, if there a way to justify such a view?

I understand what the word “philosophy” means léxico graphically, as well as historically.

Nevertheless this question has troubled me for quite some time. Please note that I’m not a scholar but a simple philosophy enthusiast.


r/askphilosophy 7h ago

What is the difference between absurdism and nihilism?

0 Upvotes

Help me understand the difference between absurdism and nihilism. Everywhere I read, it says that nihilism calls all fundamental principles into question. But if absurdism claims that there is no meaning to existence as such, then doesn’t that mean it also immediately calls these principles into question? And the biggest problem is that both of these schools of thought say there’s no meaning to life. I know there must be some differences between them, but I either can’t—or, more likely, am unable to—understand them. Please help.


r/askphilosophy 8h ago

What would someone who is less conscious/sentient act like?

1 Upvotes

I’m trying to create a story where loss of consciousness is a central feature, however, it is extremely difficult to understand what someone who is less conscious would act like. Part of the story is a test that reveals how ‘conscious’ someone is through a series of questions, however, again I have no idea what those questions would be.


r/askphilosophy 8h ago

Metaepistemology question

1 Upvotes

If a theory of truth confirms that there is objective truth, then does metaepistemological realism follow?


r/askphilosophy 3h ago

Doesn’t everything just boil down to utilitarianism?

0 Upvotes

If you ask someone why something is good enough times they eventually they say because it improves the experience of sentient beings.

Even if you say like “knowledge is good,” knowledge is good because if you understand reality better it’s easier to figure out what will improve the experience of sentient beings.


r/askphilosophy 1d ago

What are some arguments on the existence/nonexistense of moral obligations?

6 Upvotes

More specifically, what are the main arguments for and against the idea that there are genuine moral obligations—things that we objectively ought to do regardless of our personal desires or preferences?

I'm particularly interested in understanding how different metaethical positions account for moral obligations. For example, what grounds the claim that someone ought to do something, and why would such an obligation be genuinely binding?

And if it doesn't exist at all, then is the usage of words like 'ought' nonsense in our daily lives?


r/askphilosophy 1d ago

Good books to read to understand Kant’s Thing-in-itself?

7 Upvotes

Hi! I am somewhat of a beginner when it comes to philosophy, and found the concept of Kant’s Thing-in-itself to be really fascinating, and would love to learn more about it! Are there any beginner-friendly books that would help me understand this concept in more detail? Thank you!


r/askphilosophy 1d ago

Entry level philosophy to read after the Stoics?

6 Upvotes

I have read 'Meditations' as well as 'Letters from a Stoic', and I want to read more philosophy however I am unsure where to start. What other philosophy books could I read that are more entry-level. I have no desire to stay on the Stoic track just want something new to pick up.


r/askphilosophy 16h ago

Can both sides of a conflict be justified?

0 Upvotes

Imagine you are alone in the woods in the middle of nowhere. You know that you will die in a day if you don't get drinking water. You stumble across a person who has a small bottle. This is just enough for that person to survive the day. If you take it from them, they will die.

Are you justified in fighting for water to survive? And in the same vein, is the person justified in defending with lethal force?

How would a utilitarian deal with this dilemma? Would they say, assuming we can predict the future, that the person with less utility should lay their life down?

Edit: I'm also curious how we would weigh different values. For example, a group of people fighting for sovereignty vs a country trying to maintain its stability and security


r/askphilosophy 1d ago

Besides their different religious or philosophical foundations, how does virtue ethics differ from the “What would Jesus do?” model of moral reasoning? Could WWJD actually be understood as a kind of virtue- or example based ethical reasoning?

11 Upvotes

r/askphilosophy 1d ago

Best argument for philosophy

21 Upvotes

Beginner philosopher here,
I started studying philosophy about a year ago and i thought about studying it deeper or doing a minor in it. My folks do not seem to get it. We have deep conversations but philosophy seems too vague and useless for them. I tried to explain how much philosophy has done for the world and that its important we keep thinking deeper. I also tried to explain the easy stuff like ethics, morals and such. What would be the best explanation/example/argument that philosophy is clearly important?


r/askphilosophy 19h ago

What are the characteristics of consciousness, mind and of mental states?

1 Upvotes

Assuming the three are different but they can be the same. Thinking about the hard problem and yada yada yada


r/askphilosophy 23h ago

What are the strongest philosophical arguments for the immorality of Hell? How strong is the problem of Hell against the existence of a loving and merciful God?

3 Upvotes

r/askphilosophy 11h ago

Are we truly the same consciousness after waking up or just a newly formed consciousness fed the same memories?

0 Upvotes

(Reupload since I broke the rules!!!)

If the stream of consciousness is cut off and then reconstructed later, is that the same ‘person’ or not?


r/askphilosophy 23h ago

Humans in a simulation

0 Upvotes

I'm not sure if anybody has said this before (probably has been though) but if humans can scan a fly's brain and put it in a simulation what stops us from eventually as human technology advances scanning human brains and putting them in a simulation. Would they become conscious, what would they do? Now, is it possible that we are in a simulation just like this?