Introduction: The question of whether knowledge is possible without experience has been a major debate amongst philosophers for centuries. At first, it seems obvious that experience is necessary in order to have knowledge. For example, how could one know the true taste of an apple without ever actually eating one and tasting it? However, many philosophers have challenged this assumption: from Plato’s Theory of the … Continue reading Is Knowledge Possible Without Experience?

‘I’m not a monster; I’m just ahead of the curve.’ The Joker Despite being fictional, Batman’s Joker is a villain that helps pose some of the most paramount philosophical questions that the discipline has to offer – his experiments help to highlight some of the most excruciating philosophical questions that entertain a variety of philosophers. This is found in Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece The Dark Knight, … Continue reading “Knightmare Ethics: Unmasking Philosophy in Batman”

We describe most things based on their appearance, composition, or by comparison to other perceived objects. For example, try describing an ocean without the words “blue”, “salt water”, or “large”. The task seems absurd, because intuitively it is much harder to narrow down the definition of an object without referring to its features directly. One possible way is to construct the ocean in reverse: one … Continue reading Not Describing the Indescribable: An Introduction to Apophatic Theology

On the night of 14 November 1940, 300 German bombers dropped 500 tons of explosives, 33,000 incendiary bombs and dozens of parachute mines on the industrial city of Coventry. During the raid, 507 civilians were killed and 420 seriously injured. Historical plays like One Night in November, displayed at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, have repeatedly address the claim that Churchill knew of the plan days … Continue reading The Problem of Dirty Hands: Guilt and Necessity in Political Leadership

For centuries, philosophers such as Aristotle and St Augustine have tried to both understand and explain the meaning of life. During his trial, even Socrates alluded to this question at his trial saying that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Whether the solution is striving for eudaimonia through living a good and virtuous life or striving to find happiness in God, the question of life’s meaning … Continue reading Existentialism and the Meaning of Life

Consider Eric, a warm-hearted individual who decided to donate some money one day. Upon research, he finds two interesting charities: one that supports children in distant countries to have a better education, and one that funds a struggling local bagel shop. Understanding that suboptimal sacrificesi are wrong, he struggles to decide. Choices under such uncertain situations can be decomposed into the objective and subjectiveii “should”. … Continue reading Should we select which charities to support purely on the basis of which would do the most good?

Consider the following case: A tourist is hurrying to the airport to catch a plane and stops a taxi. However, the taxi driver is a racist and refuses to take the tourist, leading to her missing her flight. However, the missed flight crashes and most of the passengers die. Therefore, did the taxi driver “harm” the passenger? At first, it may be intuitive that since … Continue reading The Taxi Driver and the passenger